The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

           

               It’s been many years since I’ve watched The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, a 1947 paranormal romance (yes, they existed back then too), starring Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, and George Sanders (you may not recognize him till you hear his voice, and then realize ‘My stars and garters, it’s the voice of Shere Kahn’).  I still remembered it being a sad movie to me as a kid, and still remembered the main events of the plot.  But it’s always fun as an adult to watch movies you saw as a kid, and see how your reaction might change.

                Well, I’m happy to report that I still think The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a very good, sweet film.  Now, if you just want to watch the movie completely cold (well, other than you already know there’s going to be a ghost, Mrs. Muir, and some romance), read no further.  Otherwise, I’m going to drop some minor spoilers in the next paragraph (probably no more than what you’d read on the back of the vhs or dvd). 

The Constitution of the United States of America: March 4, 1789 - June 28, 2012

 

 Let us bow our heads for a minute in silence to honor the recently departed.

Now, it must be admitted that our dear friend the Constitution had not been feeling that well for the better part of the last century.  But still I think we can all agree that it's a dreadful, heartbreaking day to see the final nail driven into the coffin.  For an epitaph I propose we put this excerpt of the dissent opinion in the SCOTUS's ruling on Obamacare today:

"The Constitution, though it dates from the founding of the Republic, has powerful meaning and vital relevance to our own times. The constitutional protections that this case involves are protections of structure. Structural protections—notably, the restraints imposed by federalism and separation of powers—are less romantic and have less obvious a connection to personal freedom than the provisions of the Bill of Rights or the Civil War Amendments. Hence they tend to be undervalued or even forgotten by our citizens. It should be the responsibility of the Court to teach otherwise, to remind our people that the Framers considered structural protections of freedom the most important ones, for which reason they alone were embodied in the original Constitution and not left to later amendment. The fragmentation of power produced by the structure of our Government is central to liberty, and when we destroy it, we place liberty at peril. Today’s decision should have vindicated, should have taught this truth; instead, our judgment today has disregarded it."

- Justices Kennedy, Alito, Scalia & Thomas

Rest in Peace.

*Btw, here's a link to a pdf of the whole decision.

I am Anti-Driving and I am PROUD!

            Yes, it's true,I am anti-driving.  I know it’s a controversial position to take, but I am deeply, sincerely, viscerally against people driving cars when they do not have a legally obtained driver’s license. 

I know what you’re thinking: how can I be so heartless to deny the blessing of driving a vehicle to those who have not obtained a driver’s license.  The process of getting a driver’s license is ridiculously burdensome and convoluted: getting a permit and being allowed to practice ONLY when a licensed person is available and willing to help out; having to study for a test and remember things like who has the right of way at a four-way stop; standing around smelly people in DMV lines for who knows how long; having to drive while being scrutinized and judged by a strange instructor you don’t know while taking the test; having to actually pay money for the license; getting an invariably embarrassing photo taken of yourself for the license.  Ugh, the list goes on and on. Being allowed to drive is essential to surviving in modern America these days.  How are you supposed to get to your work, experience all the regions and beauties of this world, and transport your children to school or activities if you aren’t legally allowed to drive.   How can you be expected to “pursue happiness” as Thomas Jefferson said, if you’re not allowed to drive.  Being allowed to drive on these publicly funded roads is a right, DANG IT!

            And I have to admit, those are all valid points.  But I don’t care.  I am too consumed with hate for others to think they are entitled to drive cars without first having to comply with all the rules and procedures of our corrupt and stupid government bureaucracy.  I support laws that demand people submit to tests to prove driving competency before they be allowed freedom to get behind the wheel unsupervised; you see, this way I can be sure that the broke, the idle, the children, and the blind (all groups that I find repulsive) are barred from driving themselves wherever they wish to go. 

            Now, others may tell you that they support these laws requiring a driver’s license because it can help minimize dangerous driving and accidents on the road by making sure only those who have demonstrated driving competency can drive (or also through the revoking of licenses of those who have demonstrated reckless and dangerous driving).  But don’t you believe a word of it.  They are all like me; they're consumed by hatred and bigotry and want to make sure that the number of people allowed to partake of the joys of driving is kept as small and restricted as possible.  I’m just the only one brave enough to be honest about my feelings.

I’m anti-driving and in spite of my blog's name I certainly don't want anybody "dreaming at the wheel."  Deal with it!

The Legend has Returned!...maybe; Beauty beating up the Beast

Oy, it's been many moons since last I posted here. Not that I was ever very good about frequently updating this blog, but it's been over six months since I put down any new words here. My thoughts have turned to the blog many times, and I've thought of a lot of different topics I could go on about, but somehow I failed to ever actually post. I got married May 7th (so far, still no regrets; I am very, very happy with that aspect of my life) and this past summer also started a one-year grad program to get an Masters in Education. My duties in that program included taking several education classes and interning as a student teacher in the morning. On top of that I still work part-time at the trophy shop. So I have do have quite a bit on my plate.

On the other hand, though...I do still have quite a bit of free time. I still manage somehow to spend hours upon hours of time on the internet (and, of course, blogging here would fall in that category), so obviously I do have time to work on ambitions of mine (another category which this blog would also fall under), but I keep on failing to do so. I want to actually write short stories and novels and get them published (especially now that my brother has self-published his own novel) and I want to do more free-time reading and expanding of my knowledge. And yet I keep on wasting time on this blasted internet thingie.

Well, I guess this post has been kind of aimless, but I wanted to tip my toe back in blogging waters again and hopefully reestablish the habit. I think part of the reason it's been so hard for me to get back to blogging is that I feel compelled to write long posts and any time I had an idea for a post I got intimidated about writing about it from all the angles I envisioned. I'm hoping I can learn to do shorter posts, but more frequently. So, here's a little morsel to chew on for today:

Devin's List of Movie Cliches that Need to Stop Now- Item 1: Anorexic Wisp of a Woman > Man Roughly the Size of a Tank

Alright, I get that, post-feminist revolution, a goal for movie makers and writers is to create empowered female role models who are actively controlling their own fate and not simply damsels in distress waiting for Prince Charming or Mario to come save them. But, I'm sorry, I just can't quite get rid of that itch of disbelief in my head when I watch a girl who looks like she maybe weighs 100 pounds wet holding her own with a 6 foot plus muscleman. Often in movies such female characters are supposed to have had special martial-arts/sword-fighting/assassin training before, but then they end up facing guys who also have had fight training and weigh twice as much as them, which would seem to neutralize any advantage the girl may have had against a regular Joe Schmoe.

It just ends up feeling like lazy feminist pandering to me and destroys my suspension of disbelief. It's not that I don't believe that there are women that could beat up men, particularly if the opponent were to be someone like wimpy me. In fact, I absolutely believe there are tough women out there that could hold their own in a fight; I just don't think they look like Angelina Jolie (see picture above). Seriously! Look at that bone of an arm there! And I'm supposed to believe she's capable of beating up trained CIA operatives (I don't know if she does any hand-to-hand combat in the movie Wanted but I know she does it in the movie Salt).

I do make exceptions if we're dealing with females who are supposed to be superhuman or have magical abilities (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but outside of that it really bothers me, especially now that it's been done over and over and over.

I'm all for strong female characters who are not constantly needing a man to save them, but I have two requests:
(1) Make them capable and active through their cleverness and courage (ala Elizabeth Swan in the first Pirates movie, not the sword fighting Elizabeth Swan of the sequels).
(2) Cast women who actually look like they could throw a punch and make you feel it.

One objection to my objections, though: I have a problem with the unrealistic portrayal of high school cheerleader-petite women tossing around barrel-chested thugs, but I don't have problems enjoying movies where the male hero is able to take on and defeat scores of bad guys in close combat (Bourne Identity) or guys twice as big as himself. These male heroes at least have visible biceps and muscle-definition, but is the latter scenario any more realistic than the first? Am I being consistent?

Food for thought.

PS: Oh, and my idea of doing a shorter post here: fail.

A Plethora of Good Music; Dr. Sowell Explains it All; Plus, thank you, Mr. Janitor

So my sister Jamie and I have both shared for many years the sentiment that the Japanese are a very peculiar people. That said, they have made some great animation, or anime. In particular I love the Hayao Miyazaki-directed films "Castle in the Sky," "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away," and "Howl's Moving Castle." However, I have also been tempted at times by their anime tv series. The cool thing that the Japanese peopled do is that they actually do long-form story telling with their cartoon series, with complex story lines that stretch across a season. They also do not relegate animation to just children-targeted stories or comedy. They do any genre, and I mean ANY genre, in their animation, and not just for kids but plenty of stuff for adults. On the bad side though, besides the sometimes bizarre, so-far-over-the-top-you-no-longer-even-know-what-the-word-"top"-means humor, they also may include not-so-Mormon-friendly stuff in their toons, such as nudity, swearing, or graphic violence.

The anime that now most tempts me (but which I shall probably never watch in its entirety) is an (intentionally) one-season anime from 1998 called "Cowboy Bebop." I remember a specific friend in high school really loving the series, but I never looked at it at the time (this was a common situation for me at high school; a number of my friends were big-time anime fans, but I never really got into it). Since then, though, I've looked up some clips from the show, and recently got on a kick of watching tons of clips from it after reading a recent Orson Scott Card-penned column that recommended the show.

It's a cool sci-fi show following a group of bounty hunters as they track down bounties and deal with other problems across the solar system in the late 21st century. It's real genre-bender, with sci-fi, film noir, western, and martial-arts action influences all rolled together. From the pieces I've watched of it, it seems like one of the most artistically impressive shows ever put on TV: the plots, the characters, the animation, and the action are all engrossing and extremely well-executed. However, it does contain some swearing, some very revealing costumes on the main female character (though no nudity), and the violence can be pretty graphic. So I don't know that I'll ever pick up the DVDs and watch it all. There is one element from the show about which I have no guilt indulging in: the music.

The show has "Bebop" (a kind of jazz) in the title, and the music does indeed play a huge part in the show, lending a unique mood and atmosphere to the proceedings. And while the soundtrack does contain a lot of jazz, it also does music of lots of other genres, like blues, rock and roll songs, and even classical-influenced choral pieces. What is so impressive to me about all this is that I think it's all composed and written by one composer: the Japanese female composer Yoko Kanno. It blows my mind at how well she's able to write music in so many different genres. So I thought I'd share with you some of my favorite pieces of music from the show and demonstrate the variety that is on display.

Tank!
This is an expanded version of the opening theme of the show. Pretty dang awesome, if you ask me. I've listened to this over and over.

Goodnight, Julia
Here's another sweet jazz piece, though of a much more somber mood.

Rain
A cool organ-dominated rock ballad from the show. It plays during a lead-up to a showdown between the main protagonist, super-awesome Spike, and a bunch of baddies led by his arch-nemisis, Vicious, in a big cathedral.

Spokey Dokey
Epic country-blues harmonica.

Call Me, Call Me
Just a nice, well-written rock song.

Green Bird
For me, this is such an amazingly beautiful choral-piano piece. It got stuck in my head for quite a while. As an example of how the show likes to juxtapose the actual onscreen events with music, this serene piece of music plays right after a wounded Spike is violently thrown through a stained-glass window. The music plays as he falls in slow-mo, surrounded by shards of broken glass, with random visions of his past flashing before his eyes and as the cathedral-level he was just thrown out of explodes (Spike left the man who chucked him out the window a nice gift in the form of an about-to-detonate grenade).

***

Also, Paul Simon just came out with a new album this past Tuesday: "So Beautiful or So What." Paul Simon is one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters, certainly in my top-5. I already had two of his albums, "Graceland" and "Rhythm of the Saints," and I intend over the course of my life to purchase several others. I think there are not may songwriters out there that so consistently write songs, from their famous singles to their lesser-known tracks, that I like so much.

I'd been eagerly anticipating this album ever since hearing about it some time towards the end of last year. So I broke down and purchased this one online off amazon, and...at 69 the master's still got it! His songs remain very lyrically and musically creative and interesting. His voice still sounds great, too. I read an interview where he said he's given up smoking, dairy, and caffeine to protect his vocal cords. As such, I think it is time we have some Mormon missionaries ambush this guy. C'mon, he's prime material for baptism now. This album even includes a lot of mentions of God in these songs (though often in kind of a humorous way). Here's two of the singles he released from the album.

Getting Ready for Christmas Day

The Afterlife

So there's some cool music for y'all to check out. Your welcome, America.

***

Here's a dead-on quote from one of my favorite political commentators/economists/philosophers, Thomas Sowell: "Someone once said that taxes are the price we pay for civilization. That may have been true when he said it, but today taxes are mostly the price we pay so that politicians can play Santa Claus and get reelected."

The whole column that that quote is from is a great read, laying out why increasing taxes on those evil, greedy rich people actually decreases tax revenue, and why the class warriors still want to do it anyway.

***

Also, I should give a shout-out to the really awesome janitor (whose name I sadly never got) who found the labtop that I had stupidly forgotten and left under my desk during my evening Wednesday class, and Fernando, who stored it in his office. For a time I seriously feared my labtop had been lost forever, but these two wonderful members of the human race preserved my labtop in safe keeping till I could come to reclaim it. Perhaps I shall write an ode to them sometime.

Rango: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

So my Lovely just took me this evening to see the movie Rango. The new animated film, made by Industrial Light and Magic (George Lucas' and Steven Spielberg's effects people) and directed by Gore Verbinski (Pirates of the Caribbean guy), had been on my "I really want to see that movie" list since I first saw previews towards the end of last year. I like it when movie makers try for something original and visually different, and Rango looked like one seriously original animated movie.

And now, having seen it: yep, it is one seriously original, unique movie (the bare bones of the plot aren't really original; it's a conglomeration of scores of western tropes, but the presentation sure is original). In fact, it may be the strangest movie I have ever seen in my life. I kind of have mixed feelings about it. Let me break it down for you according to a good old western cliche:

The Good

The visuals are good. No, not just good. FLIPPIN' OUTSTANDINGAMAZINGGEORGEOUSBEAUTIFUL! Really, I think this is the most visually stunning animated film I have ever seen, and that includes all the Pixar and Miyazaki canon. The desert scenery, the superb character animations and detail applied to every single animal character that's on screen. It's almost worth the price of admission alone just to admire the artistry of the animators here. As my Lovely said to me, they did an amazing job of having each character be recognizable as the animal it was while still also maintaining very cleverly done human qualities and expressiveness. Rango, with his crooked neck and shifty eyes, the crow indian, the spider under-taker, the villainous Rattlesnake Jake, etc. Even the dirt looks amazing.

Hans Zimmer also does a really awesome western score here. Very near the beginning of the movie I was already thinking to myself, "I want this soundtrack." And there's a fantastic medley of country-meets-ride-of-the-valkyries-meets-waltz in one scene.

Johnny Depp is wonderful as the title character. We've already seen from Pirates of the Caribbean that's he's awesome at mumbling hilarious nonsense and he does much the same here (though now in a cowboy accent instead of a pirate one). The rest of cast does a great job.

The imagination and strangeness here do make the movie very memorable, and it has plenty of hilarious gags (I loved the bits with the mariachi owls in the trailer and they did not disappoint in the film).

The Bad

While it's funny and visually stunning, I have to agree with a few reviews that I've read of it (though most critics very much like the film) that the movie does seem to lack a certain warmth or heart. While there were several characters that entertained me, I still wasn't as emotionally invested in the characters as I've been in other films (like anything Pixar has done or How to Train Your Dragon).

There are some plot holes in this movie. I allow for a larger suspension of disbelief with animated films, but sometimes characters' actions in this movie really made no sense.

Also, sometimes weirdness is just weird. This movie was downright trippy at points. Which isn't always bad, but I think it does kind of make it more difficult to get that emotional connection with the story and characters as I was talking about earlier. I have a feeling that this movie might become a favorite of people who are stoned or high.

The Ugly

The frequent potty humor and/or adult innuendo. Really? I know a lot of this stuff goes over children's heads, and I'm not saying that Americans can't make more adult-minded animated films like the Japanese (and Pixar) often do, but you know this movie is being marketed to children. As one innuendo or crude joke piled onto another, I kept feeling myself become sadder and sadder. Regardless of whether kids are going to understand it or not, it's inappropriate.
Even without the child-angle, it's just boring and off-putting to me. Crude humor is NOT hard. Continually usually scatological terms does not show any real wit. I think a lot of film makers feel that, along with being "edgy" and "rebellious," they're being hilarious by putting crude humor in a kid's film-just the fact to them that crude humor is being put in a format usually meant for children amuses them greatly. But it's not really edgy or particularly innovative anymore. It's been done, and it's tired and lazy writing.
It reminds me of a professor I had who seemed to swear more and more towards the end of the semester. He really didn't swear much, but he started to interject a naughty word occasionally towards the end of the semester. And everyone would laugh (to my shame I may have even, a couple of times). But then I think, "How is this funny? All he's doing is saying a crude word. Ok, so the surprise of the first time or two might make you laugh, but really? We're going to award somebody with laughter just because they can use their vocal cords and articulating muscles to say a vulgar word."
I want to take these filmmakers and point them towards Pixar: "See, this is how you do it. This is how you make movies that appeal to all ages and are consistently laugh-out-loud hilarious while almost never going for the cheap joke." Perhaps, that's why other filmmakers resort to crude humor; they just don't have the talent and genuine wit that the Pixar filmmakers/writers do.

And in the end, this is what really dragged down my enjoyment and the lasting entertainment value of the movie for me. I still admire the artistry, visual wit, the performances, music, and, at times, bits of dialog that managed to be hilarious without being crude. I'll retain many fond memories of certain moments of the film. But I doubt I'll ever buy the movie. I don't think it's appropriate for children, and I think in any rewatches I would just end up continually being annoyed by the very unnecessary "Haha! Can you believe we just said that in a kid's movie! Hey, let's throw in a poop gag here!" jokes that keep popping up.

So, there you have it, I guess. When's Cars 2 coming out?

Plan for Peace, Movie Ad rundown, and my most recent Genius Idea

First off, I would like to confess to the world: I really suck at keeping an up-to-date blog. Are we clear on that? (pensive pause as the indifferent world answers with silence) Alright, moving on...

***

So while biking between work and home I noticed a couple of cars with stickers like "End War" or "War is not the Answer," and I felt sorry for my peace-loving brethren. Obviously their message still hasn't been effectively communicated to this battle-scarred world of ours. I think it's time they try a different tactic. Instead of displaying their pacifist sentiments here in the USA, a program should be established to transport all our peace-loving brethren to the Middle East. There they can use their bumper-sticker summations of wisdom, peace-sign t-shirts, and John Lennon music to turn the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, and various other Islamist insurgents from their violently coercive ways. I'm sure that a simple multi-cultural dialogue between idealistic college students and bloodthirsty zealots is the missing ingredient we need to add to the hopes-and-dreams stew to finally bring about an age of planetary Kumbaya.

***

So during the superbowl (which, good Mormon as well as uninterested-in-sports-geek that I am, I did not watch) a veritable plethora of advertisements for new movies came out. I watched several of these half-minute montages of thrills, explosions, and stirring music on youtube. My thoughts:

Rango: LOVE THE MARIACHI OWLS! Looks beautifully animated, really original, and pretty dang funny. Love the bits of Johnny Depp's voice performance that you hear. Ever since I saw the first trailer towards the end of last year I've been really psyched for this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKbFcEHM4I0

Cowboys and Aliens: I have been very vocal about my excitement for this movie to my less enthused peers. Come on, it's Indiana Jones and James Bond in a cowboy movie, with FLIPPIN' ALIENS! This movie may have been #1 on my most-anticipated-for-2011 list, and now that I've seen the new sights from the super-bowl spot: I admit, I think it took my excitement down just a notch. Never fear, I shall stay faithful and fervent in my support for the film, but I kind of liked it better in the first trailer where I didn't see the space ships. It's true that the power of imagination almost always trumps the actual product. Still looks pretty awesome though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXNbpqc1gLE

Captain America: Looks pretty dang good and thrilling. They did a great job with the costume; it's the kind of thing that you wouldn't be sure of translating to the screen well, but the glimpses of it in action here all look glorious. I'm excited to see a superhero movie set in World War II, which hopefully should lend a distinctive spin and atmosphere to the superhero-origins genre that has become quite well-worn over the past decade. I just hope they don't water down Captain America's patriotic America-ness. The director's already made some comments that have rubbed me the wrong way; the trend in Hollywood now seems to be that America needs to act apologetic to the rest of world and that any suggestion of American exceptionalism must be wiped off the screen. But look, it's his name and his costume is the stars-and-stripes. I think it would make for a much more interesting chemistry-dynamic among the Avengers (basically Marvel comic's Justice League; Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and Hulk are all gonna meet up in the same movie in 2012) if they let his character stay old-fashioned in his love of country, letting him bounce off the more jaded personalities of the modern-set superheroes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnE4uzT7sro

Kung Fu Panda 2: The du-du-clap! of We Will Rock You totally got stuck in my head after watching this. I loved the first one. Hopefully the sequel can maintain the breezy fun of the first one. For some reason now I keep feeling the urge to exclaim "Shashapooi!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ote5aOIPpJQ

Thor: Well, this movie does have Anthony Hopkins in it so that automatically gives it some entertainment cred. It could be a lot of fun; it's got some awesome visuals anyways. Thor's gonna be the trickiest character to work in with the more grounded (for comic books, anyways) super heroes who will make up the Avengers. I hope it all works well. I wonder if the super hero genre's gonna run completely out of steam in a few years; we've just been bombarded with so many superhero movies and even superhero parodies over the past decade.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTTGL-OxzGY

Super 8: They're going the Inception route with their advertising for this one, showing you barely nothing of the plot but just quick glimpses in the trailers. The plot details that have been announced is that it's about these kids in the late 70s making an amateur zombie movie with their Super 8 camera (hence, the title) by some train tracks when a military train transporting an alien gets derailed. ET breaks loose and apparently some creepy shenanigans follow. I might actually be more psyched about this movie than any other coming out this year. This movie is produced by Spielberg, directed by the JJ Abrams (who, after directing Mission Impossible 3 and Star Trek, in my mind can claim the popcorn throne as Spielberg's heir), and the glimpses from the trailer (combined with the very John Williams-esque music) does give it the feel of a vintage Spielberg fantasy film.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu5dLtRnaOY

***

Also, I just recently realized what would be the perfect, non-sinister application of memory-erasing technology should it ever be invented. Here's a real-life scenario: I watch a movie trailer and get really excited about the movie because the trailer is so awesome. As a devoted movie geek, I watch the trailer again and again. So, now I'm excited about the movie, but I've also now made myself very familiar with a lot of the "wow" moments and possibly even the plot points of the upcoming movie from its trailer. As such, my movie-going experience will be slightly-less-than-it-could-have-been as I ruined some of the element of surprise by watching the trailer. Now comes the sci-fi scenario answer: Thanks to memory-erasing technology I watch the trailer, get super-psyched for the movie, get my ticket for the movie, and then get mind-wiped just before I see it. I'll know, since I bought the ticket, that I was excited about this film, but I'll really have no idea what's about to come and thus can enjoy my first-time viewing experience to the fullest. Heck, I'd also use this stuff to keep wiping my mind before watching Star Wars movies (that way, when Vader drops the "I'm your father" line, I could really have my mind blown).

Life is Strange and Wonderful

Honestly, I really should be working on some other stuff right now, but it's been a while since last I posted and I just felt like writing out some of my feelings (I haven't been doing so hot in the keeping-an-up-to-date-journal department either as of late). Basically, if you go back two posts you'll find me mentioning how I'd been in a depressed, lonely, heartbroken funk. As you may guess, this all had to do with a girl. A girl I'd had a crush on for two years and the only girl up to that point in my life (and she does still hold that position) that I'd ever started to have serious romantic feelings for, and the first and only one to break my heart (let's be clear here; she did nothing wrong; she just didn't return the feelings I had at the time).

Well, within an hour or two of me publishing that post mentioning my heartbroken state, the very same girl at the source of my emotional storms called me up and asked me if I wanted to do anything. We ended up going to the movies and having ice cream. Then we started dating again. Then we officially started going out, and our relationship's seemed to only keep progressing and getting better and better.

So, the past month and half or so has been one of the most surreal of my life. At times it felt like a movie screen-writer was in control of events. I've often wondered how the heck did any of this happen, but more and more I'm growing accustomed to it. It's strange to move from telling yourself over and over you need to get over a girl and blog-posting about great heart-break songs to then being able to whisper "I love you" in her ear without fear or awkwardness, and to see her smile.

I know for the most part my experience is not unique. Everybody falls in love; and a lot of relationships that start out feeling magical and joyful end up turning rocky or falling apart completely.

Which is why I think at times we keep ourselves so guarded about our feelings and try to avoid wearing our hearts on our sleeves in front of other people. We try to avoid being cheesy, because we know if things go sour then the memory of those cheesy things will only cause us greater embarrassment and loss of pride. But more and more I've come to appreciate that it's the cheesiness in life we live for. Being skeptical, cynical, and independent can seem safer emotionally, but it's just not as fun.

So I still don't know how things will end with regards to this girl, but more and more the voices of skepticism and doubt in my head are fading away. Life flows and feels so differently for me now, with a frequency of intense happiness over an extended period of time that I haven't experienced before.

I'm not sure why I feel the need to post this, as anybody who does read this blog already knows the details of the matter more explicitly than what I write here. I guess, considering my former posts have at times had a darker feel to them or focused on sadness or frustration, I wanted to mark a period of my life where, though there are still fears and problems to work through, I really am happy.

I love a girl. She loves me. Life is strange and wonderful.

And now for something completely different....

Alright, friends and foes, it's time for a very random tale told by Devin Christensen. We'll call it "Devin's Brain Is On The Brink Of Melting Out His Ears and Nostrils After Being Subjected to Approximately Two Hours of Reading Assigned German-Jewish Writers Readings."

Actually, that title is a little too mundane and generic to me, so I'm going to make it a bit more epic-sounding: "Devin's Brain Is On The Brink Of Melting Out His Ears and Nostrils After Being Subjected to Approximately Two Hours of Reading Assigned German-Jewish Writers Readings ON FIRE!!!!!!!!!" Yeah, everything's more intense when you add the phrase ON FIRE in all caps.

Onto the tale: so once upon a time there was a lad named Morgan. Morgan was mild-mannerdly goofing off on his computer one day when suddenly his anti-virus update suddenly popped up to inform him that September 19th is National Talk Like a Pirate Day. Morgan said, "Why the heck is my anti-virus informing me about the timing of a pointless holiday," and the antivirus responded, "Because I'm AVAST antivirus, you yellow-bellied, turpentine guzzling guttersnipe. It's a humorous reference to our pirate-sounding name which we are now informing you about in order show you scalawags that even antivirus programmers have some sense of humor. ARRRGGHHH!" Morgan pondered on the response for a few seconds before suddenly flipping out and chucking his lab top across the room at the realization that his labtop had just responded to an audible question from him.

In horror he queried the fallen computer "WHAT ARE YOU!?" But there was no response, for the labtop had been thoroughly damaged by its sudden launch into the wall and so the secret of how the antivirus had actually responded to Morgan's vocal question would remain one of life's great mysteries.

Morgan's horror did not leave him, though, for he realized that he had just killed his one and only labtop and now would have to pony up several hundred dollars to purchase a new one. He was about to walk out the door to go to the store when he realized that it was the Sunday and, he being a good practicing Mormon, could not in good conscience go and purchase electronic goods.

So, now with no internet access with which to waste his time Morgan found himself sitting dejectedly and bored in his living room. "Gosh, I'm bored," he said to himself. Morgan talked to himself a lot. It was quite a frequent activity for him, as he often found himself alone and given plenty of time in which to develop strange quirky habits like said talking to oneself. "If only something exciting would happen to me," he said.

Well, fortunately for Morgan, something exciting did happen not two seconds after he uttered his phrase. A dragon suddenly crashed through the roof of his apartment landing right beside him. That's right, friends, a real-life dragon, it's eyes orange and aglow like two radiating topazes, its scales shining like thousands of ebony ovals layered upon one another, its tail dancing back and forth like a cobra, and its breath smelling like a twenty year old electric fan making its last spurt of activity before finally malfunctioning forever.

"Cheerio, good sir," said the friendly and delightfully stereotypically British dragon. "Do you know where a gentleman might be able to purchase some tube socks."

"Uh, there's a Target just a little ways from here on Oracle and Roger," Morgan said.

"Ah, that's splendid, old chap, just splendid," the mythical reptile said cheerfully. "I am most obliged for your assistance."

And with that the dragon left just as swiftly as he had crashlanded in a minute earlier.

"Wait a minute!" Morgan said, after the dragon had vanished. "What about my roof!?"

But there was no response, for the creature, while very British, could be quite thoughtless at times and had left without giving any recompense to poor Morgan, who was having an altogether very odd and disappointing day (though it was certainly no longer boring).

"Well, I guess the ox is in the mire," Morgan said, surrendering to the fact that he would probably have to engage in some non-Sabbath work and money-changing in order to fix his problems. He left his apartment, careful to lock the door despite the fact that now his apartment was quite exposed to any would-be-burglar as there was a gaping hole in the roof above his living room. He started heading for the manager's office, pondering on whether their insurance covered property damage caused by dragons.

But Morgan never made it to the manager's office, for before he could a mysterious flying cube the size of a well-fed cow appeared above his head and, with a flash of mauve light, suddenly teleported him to Hipsquali Land, a magical place where Morgan was able to eat all the bratwurst that you can imagine and watch glorious marathons of "Hey, Arnold!" and "Rocky and Bulwinkle" and have indulgent popculture conversations with centaurs. And he lived happily ever after.

The End

***

Yeah, I know this story was kind of meandering and pointless, but so was the assignment I just read. Good night, everybody.

In which I discuss actor advocay, anguish, and alcohol

So while I was surfing the web recently I saw a video about some actress I didn’t know talking about saving whales or some such other world problem (it wasn’t about saving whales, but that’s the cliché so I’m using it to represent whatever). Now, the use of a famous (or not-so-famous) actor or actress to help raise awareness over some social, political, or health issue is by now a well-worn tradition in American media. I remember hearing recently about a pro-Obamacare ad starring the great who-knows-how-old-he-must-be-by-now Andy Griffith.

Now many people have commented on the ridiculousness of Hollywood celebrities trying to sound authoritative on different social issues, so what I’m saying isn’t really anything new, but I still find it ridiculous to see an online ad that says “Actor [insert name] talks about [insert topic that’s not acting].” Do we have plumbers do ads to raise awareness about good dental hygiene? Do we have astronauts do ads about preventing forest fires? Why in the world are we having people whose only real job is being attractive and entertainingly saying lines that screenwriters put into their mouths the ones that we have speak about anything outside of acting?

Now, I think at the same time I’m probably being a little unfair about this. After all, if you’re a wealthy, famous person with plenty of free time, it’s entirely possible for you to do real research on an issue and then to go and try to raise awareness about something you care about. And, sadly, we humans do have a tendency to listen more to a person with good looks and charisma than an uncharismatic guy who actually knows what he’s talking about, so if you’re an organization trying to get public support for something, it is the shrewd move to get some gorgeous spokesperson for your cause (Andy Griffith is pretty easy on the eyes, after all).
An awesome parody of this sort of thing is Neil Patrick Harris’ Old Spice ad. Check it out on youtube. Classic.

***

So I’ve been off-and-on in a bit of a depressed, lonely, heartbroken funk lately, and there’s nothing that depressed, lonely, heartbroken people like to do more than listen to songs about being depressed and lonely and heartbroken (well, ok, for non-Mormons it’s probably getting drunk out of your mind but as for me I like music). So, I’ve been doing a lot of listening to melancholy songs lately and here are a few of my favorites for those times when you’re feeling down and want to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in you (brownie points to whoever knows what song I just referenced there):

The Script- Breakeven (very catchy and does a real good job talking about how insane one feels when they’re totally heartbroken over someone and the other person ain’t; for some reason I just love the line, “Her best days are some of my worst”)

Frou Frou- It’s Good to Be in Love, The Dumbing Down of Love (actually, the whole album by Frou Frou [“Details”] makes for a wonderful 40 minutes or so of beautifully crafted melancholia, but these two in particular I think pack the biggest emotional punch for those that are feeling lonely or heartbroken)

Porcupine Tree- So Low (WOW, this is such a simple, beautiful, terrible slow song about a relationship where one person is far more emotionally invested than another [at least that’s how I interpret it, anyways])

John Mayer- Dreaming with a Broken Heart (whatever you think of his personality and behavior, John Mayer is a terrific songwriter and in this song he nails the topic of, well, dreaming with a broken heart)

Brandi Carlile- Dreams (a bit more energetic and rock and roll sounding than the others, but I think this one’s good if the frustration and tension is really building up inside you and you want a loud, driving chorus to wail along with).

***

Going back to the comment I made earlier about getting drunk out of your mind, yesterday I was again very grateful for the fact that I was raised in a good Mormon household and am a teetotaler. Because, if I was somebody with no aversion to consuming liquors, I have the feeling that given my mood I would have gone and gotten really drunk and then probably would have done or said some really stupid things that I would later regret. Which makes me wonder how a person with any kind of pride would want to allow their self-control to vanish into the haze of drunkenness? Because if you’re feeling really emotionally vulnerable I’m pretty sure alcohol just sets you up for some epic self-humiliation.

I'm sorry, stupid phrase, but I'm letting you go.

Well, I got fired today. Just a month or two of working once a week at the salad/sandwich place Chopped and I was informed today that I was being let go. So, yeah, you can imagine what wonders getting fired from a minimum-wage fast food job does to your self-esteem, but that’s actually not what I want to get into right now (and in fairness I can’t really blame them; they probably really didn’t need to take me on in the first place and I wasn’t as quick as everybody else on the salad/chopping line [though in my defense it was only four/five hours a week so I think it was harder for me to get into the rhythm of it]). Ah, crap, I did get into it. I’ll stop and actually move on to the real topic of this post.

Lately my mind’s been getting stuck on the seeming contradictions or inadequacies in certain phrases we human beings use. You can see this in my last post when I went on a quick side-tangent about the phrase “Native American.” Well, today what I thought about was the phrase “We’re letting you go” as an alternative to “We’re firing you.” Now, I appreciate the desire to be tactful about firing somebody (and the manager, Nick, was very kind), but “letting you go” seems like a very retarded, almost cop-out way to say you’re firing somebody.

We’re letting you go!? Letting someone go implies that they wanted to go, that you were holding them back and now you are setting them free.

Why, yes, indeed, I hated having a job, hated actually having an income, hated gaining job experience, hated feeling like I had something steady and reliable, a place where I could contribute and receive rewards; those jerks were making me come in every week to work! I didn’t want to but they bodily dragged me in and chained me to the counter! If only they would just liberate me and let me go.

Sometimes I wish for a world with less tact and more frank, up-front communication. “Sir, we’re firing you because you suck at this job.” Yeah, it hurts, but it hurts no matter how you dress it up. Whatever method they have for telling you you’re fired, the same feelings of loss, inadequacy, and failure set in (ah, dang it, I’m getting back into it again).

Point is, I think the phrase “letting go” is a phrase that that simply does not jive with the reality of what firing is.

The other phrase that’s been troubling me a bit lately is the phrase, “anti-war” (this train of thought was inspired by the movie Avatar). Whenever I hear the phrase “anti-war” applied to a movie or story, it's usually a turn-off for me. Which then makes me feel weird. I mean, does that mean I’m pro-war. That’s a terrible thought!

Why, yes, I can’t get me enough war. Every morning I wake up thinking, “Boy, I just can’t wait till the next big war!” I just love the thought of young men from different cultures and nations coming together to kill each other. I love the smell of napalm in the morning!

I guess my issue with the phase is I’m not really sure how to define myself (at least not in the simplistic pro/anti terms we like to use in politics), because I would say overall I’m anti-war, too. It’s just that I do think there are situations where the alternative is worse, that there are situations where not going to war now means that eventually an even more horrible, disastrous conflict will take place later on(see Neville Chamberlain), and that until the Lord comes and sets things straight that war will be a fact of human life.

There are anti-war pieces of art/story telling I enjoy (musically, for example, I love the songs “Devils and Dust” by Bruce Springsteen and “Belief” by John Mayer even though I know both songs are protesting the war in Iraq/Afghanistan, military engagements which I have supported). But when I hear that term applied to something I always fear that it will be some over-simplistic narrative in which Americans are always painted as the bad guys, soldiers are either blood-thirsty nut jobs or psychologically-shattered victims, and the reality of there being dangerous, evil men out there who will not be deterred by anything less than violence is denied.

Anyways, just some things that have been on my mind.

When in Doubt, Blame Whitey or (in the case you are part of said whitey ethnic group) When In Doubt, Apologize

Alright, this post arises out of a little rant that occurred inside my brain during the second half of my "Slavery In Latin America and the Caribbean" class yesterday. I kind of wish I had written this post sooner so more of my genuine frustration would have poured out (I've mostly cooled off about it now), but in any case I still want to get my thoughts out on this subject.

The subject for our class yesterday was the Haitian Revolution, which occurred in Haiti during the last decade of the 18th century and the first few years of the 19th century. It's actually a really complex and interesting subject, but all I'll say about it is basically it was the only successful slave uprising that truly destroyed the local system of slavery during that era. In our class the teacher told us that really the Haitian Revolution is just as important and impactful as the American Revolution, French Revolution, etc. in modern history but that in America we don't really do pay much attention to it. I agree with that; I was never really taught about it in any detail growing up, and it was a very important event (it didn't immediately lead to abolition elsewhere, but it did send waves throughout the rest of slave-owning America, in any case terrifying the heck out of slave owners and affecting how they viewed their slaves). The question our teacher posed was "Why don't we focus on it more?"

Obviously early on accounts of it would be suppressed or highly biased as slaveowners would want to protect the slave system from any further uprisings, and after that for a while racists also would not want to confront it, but really now I don't think there's any deliberate ignoring of it now; I just think that, as in the past most people avoided the subject, now most modern historians don't really think to much about it, instead focusing their research on more commonly known topics and on the fates and actions of more powerful nations (American Revolution eventually leads to superpower; French Revolution likewise still leads to a powerful nation; Russian Revolution leads to a communist superpower). Haiti, meanwhile (as another student in the class pointed out) has not been very economically successful or militarily powerful in the world scene.

Anyways, a female, Native-American student (I've realized I have issues with both the ethnic label of Indian [because the Americas are not India, though peopled did call them the Indies] and native American [because, heck, I'm an native American; whether you're white, black, or Asian if you're born here you are a native]) made a comment about how in American history classes nobody studies or teaches native American history enough (she's commented about this many times before); she told a personal anecdote about how she went to some college lecture with these white guest Professors from the east. She talked about them opening [I think] their lecture with an apology. I'm not sure if she was saying that they were apologizing for what had been done to the native Americans in the past or that more white people had not shown up at the lecture or if they were apologizing for there not being enough research on native American history (I don't think it was for the last one, but for one of the first two). She made a comment about how she appreciated them being more sensitive to the native Americans and how she thinks conquering societies don't like to confront or own up to the destruction of indigenous societies they caused. I'm trying to represent what she said fairly because miscommunication/misinterpreting is a common thing, but to me her comments seemed to possess resentment against white western society and fit into the whole "white guilt" pattern of thought where white people have to always make sure they're apologetic about their society's past and really sensitive to the feelings of formerly persecuted minority groups.

Okay, moving past her comments (which were just a trigger; it just got me thinking about the broader white guilt philosophy in our society), I just wanted to make it know that I think white guilt political correctness is a BUNCH OF CRAP! If I understood correctly and those professors were apologizing for what Europeans had done to native Americans, then I think that's just absurd, because YOU CAN'T APOLOGIZE TO SOMEBODY WHO NEVER HAD AN ATROCITY COMMITTED AGAINST THEM FOR AN ATROCITY YOU NEVER COMMITTED! It's a ridiculous, childish exercise that really doesn't advance the cause of historical truth or social progress but instead gives people feelings of warm fuzzies and "Boy, am I enlightened!" self-righteousness. The past is done; it happened. And what happened then does affect where people are now socially in the present. But the way to fix problems is NOT to keep harping on the past and demanding restitution from the descendants of a conquering society. We should know our history, and if people want to do further research into the history of conquered/largely wiped out societies, more power to them. But, please, nobody should feel either guilty or entitled to apologies because of what past ancestors did.

And while it is true that conquering societies usually do white-wash their history, I just really don't think that's the case in this situation now, as far as what's taught in American schools about white/Indian relations in America. I was always taught, from elementary school on up that what European conquerors had done to native Americans was VERY WRONG. I don't think there was ever any moral confusion or debate over that. We might not know tons of details about past Indian cultures, but I don't think modern America really has any problem admitting up to its history of destroying indigenous cultures.

The other problem I have with white guilt is that turns our narrative of history into a perverted, innacurate, skewed account just as surely as racism or a belief in the infallibility of the United States does. While western society (referring to western European civilization and the societies it established in other places that it conquered at one time or the other) does have a history of many atrocities and oppression against indigenous societies (and, btw, western civilization did not invent murder, rape, prejudice; they existed everywhere throughout human history because they are simply part of the darker side of human nature and not unique to any one civilization), it also has a history of many political/scientific/social achievements and inventions that have benefitted the whole world. Decreased child mortality rates, longer life spans, cars, planes, greatly improved general standards of living, the protection of civic liberties, greater opportunities for social advancement, etc. I believe these all developed out of WESTERN civilization and philosophies, and if you're going to knock on America/Britain/whatever for past crimes you should also acknowledge all the good and great things those countries did (for, example, being/becoming the kinds of countries that DO ALLOW you to criticize them or their past without fear of being beheaded or tossed into a gulag).

In closing, I'll leave you all with a quote from one my most favorite political commentators, Mark Steyn: "We are encouraging of certain forms of assertiveness: I am woman, hear me roar! Say it loud, I’m black and proud! We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it! But the one identity we’re enjoined not to trumpet is the one that enables us to trumpet all the others: our identity as citizens of a very specific kind of society with a very particular inheritance, built on the rule of law, property rights, and freedom of speech. Heaven forbid we should assert any of that: I am western, hear me apologize!"

What does a mouse, CS Lewis, and the Holocaust have in common? aka the really long blog post

In answer to the title of this post: nothing that I can think of, other than I'm going to bring them all up in this post.

About a Mouse: A month or two back (I'm not sure how long ago), my roommate Jose swore he saw a HUGE cockroach in our bedroom. That's really not implausible considering:

a) We're college boys living in an apartment; cockroaches come with the territory.
b) I've seen cockroaches, on occasion, in our apartment before.
c) Our room's a mess, with plenty of places for tiny creatures to hide out.

He set out a cockroach trap, and that was the end of it for a day or two. Then one evening he shouts at me to come to the room and says, "It's not a cockroach. It's a mouse!" And indeed it was. We saw the little rodent and tried to get him, but, alas, the creature was too quick and clever and had far too much stuff to hide behind or under.
We discovered that he had access to several cupboards in our kitchen through these little man-made holes (not sure why those are there) in the cupboards around and beneath our sink. We discovered chewed up stuff and little mouse-turds there. We purchased glue traps and set them about the house, but it was to no avail.
I could go on and on, but I'll try to keep this short: basically, we'd have the occasional mouse-spotting with requisite mad dash to catch him, but the little guy is GOOD at what he does! There'd be days on end where he'd see no sign of him other than the poop he left behind (on top of our kitchen counter, underneath drying dishes--blech!). We discovered he actually also would live inside our stove, popping out of the grill and running back in when we tried to catch him.
There was a week or two then when I didn't see him at all till finally he became bold the past few days and popped out more and more. I saw him once while sitting on a chair in the living room. He came from the kitchen and darted underneath my chair. I didn't even get up to try to get him; I was resigned to the fact that he was too fast, and, besides, he was fascinating to watch. Eventually he popped out from under/behind a couch at the other end of the living room and squeezed into this little (again man-made) hole in wall. What I did not realize is there's another hole on the other side of the wall leading into Jose's and my closet.
Well, a couple of days later, while studying on my bed, I looked up and though I saw a glimpse of him on the top shelf of our closet! I called for Jose and we both went and looked and Jose confirmed that he was hiding behind a bag up there. We moved stuff around to try and get him, but he leaped onto one of my hanging coats. I thought he must have gone down to the ground, but Jose said he was just staying there, hanging onto the coat. So we moved the coat, he finally dropped down and then dashed behind one of luggage cases. There we discovered the hole in our closet wall.
So, I placed one of my old yearbooks over the hole to keep him from coming through that way again, we set three glue traps beneath the hole in the living room wall, and we cleaned the copious amounts of mouse crap on our closet shelf. The next day, while I am off at the U of A, I get the text from my roommate Jose that the glue traps worked and the mouse was caught!
I admit, I was actually kind of sad about it, because I knew this meant probably the death of Remy (our nickname for him, inspired by Ratatouille). When I got home that evening and asked about it the story was even worse than I thought. My roommate didn't even kill the mouse; he just sprayed him with some toxic stuff (he was trying to kill him, but it didn't work, at least not quickly) and threw him in the dumpster. I felt really bad, because I think when it comes to these sorts of things I feel you should just smash the creature and put it out of its misery. I agree with catching him and even killing him if necessary (and I'm not sure how you detach an animal from a glue trap), cause you don't know if the thing's carrying any diseases and he was pooping all over the place, but I'd like to cause them as little pain as possible in the process. I really hope he's crossed over Styx by now and isn't still writhing in the dumpster.
So spare a moment of silence for poor Remy. The moral of the story (for animals) is: don't compete with humans for an environment; we're big, ruthless, and quite adept at eliminating other species when we put our mind to it.

Moving on, I just watched a terrific move this past week: Shadowlands. There's a good chance you never heard of it, which is sad, because it really is a fantastically well-made, well-written, well-acted movie. But it came out the same year as Schindler's List so I think it was overshadowed a bit.
It's a movie about famed Christian/Narnia writer CS Lewis and a relationship he had with an American woman named Joy Gresham. For me, CS Lewis is always a good thing, so just the subject of the film has me intrigued. But to further increase my interest in the movie, it has the great Anthony Hopkins playing CS Lewis. I'm not sure that Hopkins has ever given a bad performance (none that I've ever seen, anyways), and he's fantastic here. Debra Winger is likewise wonderful as Joy Gresham, though her performance was almost off-putting to me at first due to its brashness (but I think that befits her character and is the intended effect at that point in the story). The movie really is mostly about their relationship, so don't expect this movie to really explore in-depth Lewis's faith or writings, though they do come up several times (his beliefs regarding how God can allow pain, in particular).
Be warned, though, this is not a fast-paced movie. It is long, and it starts slow, but the dialogue and performances have real wit in them (I laughed out many times; there's an exchange of dialogue between Lewis and his brother that I think is one of the funniest movie scenes I have ever seen). It's also very moving and powerful (you might want a box of tissues handy when you watch it), and I actually think this movie may become my all-time favorite love story, in large part due to its gradual development and quirky, unconventional nature.
The cinematography and direction is all quite beautiful too, and after watching it I imdb'd the movie and discovered it's directed by Richard Attenborough. You might know him from his performances in The Great Escape (he's the British officer that's in charge of the big escape plan), Jurassic Park (he plays John Hammond) or the 1990s Miracle on 34th Street remake (he's Chris Kringle/Santa Clause), but he really is a fine director, having made the 1982 Best Picture-winning biopic "Gandhi"(and if you haven't seen that, your REALLY NEED TO. It's very long, but it's a powerful portrayal of an amazing life and Ben Kingsley delivers one of the greatest movie performances of all time [and deservedly won Best Actor at the Oscars]).
I did have some problems with the ending, not really in what it depicted but on what the emphasis seemed to be, but I really can't get into that without giving away stuff, so I'll refrain. Still, overall, I think this is one of the best movies (totally Mormon-friendly, too) I've ever seen, and I recommend it highly.

Finally, I had to read "Night" for my Jewish Civilization class recently. If you've never read it, it's Elie Weisel's account of his experience during the Holocaust (he was a Transylvanian Jew who ended up in one of the death camps). It's very powerful, very bleak, very depressing. After reading a passage early on in the book about (I think?) local soldiers roughly herding Jews into the ghetto and then onto trains that would take them to their doom in the death camps the idea for a poem came into my head, and I wrote a couple of stanzas. I completed it some days later, and thought I'd post it here. It's not about mass-murdering sociopaths like Hitler or fundamentalist zealots like terrorists, but about normal people who give into pressure around them and end up doing terrible things. Here it is:

“You Will Remember”

The sound of shattering,
I was afraid,
My life asunder,
Beneath a blade.
Sending prayers for help
Into the void,
You answered me,
And you destroyed.

Moving like a machine,
Rhythmic and cold,
Completing duties
That you were told,
I captured your eyes
With my last breath.
I witnessed life.
You witnessed death.

I was weak
And you were strong
But you will find
Before too long
Time and lies
Can’t hide a wrong
So try to blend
In with the throng,

But you will remember what you do.
You will remember what you do.
When night falls
And you are through
You’ll still remember what you do.

The passing of seasons,
Movement and time.
They never leave you—
Your past, your crime.
You hide behind smiles,
Hope they will fade—
The silences
That you have made.

And you are no monster,
No beast of hell;
But you shut your heart,
Gave in and fell.
A normal soul caught
In evil days
You dealt in blood;
The stain now stays.

I was weak
And you were strong
But you will find
Before too long
That time and lies
Can’t right a wrong
So try to blend
Amid the throng

But you will remember what you do
You will remember what you
When night falls
And you are through
You’ll still remember what you do.

I am the accuser,
The memory,
The jailer who never
Will set you free.
Because deep down
You know it’s true:
When you killed me,
You killed you.
You will remember…

The Saga Begins...

Greetings, fellow travelers on this potholed highway we call life. If you are reading this, I must assume that you have frequently crossed paths with me: young, frustrated Mormon sometimes-poet, all-the-times daydreamer Devin. If this is the case, you have my sincerest condolences. If this is not the case, then who the heck are you!? Why are you reading this, creepy internet stalker!? Get a life and follow Nathan Fillion's twitter or something...

Anyhow, this blog actually first came into being as an entertainment news/commentary blog entitled "Musing About Movies" that I created to receive extra-credit in my Journalism course last year. Since completing the necessary requirements to earn my extra credit I sadly let the blog fall by the way-side and on into obscurity.

And now that we have that extremely thrilling and informative explanation out of the way allow me to procrastinate my assigned reading for History 352 a little longer and talk about my goals for this newly rechristened blog:

1) To post whatever random rambling or rant I wish to make known to friends and family, preferably in a somewhat humorous fashion.
2) To post reviews of the movies, books, and music which I waste my life away in consuming.
3) To update any concerned parties with my progress in realizing such dreams as writing and getting published, earning a degree in history, getting a job, slaying dragons, composing music, etc.
4) To actually start posting and updating on a regular basis, hopefully entertaining those actually willing to take time to read this blog while creating a psuedo-record of my life.

So continue on with your lives, fellow pilgrims. Listen to your heart, climb every mountain, watch Star Wars, and, whenever you're in the mood to inhale the mysterious, unpredictable, intoxicating gas that is Devin Christensen's thoughts, come to "Dreaming at the Wheel," at devincmovies.blogspot.com

Movie Business Alive and Well Amidst Economic Woes

2008 may be a year of economic turmoil, but for Mike Campbell, CEO for the largest theater chain in the U.S., business is still booming. Rueters reported today that Campell, CEO for Regal Entertainment Group, said that the movie industry is "having a very good fourth quarter this year compared to last year as an industry."
Campell reported that movie theaters were experiencing revenue growth in the double digits and attendance growth in the high single digits. Campell stated that the movie industry has been successful during the various recessions of the past fifty years.
It is a curious fact that even when the economy is reeling and worry about finances is in the air, people will still go in droves to the movie theater. Though the U.S. saw recession during the first three quarters of 2001, for example, the year still saw a 4.7 percent rise in the amount of movie tickets sold compared to the previous year, as reported by boxofficemojo.com, and during the recession of 1981 and 1982 movie theaters saw continual growth in revenue and theater attendance. The highest grossing movie of all time, when adjusted for inflation, is "Gone With the Wind," which premiered during the Great Depression.
In this blogger's opinion, the movie industry often stays afloat during hard economic times simply because there are few escapist experiences as easily accessible as seeing a movie at a theater. People are able to leave the stress of their lives for a couple of hours in a dimly lit room and have their ears, eyes, and mind engaged by entertaining stories. As long as Hollywood produces good, escapist entertainment, the audience will come.
The Reuters story does mention one way in which the entertainment industry has been touched by the current economic crisis. While Regal Entertainment Group has been doing well, it's main competitor, the National Amusements theater chain, is struggling. When asked if Regal Entertainment would purchase National Amusements, Campbell said that such an action would be difficult due to the reduced access to credit in today's financial climate.

Links:
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.reuters.com-recessionhit-americans-flocking-movies-reuters
http://boxofficemojo.com/yearly/
http://money.cnn.com/2001/11/26/economy/recession/
http://www.fiendbear.com/bear1981.htm
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

Roman Polanski Challenges Sex Charge 30 Years Later

The Associated Press reported today that critically acclaimed film director Roman Polanski filed a request today to dismiss the charge of unlawful sex with a minor he received 30 years ago. E! Online reports that the request claims 'that there was "misconduct and improper communications' between the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office and the Superior Court."
The AP story reports that the motion came as a response to an HBO documentary, "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," which depicted the Superior Court Judge who was in charge of Polanski's case as a 'publicity hound' who acted improperly.
In 1977 Polanski was accused of drugging and raping Samantha Gailey, a 13-year-old girl he had asked to model for a photo shoot. Polanski eventually pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sex with a minor in 1978. But before sentencing was passed, Polanski fled to France, fearing that the judge would not hold to an agreement that Polanski not go to jail, according to the E! Online story.
Since 1978, Polanski has avoided setting foot in the U.S. or any county that might extradite him, for fear of arrest. In spite of the notoriety, he has still maintained a successful career as a director, even winning the Academy Award for Best Director in 2002 for his film "The Pianist."
According to the AP story, Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley, said Cooley's office has not received the motion yet. The AP story quoted her saying, "We're looking forward to seeing Mr. Polanski in Los Angeles to litigate it."

Links:
http://movies.msn.com/movies/article.aspx?news=341987
http://movies.yahoo.com/news/movies.eonline.com/71369-
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/polanskicover1.html (has a transcript of Gailey's 1977 testimony against Polanski)

Del Toro to Shoot Hobbit Films in 2010

In an online chat reported Nov. 27 by bilbohobbit.com, Spanish filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro told fans that he would start shooting the highly anticipated film adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” in 2010. According to Del Toro, the shoot would take 370 days, probably referring not just to the shooting time for "The Hobbit," but also its sequel which would be filmed back-to-back with “The Hobbit.”
The 370-day shoot represents an incredibly long period of principal photography. By comparison, the two "Matrix" sequels, which were filmed back-to-back, shot in Australia for only 270 days. "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy itself wrapped up principal photography after 274 days of shooting.

"The Hobbit," along with its sequel, will serve as prequels for Peter Jackson’s widely acclaimed "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and can be counted on to do big business at the box office when it finally hits theaters.
The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this April that Del Toro would be directing the two prequels, with Jackson producing.
In recent years Del Toro, like Jackson, has become a successful fantasy film director, known for his creative, dream-like visuals. What will be interesting to see is if Del Toro will be able to bring his own unique visual touch to the "Lord of the Rings" prequels while still keeping them consistent with the vision of Middle Earth that Jackson established in his trilogy

Links:
http://bilbohobbit.com/del-toro-talks-hobbit-in-live-chat/
http://www.newsweek.com/id/67002?tid=relatedcl
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/trivia
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/movies/la-et-hobbitt25apr25,0,7825580.story

Teen Vampire Romance Conquers Box Office

The numbers are in for Summit Entertainment's latest film, "Twilight," and those numbers are big - very big. According to boxofficemojo.com, the movie, directed by Catherine Hardwicke and based on a wildly popular young adult series written by Stephanie Meyer, raked in over $69 million during the Nov. 21 weekend.
That not only easily makes it the number one movie currently in theaters, but makes it a record setter in several other areas. MTV's Web site reports that the $69 million weekend haul is the best opening ever for a movie directed solely by a woman and puts the movie on track to be the highest-grossing vampire film ever. The weekend gross for "Twilight" is the fifth highest November opening ever, and highest movie opening ever for Summit Entertainment, the distributor of "Twilight," boxofficemojo.com reports.
Amidst such success, Summit Entertainment's Web site announced Nov. 22 that it is "officially moving forward with the production of NEW MOON, the second installment" of the "Twilight" film franchise.
I'm not very surprised at the film's success so far. The "Twilight" series has a very passionate following among female readers, both teen-aged and adult, in my experience. With "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" moved from its original November date to next summer, "Twilight" had less competition in attracting the young adult reader crowd.
And while yahoo.movies.com posted an average movie critic rating of C+ for the film, 19,227 user ratings averaged a B+, so I think the movie's still going to do decent repeat business over the next couple of weeks.
The biggest competition Twilight is going to face this holiday season is probably 20 Century Fox's "Australia," which opens tomorrow in theaters. "Australia" is an epic historical romance of the "Titanic." I assume it will attract a lot of female movie-goers, who, according to MTV's Web site, constituted the overwhelming majority of the audience for "Twilight."

Links:
http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2515&p=.htm
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1599996/story.jhtml
http://www.summit-ent.com/
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810010670/info