JohnA lifeBlog

Christianity 101

I’ve spent the weekend watching movies, and one of the final choices was Dogma, one of Kevin Smith’s best movies.

I’ve not hidden the fact that I am a Christian. I am thankful for my upbringing, and I love the fact that I had a chance to “challenge” my beliefs against one of the most wise Christian professors I’ve ever met.

Dogma offers a completely unique and, dare I say, challenging view of the story of Christ. I look at the story as an allegory, one that helps us better understand that any “religion” based on human experience is flawed. When people ask me what religion I am, I reply “Christian”. Why? Because I believe that God has called each of us to a unique experience… something that benefits both of us. God wants us to experience Him in a way that is uniquely crafted to our understanding and experience.

The Lord I worship understands that we’re all unique. Us ADD-intellectuals require different evidence from those who are okay with more simple lives. I don’t regret anything, but I am thankful that God chose to meet me where I am, and I am, quite candidly, ecstatic that He meets us all where we are.

Kevin Smith demonstrates the fact that he loves the Catholic church. How does he demonstrate that love? By challenging the very foundations it has been built upon.

I compare him to Martin Luther. Our love does not mean subservience. Our love means that we make choices… good or bad.

As I am not a Catholic, I cannot speak to the validity of Smith’s demonstrations… but I can say this. He loves his church, He loves his God, and he loves what the church can become.

May we all seek that kind of obedience. Thanks, Kevin.

Congratulations to James Berardinelli

I’ve been an internet user since 1989, when I opened my first delphi account. Around 1992 or 1993, I got my first netcom shell account, and began reading usenet.

There were so many interesting groups, but I found myself drawn to rec.arts.movies.reviews. Among several stand-out critics was James Berardinelli. He viewed movies from a self-taught “enthusiast” perspective, which I found quite refreshing given that at the time, all we really had were reviews by local critics in the newspaper.

James grew from the newsgroups to the web 10 years ago today. From those humble beginnings, he now is the internet’s most popular non-commercial movie review site, putting him in the top 20,000 sites on the internet. To put that in perspective, UltraCart is only 61,120 on Alexa.

Before seeing any movie, I read James’s review. And while we don’t always agree with one another, his consistency is such that I know for a fact whether or not I will enjoy a film based on his reviews. That was just as true 10 years ago as it is today.

If you’ve never visited his site, there’s no time like the present.

Thanks James, for such a terrific resource, and I wish you a happy 10th birthday for the reelviews site.

Table For One…

Last week, Jonathan & I headed out to Emeryville to do some work in our data center, and took the opportunity to stop at the IKEA store to get the first pieces of my furniture, as well as the requisite accessories.

Take a look! The bread was freshly made, courtesy of my woot.com provided breadmaker.

One is the lonliest number…

Don’t let my previous two posts fool you… I am more lonely and depressed than ever.

One of the sources of said issues comes from “dating” websites. Case in point: My number 1 match on a popular dating site e-mailed me for a while, then decided that I wasn’t worth it. She has since hooked up with someone else, and refuses to respond to any e-mail message I send.

Welcome to the world of online dating. It doesn’t matter how perfect you are for one another… if you don’t have a six pack of abs, why bother.

Here’s to another year of lonliness. Mazel tov.

‘Til Kingdom Come

I love shuffle play. I’d never listened to the “hidden track” on Coldplay’s X&Y until today, and like my previous blog entry, it’s another amazing love song.

For those unable to play the above link, here are the lyrics:

Steal my heart and hold my tongue.
I feel my time, my time has come.
Let me in, unlock the door.
I’ve never felt this way before.

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummer begins to drum,
I don’t know which way I’m going,
I don’t know which way I’ve come.

Hold my hand inside your hands,
I need someone who understands.
I need someone, someone who hears,
For you, I’ve waited all these years.

For you, I’d wait ’til kingdom come.
Until my day, my day is done.
And say you’ll come, and set me free,
Just say you’ll wait, you’ll wait for me.

In your tears and in your blood,
In your fire and in your flood,
I hear you laugh, I heard you say,
“I wouldn’t change a single thing.”

The wheels just keep on turning,
The drummers begin to drum,
I don’t know which way I’m going,
I don’t know what I’ve become.

For you, I’d wait ’til kingdom come,
Until my days, my days are done.
Say you’ll come and set me free,
Just say you’ll wait, you’ll wait for me.
Just say you’ll wait, you’ll wait for me.
Just say you’ll wait, you’ll wait for me.

Sigh. I wish I weren’t such a romantic or idealist.

Quite an interesting love song

I downloaded Eminem’s latest’s single, and the words made me realize how much I wish I had a family.

The lyrics of this ballad cut right to the heart. I hate being alone, and this song only makes me wish I had a wife and child to support. I can’t explain why. The passion demonstrated shows a love I’ve never known.

I’ve never loved anyone like he loves his daughter. I want to experience that with every fiber of my being.

I cannot understand. And I’ve never been more jealous of my friends and loved ones who are parents…

Tastes like sugar because its made from sugar

The second movie in today’s doubleheader was Casanova. Here’s the deal, I really liked this movie, although I do have an very metrosexual love of romantic comedies.

That being said, there really wasn’t anything of substance in this film. Nothing really strikes me as new, challenging, innovative, or even very memorable. But, it made me smile, and left no aftertaste as I was leaving. The cast was fine, but the most memorable performance for me was that of Natalie Dormer as Victoria, a quite, um, “excited” virgin in waiting. She steals the show in her scenes, including one she’s not even visible in.
So, I award this the “Splenda® Movie O’ The Week” Good job, Casanova!

Berardinelli was right…

Munich is the best film of 2005. Powerful, challenging, and completely haunting. Eric Bana, who absolutely deserves the Oscar for best actor, leads a flawless ensemble cast tasked with extracting justice from the Munich Olympic kidnappings and murders.

Viewed as a “crime caper”, it works perfectly. But the impact that was felt was a depressing realization regarding the futility of battling terrorism. In asking a question which has no answer (Can terrorists be defeated?), the film helps us understand the true nature and costs of living in a fractured world

Speilberg obviously loves Israel. But his ability to cast both sides of the coin as human beings driven by ideals is very poignant. In one scene, Avner (Bana) engages in a debate with a Palestinian terrorist who discusses the importance of home, a theme which resonates throughout the film.

Like Schindler’s List, you will exit the theater different than when you entered it.

The Moors of Merced

It has been insanely foggy around here lately, but it is quite beautiful:

Very cool, as long as you’re not driving in it.

Geek Is Chic

How geeky are you?

I scored 29.19%, which was good enough for “Total Geek.”

I actually thought I would have scored higher, though there were a lot of questions regarding academic performance in high school…