I've become more interested in acoustic and A Cappella music lately and it has spurred a new idea. I was to make videos of live music played by acoustic instruments with interesting arrangements and multiple harmonies. So, I am on the search for musicians that want to take part in these videos. Are you interested? Leave a comment. =) The first song we'll be doing is my favorite hymn, It Is Well. It will be amazing! Email [email protected] for more info.
My favorites list doesn't vary very often. Maybe every four years. So, when a new favorite comes along it is a big deal. I fell in love with this movie the moment it started. It was the exact kind of quirky comedy that I love. What quirky comedy? The movie is Moonrise Kingdom. This movie is a story about an orphaned Khaki scout (boy scout) who wants to escape from everything and live a rigged life with no adult drama or responsibilities. He heads out on an adventure with a lonely, odd girl who has her own special emotional issues. This story line turns into an engaging and beautifully made movie. I love the 60's mellow drama style of the movie and the serious comedy. This is my kind of movie. By the end you've taken and adventure with two little kids who have learned a lot about themselves and what they want. It's like watching a more realistic version of Carl and Ellie from Up. Here are a few of my favorite quotes: Laura Bishop: Does it concern you that your daughter's just run away from home? Captain Sharp: It's been proven by history: all mankind makes mistakes. Sam: What happened to your hand? Sam: Watch out for turtles. They'll bite you if you put your fingers in their mouths. I do want to add that there is language in this movie and one scene where Sam and Suzy ( the main characters) "discover the birds and the bees". It is very simple to pass over. And there is an affair that is talked about but not ever shown.
Overall, this is a fantastic movie full of unique characters, inspired cinematography and an enticing story line. Go and watch it! Why do I call myself a nerd? Here are just a few examples:
1. My rabbit was named D'Artagnan. If that doesn't ring a bell than you may want to reconsider your nerd or geek status. 2. A lively debate is why you want to go to Cold Stone. Not the ice cream. True story. 3. You volunteer four days to spend judging speech and debate events. 4. You consistently post controversial issues on facebook. 5. You own more than 100 books in your teens. 6. Your book collection is a surprising mix of classical, political and historical literature. 7. Your bed is always covered in school work, random papers and lots of books. 8. You are always reading through at least five books at a time. 9. You would much rather stay at home than go to a dance. 10. You stay up until midnight just so that you can study in a peacefully quiet house . Although many people want to say that it isn't full of nerds, a debate tournament is the ultimate place to find intellectually minded students who are interested in studying and want to have educational debates. This past week I went back to my old life and visited a debate tournament. It was almost addicting. These people truly are my kindred-spirits. And I am so thankful for all of the work many parents put into these kids. During this time I had some amazing conversations. These kids are truly amazing. And very smart. But what is ever better is that they are developing their skills in the pursuit of serving God. I am excited to see where they go (even if we disagree on a lot of issues).
I am convinced that there needs to be a revolution in the hearts and minds of our Christian youth. I am so disappointed when I talk to kids who aren't in my church or aren't in debate (with a few exceptions). Every time I consider having an intelligent conversation on any issue I am shut down by my peers saying that they just want to have fun. What will happen when they actually have to defend what they "believe"? Kids these days NEED to read and learn and understand. But it isn't hip to be intelligent. It is cool to be a dumb stupid jock. Why aren't we more concerned with eternal issues? I just don't understand why we must dumb ourselves down. Why can't I be concerned with the real issues that pertain to our lives? But no, just close your mouth and be the passive believer. What a joke. Excuse me as I go express my frustration to a real living person. It's simple:
1. Love school 2. Debate in high school 3. Nail an amazing internship after graduation 4. Immediately start building a resume. 5. Pursue your dreams! 6. Enroll in an privately owned trade school (by this time you should have already known what you want to do). 7. Push push push! 8. Only pursue jobs that help you ministry. Okay, so in all seriousness. Many of these parts are true. But some is just my over enthusiastic musings. That doesn't mean it will work for you. But it has worked for me. I am one of those people that doesn't want to work for the sake of just having a job. I want to do things that actually help expand the kingdom of heaven through my specific ministry. I am definitely different. I have know what I wanted to do since I was eleven. I am meant to serve God on the mission field through midwifery. I want to serve Him in everything that I do. A lot of the stuff in my list is definitely applicable to everyone. Do you know what you want to do? Where is your mission field? Are you pursuing that goal? Are you working hard to reach that goal? 1. This is important is you really want to do something specific. I've always known that science and medical studies are my favorite. And I learnt to really work through them. It is an incredible asset to enjoy school. If you are the type of person that is more hands on then pursue that! Love that! Do manual labor. Figure out what it is that you need to invest in. You will never succeed in something you don't love. 2. Obviously, this isn't for everyone. Only some people can do debate and really thrive and learn in an environment like that. And a lot of people just don't like it. It became an incredible learning experience. My character was challenged and nurtured in so many areas. It changed my life. And the lessons that I learned there have been constant reminders of what a well-educated and humble debater looks like. 3. After debate my coach gave me an amazing experience as the intern for his non-profit. I can't express how invaluable that was. An internship is an amazing way to add your resume and to really gain skill sets that will lay the foundation for the rest of the work you will ever do. Always pursue any internship possibilities. Every future employer will definitely take note of it. 4. This is very important! Take jobs from friends and family so that your resume and full. Future employers love a young adult who has kept busy. 5. Don't forget why you are doing all of this! Keep your dreams at the front of every job and opportunity. If it doesn't help your ministry then be cautious about why your doing it. Remember to keep God first. 6. I am fed up with our education system. This is why I chose the school I chose. I wanted something affordable (that wouldn't put me in debt) and something that directly taught me what I wanted to study. Our college/university system is far too bloated. Tuition is far too expensive and the education is mediocre at best. So what is the alternative? Find a school that teaches specifically what you want to learn. These are trade schools. This also helps you stay on track with your ministry. I chose this for another reason also. I am only going to college because I want to become a midwife. If your pursuing something that doesn't require a degree then don't worry about the degree. You can always succeed if you work hard enough. Many people say that minorities need financial help because they don't have the financial and social abilities to go to a good school. The funny thing about that is that before the government intervened, black minority students who actually worked hard and fought to pursue their dreams actually did become successful. If you are driven enough than nothing can stop you. Don't forget that! 7. Be driven! 8. This is pretty important. As a young woman I want to make sure that I am not wasting the time I have. I want to serve God and expand His kingdom. So my goal is to directly pursue that. I don't want to waste my time doing jobs that don't help me serve God. There is no secret to being successful. And I am not right now. These are suggestions. But just because I am a stay-at-home home-schooled midwifery student I can still get amazing jobs and experience amazing adventures. I am so excited to see what happens this next year and to see where God takes me. WARNING! This does contain spoilers and detailed comments on the movie. I absolutely love Batman. I love him as a character and as a hero. After I watched Batman Begins I came to the conclusion that Batman's real super power is his compassion. As a the son and heir to a vast fortune of his father's business he has any weapon, technology, or skill at the tip of his fingers. He had the ability to terrorize Gotham city. But he doesn't. The reason for this goes all of the way back to his childhood. I would love to comment more about the intellectual aspect of batman as a character but this is only about Dark Knight Rises. I would suggest that you go and watch the movie. It does explain Batman's journey to his end. Dark Knight Rises begins with Gotham city in relative peace. Batman no longer saves the city after the city believes Batman killed Harvey Dent, the beloved district attorney, and took blame for the murders Dent committed. If you have not seen the batman movies then you may not know that (according to the movies) half of Dent's body is burned after he is held hostage in a building set to blow up. The oil for the explosion soaks half of his body. After that be became insane with rage over the death of his girlfriend who died in the explosion Batman saved Dent from. Dent seeks revenge and is encouraged by The Joker. Dent picks Jim Gordon and Batman as victims of his rage. Long story short. Dent tries to kill Gordon's son by pushing Two-face over a ledge, sending him to his death. After this Batman takes the blame for all of the murders Two-face committed. This kept Harvey Dent's name in tact. "The Batman didn't murder Harvey Dent, he saved my boy then took the blame for Harvey's appalling crimes so that I could, to my shame, build a lie around this fallen idol. I praised the mad man who tried to murder my own child but I can no longer live with my lie. It is time to trust the people of Gotham with the truth and it is time for me to resign." - Jim Gordon After building this inflated lie Batman no longer helps the city. And Bruce Wayne is a cripple who stays in doors. But, in Catwoman's words "A storm is coming Mr. Wayne". Is Gotham ready? No, not quite. And batman isn't either. Many people have been incredibly critical of the movie because the story line was weaker than Dark Knight. That there was no character development. I fully disagree. There is something about this trilogy that is different then all the rest. I love that each movie is unique in the story line. I love that the cinematography is purposefully different. I love that in each one there are personal challenges that Batman faces. It isn't an Ironman movie. These challenges have deep historical significants in his life. He has to deal with his parents death in the first one. In the second he deals with his role as batman. In Dark Night Rises he has to deal with his role as the ultimate savior of Gotham city. Each movie's story-line builds on the others. Each one is inseparable from the others. And if you exclude the last five minutes of DKR, it is the most incredible ending to one of the best superhero movies series. "A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended." - Batman "Suffering builds character" - Miranda Tate Now is a great time to talk about the significant implications of certain scenes and the impact they have in the movie. Like I said before, Batman's super power is his compassion. The quote above is a key example of this. Batman's journey was meant to build character. And the actions of the certain people in his life shaped who he was. In earlier movies Jim Gordon doesn't seem like anything more than a supporting character. But he is so much more than that. Jim Gordon's presence in Bruce Wayne's life is absolutely necessary to Batman's story. And in DKR he becomes one of the lead characters. There is this interesting bond between them. But the biggest thought presented in their story in DKR is that Anyone is a hero if they impact a life in a large inspiring way. DKR isn't just a movie about Batman's journey, it is a story about the transformation of the people of Gotham city. Batman is their motivation in banding together and rising up. Batman is the example that gives them hope. He gives them courage. Three times in DKR Batman is told that he shouldn't give up everything to save Gotham city. He is told that by three people closest to him. Alfred, Miranda and Catwoman. Thank goodness Batman is a bigger man. Thank goodness he understands (to an extent) his role in the story. He understands that Batman is the only thing that can save Gotham city. He is the only thing that the people actually accept. Bruce Wayne: If this man is everything that you say he is, then this city needs me. "We could leave, tonight. Take my plane. Go anywhere we wanted." - Miranda Tate Catwoman: Come with me. Save yourself. You don't owe these people any more. You've given them everything. Bruce Wayne: This city needs me. Half way through the movie Batman seems to be brutally defeated by Bane. He is sent to the same prison where Bane and Talia lived. The prison where Talia's hard heart grew and her hatred toward her captors made her insanely motivated to enact "justice". Was it Bane's thought to slowly kill Batman through this hard life in the worst prison imaginable? Or did he relish the hope of making Batman into the same hatred driven villain like all the rest? No, Batman was sent there to break his spirit. But Batman is motivated by redemption. The truth of what happened in DK is what motivated him to come out in the first place. He is motivated by the people of Gotham city. And Bane sent him to the wrong place to killing his soul. He sent him to the one place where Bruce Wayne would again recognize just how important he is in the story. Bane says that the hope will kill Batman and Gotham city. But hope is merely an illusion to someone who knows what true despair feels like. Bruce Wayne, as a child, felt that intense despair. This empowers him to overcome the ultimate test at the end of the movie. This is a challenge only Batman can conquer. Yet another reason why his history is so vital in who he became. Bruce Wayne: Why didn't you just... kill me? So Bane hopes to terrorize Gotham with hope. This is such an interesting choice of terrorism. How illusive hope is. The prison that Batman is captive in is a deep hole and the only escape is an impossible climb to the top. And only one person has ever made it out. When Bruce Wayne/Batman builds up the strength to climb the wall out of the prison he attempts it many times. He climbs and falls. He believes it is just more fearlessness that he needs. He is just not tough enough yet. But this is my favorite part! He doesn't need strength. Blind Prisoner: You do not fear death. You think this makes you strong. It makes you weak. He needs fear. How can he fully understand the power of hope if he doesn't understand the main motivation of hope in the first place. Hope stems from fear. There is no feeling of hope without the bases for why hope is needed.So he got rid of the rope. He stepped out in fear and was pushed to his limits. He feared so that he could understand true hope. This is something Bane and Talia could never understand. They escaped through a motivation of hatred. It wasn't because there was something greater that needed saving. It wasn't because of hope. They saw hope as a weakness. They saw fear as a weakness. But in the end. The lack of both would be their undoing. Hatred doesn't give you something worth dying for. It merely gives you something to fight about. Deshi basara! Deshi basara! The Dark Knight Rises, not only to the top of the prison, but as the victor. He grows so that he can face the ultimate test. He fears death now. He fears pain. He finally works through the pain of his past. A heart hardened by hatred and pain cannot untderstand what it means to live. Bane and Talia left their hurt and what they call weakness in that prison. They blocked it out. But Bruce Wayne faces all of it. His compassion is whole. His compassion, fear and hope equip him for the ending. He is stronger than Bane because he has a purpose. Bane has hatred. Batman has hope founded in the ultimate strength. The fear of loss. Batman returns to defeat Bane. I could probably write a whole lot more about the fight portion of the movie. But I want to focus on the ending. After defeating Bane and Talia Batman still has to save the city. There is a nuclear reactor about the blow up. The only solution is for Batman to heroically save the city by pulling the reactor by a rope from his batplane. Obviously he has to fly it. After two hours of character development and incredible story-lines we see Batman give it all up. He is the ultimate savior. And you see him as he flies out to the ocean, you see the reactor blow up and you believe there was no escape. Batman payed the ultimate price for a cause worthy of the pain and fear required.
Now if only the movie had ended there. I can't believe that the writer would actually save him. It was beyond annoying to see the perfect ending ruined by an uncharacteristic story-line. Not to mention that Catwoman is bad! She isn't redeemable. I can't talk more about this now but I have to do more productive things. I'll be back to talk about the characters themselves. And maybe more notes about the movie. What a hectic and crazy election year. I am very weary from it. I work at a non-profit, based in teaching government and economics form a biblical standpoint, and it was a quiet day for us. I think we all realize that our journey and cause is becoming more and more important by the day.
I am not a well spoken person and I often have a hard time expressing what I truly mean. I am so thankful for the training I have had, but it is still really hard. I mess up more than I actually make a difference. So I know this battle will be tough. We are in a terrible battle between pragmatism and principles. Which do we choose? This is the toughest battle. The main stream idea is pushing pragmatism and it has for years. But do we ever just stop and ask about the biblical basis for our actions? What does God say? The foundation for the principled position is still something I am learning to defend and understand. But I know it to be right. We can never expect to have a developed world view when we lack the understanding of God through theology. Our basis for everything we believe hangs on the law and the gospel. We must study and know our foundation before we can be expected to raise the roof of our thoughts. I have realized that I am missing the true extent of this knowledge necessary to spew the rhetoric I so easily release. And it is humiliating to me when I reread a position that I flew into a passion to write. I am not sure that I actually regret the philosophy I put forth. But I do regret the immature way that I attacked the issue. My pride is the biggest character flaw that I despise the most. I need to study rather than talk. So I am hoping to cut off my ranting of social networking. I will still post articles (probably from Lewrockwell.com) from people wiser than me. But I need to figure out my foundation. I want to work through these thoughts and truly use my mind for thought through ideas not passion based agendas. I will probably post on here more often and talk about my findings. But maybe now I'll have more control. And I will have thought through these issues that elude my understanding. And may God teach me humility though it all. "There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." -Proverbs 12:18 I am a total nerd. When I say that I mean that I love intellectual conversations and studying. The search for concrete truth and evidence is something I really enjoy.
So I will be posting on my position on different issue in this section of the blog. I know it may cause debates but this is where convictions are created. I can't wait to spew my lack of knowledge and try and form it into idealistic thoughts! |