They should be called adolts...

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The older I get, the more I'm convinced that the vast majority of adults in America are nothing more than oversized children; petty, conniving, irreverent little babies. The end.

Planet Earth

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While I haven't seen all of BBC's Planet Earth mini series, I've seen enough to know it's incredible. And for those of you looking for some new inspiring non-lyrical music to listen to, I highly recommend the Planet Earth soundtrack. (Amazon MP3, $14 for the two-disc set) Each song is from a different subject, which makes for an intense sampling of inspiration without the obligation of listening to the entire score beginning to end every time. (Well, maybe y'all don't have the problem, but there are certain albums that I feel obligated to listen to them beginning to end because of the interwoven themes and such. I feel that if the composer put it all together as a whole piece, it should be listened to as an whole piece.) Anyway, it's like a sampler of soundtrack music, the best of a bunch of different scores, a cinematic soundscape for those unfamiliar with this particular musical ground. It's delicious.

The inbetweens

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I hate being in those inbetween stages in life, where investing in something long-term is probably not the wisest investment, and yet you could really use it in the near future. Case in point, I bought my current bike in 2000. It's a TREK with a 23.5 inch frame, which is hard to find. Most bikes only go as high as 22 inches, and since I'm relatively tall, this bike has served me well. In an effort to keep the frame itself, I've replaced just about everything else on it. Basically I've put several thousand miles on it, and it's getting tired, despite the occasional replaced/upgraded part. It's been a stalwart friend and companion. And now it's causing me grief.

I have been using it for transport to and from work for the last six weeks or so, which has been good on so many levels. If I don't bike for a while, I forget how much I love it, which is exactly what had happened up until recently. Well, my faithful friend is getting old. For some reason I've gotten four flats in two weeks, an aggravating ratio of flat tires to weeks. I think there's an issue with the actual metal of the wheels shearing off and popping brand new tubes. It's been about two and a half years since I last had a tune-up, but I just don't often feel I can spare the $50-$75 dollars a tune-up tends to cost. So now I'm looking at a $150 bill to get my bike passably fixed, and $210 to get it back to full power. If you take the original cost of the bike, I've easily spent twice that getting it to continue working for the last 8 years. So now I'm really wanting a new bike. Except that I'll probably only be in the country for another six to nine months before heading overseas. Maybe I could take it with me, but that may be unrealistic. Seems that's how everything is for me now. Do I really need this for the next however-many-months? I'm considering biking the Oregon coast this September, in which case, a new bike would be a great help... *sigh* What to do, what to do...

Persepolis

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So most of the movies I see in the theater are at the theater less than a mile from my house It's one of those $3 theaters with a few screens, pizza, and beer. After being a total Bear Tooth junkie for a couple years, I've had a hard time shelling out $10+ for a movie I can see for a third the price if I'm just patient. Plus, this theater will occasionally show art-house movies, foreign films, and classic films. I all truth, Portland has no shortage of cheap or off the beaten path theaters, and if I wanted to see a different off-brand movie every night, I probably could. But this theater is just down the street, takes about 4 minutes to ride my bike there, and I like that. (And any place around here that feels familiar is a good place for me. It's still not really home here...)

So I saw Persepolis last weekend. Persepolis is a French film which tackled the animation of a series of graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi, an Iranian woman currently living in Paris. Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel duo, Persepolis, and Persepolis 2, are autobiographical in nature, covering her childhood amidst revolution, time at school in Austria, and growth into womanhood. It is a story about idealism, disillusionment, and realism, a common life-story told through extreme circumstances.

Before you read on, just know that I do recommend seeing this film. It was a fresh perspective on life, filled with animated realism. However, if you do not wish to have your perceptions changed before you get a chance to see it for yourself, do not read on.

SPOILERS ALERT!

The more I think about the film, the more I like it, but my initial reaction to the film was mixed. First of all, and strictly on the surface, I don't really care for the illustration/animation style. There is somewhat of an elegant simplicity to the un-textured characters among simple backgrounds, but the drawings themselves weren't exactly the kind of drawings I would seek out. There were several sections where the main character goes through energetic, somewhat rebellious periods, in which the animation changed to exaggerate that energy. These energetic sections were my favorite parts, the animation taking on a fluidity and character that seemed fresh in the context of the entire film. But overall the style itself was not the kind of animation I seek out.

This film was originally voiced in French, and in the version I saw, it had been re-dubbed in English. Generally re-dubbing is easier to get away with in animation as the mouths of characters aren't ever 100% accurate anyway. However, I think I would have rather seen the film in the original French with English subs. I feel like a couple of the character's English voices were poorly chosen, particularly that of Sean Penn, the voice of the main character's father. I suppose it would have taken away from the visuals of the film to have to read subtitles, but I really think I would have preferred it.

One interesting perspective I enjoyed was with regard to the political themes and ideals which are a huge part of the film. The main family are communist, which creates a problem when the Taliban government is put in place. I feel like I've been conditioned so much to think that democracy is the end all political system, that America, shining example of healthy government that it is, is the end all of political systems. So to see a family whose passion and obsession is communist just seems so backwards, and yet there must be validity there. Not that I think Communism is my preferred form of government, but our consumeristic "democracy" seems a far cry from healthy and a far cry from Biblically sound leadership. Persepolis affords at least a tiny glimpse at the other side of the coin.

I also had a mixed reaction to the start of the film because for the first half-hour or more the film feels like a history lesson on Tehran and Iranian culture. While I found that interesting, I was really hoping for something more. I always feel like animation has such huge potential to bring us to amazing places, and a history lesson almost seemed below its capabilities. However, it was pretty cool to hear about real life in Tehran amidst the potentially positive political revolution, but which turned sour once the Taliban was fully in power.

Personally, I like a movie that doesn't always give you a tidy formulaic ending, if only because that's how life is. But at the same time, movies can be great because they don't have to reflect real life. They can go anywhere and do anything, and be idealistic if they want to be. Persepolis isn't idealistic. At all. The story ends, and while the main character has changed and grown as a person, it was hard to tell if her life's path had taken her forward or merely further off to the side without much forward movement, like swimming against a current. So I don't really know if I liked the ending, but I'm not sure I disliked it either. And maybe that was the kind of reaction the film was trying to get.

So all in all, Persepolis is certainly worth seeing, a portrait of humanity amidst the rubble of a broken nation, though perhaps it's not as incredible as many critics would have you believe. But then again, I'm acting as a critic of sorts for the moment, so take this all with a grain of salt.

It's coming...

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So I guess I'm doomed to approach things creatively... and I mean that in whichever way saves me the most face and keeps me from seeming like a pompous jerk-wad. So maybe in a retractive way. We'll see.

So at my final showing of Bible Camp I made an announcement that I was pursuing a position with Pioneers, and that I was hoping to approach at least part of the support-raising in my own way (as suggested by Mr. Mike Sheldon.) In mid-July we will begin recording my first album, having stolen a creative structure from my last nine years floating through life. All the proceeds from the album will go toward my support in Pioneers. It'll end up being about half music I've already written/recorded and sent out to many of y'all over the years, and half music I've yet to write. It's very exciting, and daunting, but I'm excited for a different kind of creative challenge. So in mid-October look for the album only for sale online, places like iTunes and Amazon MP3 (little plug, I love Amazon MP3. Cheaper than iTunes, great selection, etc...) So there it is. Tell your neighbors, tell your mailman. It's coming.

It's finally here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Well, finally the news everyone has been waiting for. I am now officially an appointee with Pioneers. So now I get to start figuring out all the details of raising support, what my position will look like, and everything else. I'm planning on joining a team called ComNet whose objective is to tell stories in the field using media such as video, photography, writing, graphic design, and anything else that might help communicate real life stories. For me, this is an incredibly exciting time, as I finally begin to learn what God has had in the works for me over the last decade or so. I have purpose and direction, and it couldn't be sweeter. Oh, and a huge plug for Pioneers, if you're looking for a mission organization that can use your specific talents and giftings, Pioneers is the place. If you're looking for a rigidly structured, hierarchical organization that will TELL you where you will be used, Pioneers is probably NOT the place for you. This week in Orlando getting to know the staff, and vice versa, has been invaluable. What an amazing colleciton of really neat people! (For more info, go to www.pioneers.org or contact me.) So in the next day or so I will have my Pioneers account number, and if any of you would be interested in more than prayer support, any sort of donation can be taken, once I provide a couple more details.

So it looks like I'll be stationed in Turkey or Thailand, and from there will be sent on assignments to areas within that larger region. So Turkey would provide access to Western and Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Thailand would provide access to most of Asia. From what I've heard, there will be no shortage of interest in media as a communicator, and I will be busy all the time, which sounds good to me. As for when I could leave, it's hard to say without having raised support and finished some of the other requirements of my appointment. But the start is nearer now than it's ever felt before, and I couldn't be more thrilled about it. Most of you can expect that I'll be getting in contact with you all in a less impersonal way than a blog... like a mass email or some sort of elaborate set up of lanterns and morse code, only communicated at dusk from the bow of a ship anchored offshore in a North by Northwesterly direction... Ta for now.

And then it was done

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So first of all, thank you to the handful of people who have been uncontrollably supportive of my film endeavor. It's been a rapidly slow-moving journey, full of unexpected turns of events, frustrations, and victories, an age of personal growth. A sort of microcosm of the real world, the great moments being tempered by frustrations and difficulties. And now it's over. At least that's what I'm saying right now. Definitive statements have a way of biting me in the backside.

So I came back to AK to show "Bible Camp" in Anchorage again, the idea being that I heard from quite a few people who had been disappointed about missing the other showing, and wanted to make it available again. So I rented the Abbott Loop auditorium again, this time three months in advance, got a completely new poster/postcard/trailer idea (courtesy of Greger Wright and Jessica Clark), created a new trailer, updated the old ones, had posters/cards printed, and put together promotional packages for churches in the Anchorage area. The packages even has a DVD with the trailers, further information, and a clip from the film. It was another huge time investment, but well worth it since it would allow a broader audience to hear about it and come and support the film and ministry. Everything was looking much better this time around than the last, especially the timing, not at holiday time, not in conjunction with any major Anchorage events, and also during my spring break. The stars had aligned, and all was perfectly in line for beating my previous showing's meager 35+ audience.



Twenty-five people showed up.



I was pretty excited about the day, so at the time I was totally cool. People were generous with their giving, and I got more very positive responses from the attendees. I even pretty much broke even, so ultimately things went fairly well even from a financial standpoint. I knew, however, that for the next few days I would have a hard time thinking of anything but how disappointed I had been in the turnout. Was all the work worth it? I spent hours upon hours redesigning, calling pastors, burning DVDs, calling pastors again, scheduling, praying about it all, and 25 people showed up. That's what I knew I'd be expecting in the coming days. But it never really came to that.

I don't know where this sort of optimistic outlook on life has come from, but I honestly didn't perseverate on the downers of the small group I hosted at Abbott Loop. Sure there was a little disappointment that certain people didn't come, that there was far less support than I was expecting, but overall the exact right people showed up. Not only my fan-club of a group of friends, but some real key people in Alaska ministry, and some truly generous people whose giving was far more than I could have expected. Jack and Mary Lou Bacher later sent me a check which covers my Pioneers orientation fees, which is an astonishing blessing, certainly a miracle I didn't expect. The outpouring of love I received from the people there was incredible, and I consider it a privilege to have experienced joy from disappointment. I have more to say, but it'll have to wait for another blog. My further comments are of a less optimistic nature, a bit of chastising, so I'll save it for another time. But yeah, I guess I'm continuing to grow up despite my best efforts to stunt my own growth. Something like spiritual puberty, maybe. Oh man, there are so many mostly-inappropriate jokes I'm thinking about now. Uh, okay, so maybe not spiritual puberty... Uh, *voice crack*... [awkward pause] see you later.

Soppnerism? Sort of, but not quite.

So I was doing a bit of typing today and when writing the word "opportunity," I accidentally transposed my o's and p's. I kind of giggled to myself as I sat in a coffee shop surrounded by strangers.

Just thought I'd take this pooprtunity to let you all know.

Bros before schmos

So I have a new band I'm in love with. This doesn't happen all that often as I'm pretty picky about the kind of music I'll listen to 15 or 20 times in a week's span. The music I become obsessed with has to have a balance of instrumental and vocal performance (or no vocals at all works well), and a pleasing mix of virtuosity and accessibility. Now of course, certain albums have snuck past the gatekeeper (John Mayer's Continuum is one that immediately comes to mind) So if your qualifications are in any way similar to mine you might also love this new band: Punch Brothers. Their first album, released a week and a half ago is aptly called "Punch."

The frontman for the freshly-formed Punch Brothers is Nickel Creek mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile (Thee-lee), one of my favorite musicians in recent years. Actually, to be honest I get a little jealous of people my age who have such amazing levels of success, but it's so danged good. If you're a fan of Bela Fleck, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Newgrass Revival, Nickel Creek, Tony Trischka, music, art, sweaters, cats, Precious Moments Figurines, guano, spelunking, historical-fiction, or crepes, you just might like these guys.

Oh, and I wasn't exaggerating about 15 or 20 times in the last week. It's been something like that. Mmmmmm... meaty music with emotion and intellect... delicious.

"Come on... You can do it... Just a little bit more... A little bit more... Almost there... Almost... there..."

So one of the hard parts of my job is that I have to be really careful about talking about the students. There are certain confidentiality issues that can not be breached, and in the interest of complying, I'll tell you a completely anonymous story about a student, a human male or female or hermaphrodite, of school age at the public or private school I work at nestled comfortably at the edge of a Western Hemisphere ghetto. This particular unit was having a particularly difficult morning, and was having a hard time engaging itself in our class's morning check-in time, wherein all units and educational facilitators describe how they are feeling at the moment, something they did the night before, and a goal they have for the day. This particular unit often has a hard time pulling itself together in the morning, and in a frustrated state will put its head down on its desk and refuse to get up. In an effort to encourage said unit to sit up and engage in check-in, I leaned in closer, lending a stream of encouraging words to its ear in the hopes that its spirits would be raised to an adequate degree of functionality. As I spoke, the unit began his own stream of encouragements, each phrase said slowly and deliberately, likened unto a scene from any number of Disney sports movies where the crushed hero is raised from the edge of despair by a single clap which slowly and deliberately leads to an entire stadium, city, county, state, region, nation and hemisphere taking on that applause with great gusto, thereby encouraging the hero to take up his burden and complete the task. This was the gist of this unit's self-encouragement. (Note: To be read extremely slowly, each phrase being raised in pitch as it reaches any punctuation, in the exact fashion an educator would encourage an emotionally fragile student, male, female, or hermaphrodite.)

"Come on... You can do it... Just a little bit more... A little bit more... Almost there... Almost... there..."

And all the while the unit is slowly raising itself off of its desk in the exact position it had started with, arms crossed, forehead pressed against the arms. It was perhaps one of the funniest things I've seen in the last couple months. Yeah, Disney certainly doesn't have a death-grip on the minds of children, and certainly not to the end that emotions are learned by watching a screen instead of direct interaction with real people... But that's a different blog entirely...