frail body

A murky vision appeared before me. A bright, light brown desert. The wavy heat rose from the earth as I began to feel my body. I was shirtless, and was clothed in tattered pants. I didn't have any shoes, and my feet began to feel the intense heat of the desert sand.

As I stumbled wearily through the desert, the bright sandy horizon grew clearer in my vision. The blinding light of the sun scorched my skin into a red sweaty layer of leather. My wobbly legs finally gave out, and my frail body stumbled involuntarily, then crumpled to the soft ground.

The heat was painful, and my breath drew in shallowly, rhytmically, as my heart beat weakly. I wiped sweat from my brow with my bare hand. The sand beneath me was blistering hot. The pain seared through me like electricity. My throat was as dry as desert bones. I had grown accustomed to the taste of sand over the course of my listless wandering.

"Rise." A loud, solid, confident bass voice bellowed. Startled, I raised my head to see the source of the command. That's when I saw the thing.

Looming nine feet above me, this great warrior gazed down upon my frail body in disgust. Covered in tarnished silver armor, his face was shielded. His black deepset eyes stared at my pathetic limp body. I was almost too close to the brink of collapse to bother being afraid.

But I was afraid.

"I command you to rise." His voice once more blasting down at me. With adrenaline awakening within me once more, I feebly pulled myself up, feeling lightheaded and inadequate.

"What? Who are you?" My voice quivered, sounding unusually thin and powerless.

"Look before you. Survey this land." He gestured with his metallic hand toward the panoramic landscape of endless desert around me. "What do you see?"

I gasped a couple of times, choking on sand. I coughed, and thought there might be a wrong answer. Surely this giant warrior was going to kill me, and that would be the end. "I...I see a lot of nothing."

"Fool!" Blinding pain struck my head as his backhand swiftly and gracefully smashed the side of my face, sending me sprawling on my back. The world began to fade, as the agony weighed my conscience into blackness. Briefly, I passed out on the hot sand.

"Rise." The voice snapped me back to the reality of bright hot sun, and his looming warrior body. "Rise, or be destroyed." My head throbbed painfully.

I forced myself to my feet. "You answer like a simple-minded fool," he corrected. "See all that is before you. Gaze upon it, and remember the days of your childhood. This is the very place you grew up. This is the place of your youth, simpleton."

"No." I began crying. "This is not my childhood home. This terrible, wastful desert is not familiar to me. I grew up in lush gardens."

"You sicken me. You cannot recognize your own surroundings?" The great warrior reached out to me, and grabbed my arm tightly. He lifted me up toward his flat, metallic face, and pierced into my soul with those deep black eyes. "This is your childhood home. What do you remember of it?"

I offered my true memories."It was beautiful. It was serene." He was squeezing my left arm so hard, I thought it was going to crush under the pressure. "So...magical."

"You are blind by your shortsighted ignorance." Apathetically, he tossed my frail body to the ground. I landed harshly, and I curled into the fetal position. His deep voice bellowed, "You will remember that time once more. I grace you with a second chance."

"May I die?"

"NO!" He retorted, angrily. "You will live, fool!" His finger pointed accusingly at my pathetic body. "You bring this draught upon yourself. In your selfishness, you have forgotten where you are." From his shoulders, magnificent wings of reds and browns sprawled open against the blue sky. Flapping powerfully, the great warrior slowly rose into the air. Then, with three forceful beats, the warrior rose upward into the clear sky. I watched with weary eyes as his body appeared smaller and smaller as he flew higher and higher.

Then, I was alone again. My mind drifted into the memories of my childhood. They were calm, vivid memories of carefree existence among the trees of the lush green gardens. Images of brightly colored flowers, bushes, and exotic plants freely flooded my tired mind.

A dark grey cloud covered the sun, and the sweet shadow cooled my dry body. The entire sky became grey cloud. Soft, cold rain began showering down in light drops. The air grew cooler, and my breath was deeper. I watched as plants and trees grew right before my eyes, in thick undergrowth. It was the familiar garden of my childhood.

Stumbling through this newfound terrain, a cold blue body of water rested before me. I bathed my body, and drank heartily from its flowing wells. I knew this was the beginning of a new era.

The End

Alf

Some of you may remember the obscure 80's hit comedy, ALF. (ALF stands for "Alien Life Form".) I rented one of the discs of the second season, because it had the ALF Christmas Special on it. I watched it at home one morning, before I had to go to work.

Admittedly, the only reason I wanted to rent ALF was for the cheesey humor. I mean, the acting is hilariously cheesey, and some of the one-liners about eating cats, and ALF's home world Melmac are unbelievably bad. However, when I watched the Christmas Special, ladies and gentlemen, I actually cried. It was one of the most tender and heartfelt Christmas specials I've ever seen in my life.

ALF goes up to a cabin with his adopted family to spend Christmas in a cabin that Willy (the family's low budget Dad) stayed in when he was a child. ALF starts trouble when he opens all the gifts, ruins the food, and complains nonstop. Willy gets enraged and yells at ALF, telling him to leave the cabin to "take a long walk." ALF climbs into the back of a delivery truck, and ends up in a pile of toys. These toys were being delivered to needy children in a hospital. ALF gets handed out as a stuffed animal to a young girl with a terminal disease. She is a kind-hearted young girl, who discovers that ALF is a real, living creature. ALF is moved by her story, and connects with her feelings of fear and loneliness.

Later, ALF stops an elderly man from jumping off a bridge. The man's wife has died, and he does not want to continue in this cold uncaring world alone. ALF gently explains that he makes a difference in the world, and that he needs to stick around to continue his mission of helping people.

One of the reasons I love going back and watching obscure pop culture gems from the 80's is because every so often you uncover a treasure of value. I hope your Christmas season this December is filled with true giving. Remember those who have less, and who are genuinely needy. Don't turn your back on those who ask for help. As a cheesey 80's puppet has reminded me, Christmas is about love and giving, which is more blessed than receiving.

War of the Worlds

With my recent newfound delight in Netflix, and so many strange and exciting holiday films hitting theatres, I've considered starting up a movie critique blog. I've found that I thoroughly enjoy commenting and reviewing films for my friends to read. And, since I enjoy more obscure films at times, (thanks to Netflix), I would love to review them for people to read.

However, I find it trying at times to manage one blog, much less two. But, keep checking back in the near future for this new blog development.

That being said, I had the privelage of watching Steven Speilberg's brand new version of War of the Worlds last night. Unfortunately, I had to rent it through Blockbuster. But, I guess that's another blog entry entirely.

We all remember the weirdness that happened when this film came out. Tom Cruise began going insane, going crazy on Oprah and embarassing Speilberg. He got into a verbal fight with Matt Lauer on Good Morning America, or one of those morning shows. I actually got up early to watch that one. People were actually worried about Cruise's mental well-being, and everyone was asking questions about his feirce loyalty to the Scientology cult. And, Cruise was squirted in the face with a water gun at the London premiere of War of the Worlds, and handled it with surprising grace and poise. Then, who could forget the whole Katie Holmes publicity mess? I got sick of hearing about it. With Tom Cruise providing a one-man walking circus, it seemed like War of the Worlds was sabatoged and upstaged from the beginning. Even near the end of the publicity run, Steven Speilberg expressed concern for Cruise's over-the-top Scientology rants. Speilberg was hesitant to continue supporting Tom, even though WOTW was about to hit theatres.

What an introduction for a summer blockbuster. With all of that said, I don't think the movie itself got a fair shake. People were so distracted and preoccupied (and rightfully so) by all the strange things going on, most people didn't even care about War of the Worlds by the time it came out. However, when I saw it on a giant big screen Sony, the dust had long since settled with the "real life" soap opera surrounding it. So, I felt that I could fairly evaluate this film, and enjoy it for what it was.

Tom Cruise, like him or loathe him, gets a solid B- from me for his performance in this one. I don't always like him, but when the right role comes along, he's perfect. The character of Ray seems like it's almost on the outer fringes of Tom's ability at times, but the performance is delivered nicely. Dakota Fanning is good. The guy that plays Ray's son is great. I have mixed feelings about Tim Robbins in it. He plays a semi-crazy ex-cab driver who fled to the country to escape the alien attacks. Robbins' character is vaguely similar to the one he played in Mystic River, which is why I sort of feel mixed about it. Overall, he's great, though.

The story focuses on this one family unit, as the world comes under attack by aliens. There is not the same grand scope as, say, Deep Impact, or Independence Day. The characters are darker, and more personal. To me, I enjoyed that aspect of it.

The writing is fairly good. It's not weighed down with too much pointless dialouge, and there are no cheesey one-liners that often plague "end-of-the-world" films like this one.

Now, about the direction. Speilberg has created some weird ones his last few times out of the gate. Minority Report, in my opinion, is the worst Speilberg film ever. Many people didn't like A.I., but I was interested in it. With that being said, I think Speilberg sort of had something to prove to himself with War of the Worlds. (Even though he surpassed having anything to prove to the general public after E.T. !!!) I think he wanted to prove to himself that he's still culturally relevant. He wanted to prove to himself that he can still crank out giant blockbusters, with style and unique vision. In those regards, War of the Worlds is successful.

It is also beautifully filmed. Speilberg seems very specific about the type of imagery in every scene. I was taken by the colorful tones and sweeping landscapes. Also, the special effects are truly spectacular.

There are a few things that weigh this film down, however, and keep it from being a real classic. First, it lacks a feeling of being truly epic. The focus is on one family, which was the obvious intent. But, it tends to hold back the full potential. Another thing that weighs it down is the neverendingly dark tone. It could've stood a little more humor, a lighter note here and there. It was just such a downer. Personally, it wasn't too dark for my taste. But, for a mass audience, I can understand how it's a bummer. And, the ending. I won't give it away, but the way it ends had me asking, "So,...what's the point?" And, that may be the biggest flaw of this film. What's the point?

pirates

About a year ago, I had the chance to be an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean parts 2 and 3. Disney is filming both sequels at once. It would've meant being transported to the Caribbean for about six months, and very little pay. My friend and I considered this prospect very seriously. The prospect of being in these movies and being in the Caribbean was very tempting.

Ultimately, however, I made the decision to move back to Tennessee around that time. So, no extra work for me!

Today, on the radio, I heard that the cast and crew filming in the Caribbean has been attacked by actual pirates. Looters, or some kind of random thugs, have been stealing, breaking things, and threatening lives. A few actors (extras, I'm assuming) have quit and left the island for fear of their lives! I'm glad that gig didn't work out.

class is in session

Well, Thanksgiving is mere hours away. It's that wonderful time of seeing family, stuffing your face, and sinking into a deep abyss of mindless stupidity as you doze in front of the television watching football.

I gained a Bachelors degree from a quality private college institution. I've had years and years of school growing up. My intelligence may be in question, but the years of sitting in the classroom are without dispute. Yet, sadly, my knowledge of Thanksgiving history is limited. If I wrote a chapter in a History textbook about Thanksgiving, it would go as follows:

Some people in England were tired of being pushed around by the church of England. So, compounded with a general weariness and disdain for their lifestyle, they climbed aboard three ships: The Mayflower, Santa Maria, and the...uh...it'll come to me in a minute.

So, after months of sickness and hardship, they reached America. They all had hats, and buckles on their shoes. Most of their outfits were black. After fighting Native Americans (or, "Indians"), and teaching them how to scalp people, things kind of settled down.

At some vague point, the "pilgrims" had an outdoor picnic kind of thing, where they had turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce. I think they invited some Indians.

I hope your Thanksgiving is full of joy, family togetherness, and a vague misguided ignorance about its history, just as mine will be.

Jim Henson

Jim Henson's story is one of destiny. Having an interest in television in the mid-50's, he was involved in theatre at the University of Maryland. A local NBC affiliate there invited Jim and a friend (Jane, who he later married) to perform a five minute segment on a late night news show. The show lasted for a few years, and during that time Jim crafted and experimented with the Muppets concept. He coined the term "Muppet" during those years by combining the word puppet with marionette.

As these bizarre late night puppets gained popularity, more characters were created. The Muppets world also expanded, reaching to television shows, TV special appearances (including the first season of SNL in the 70's), and eventually becoming a giant enertainment conglomerate.

There are several things that inspire me about the Muppets. First, Jim Henson genuinely added depth, emotion, and creativity to his characters. They seem to have so much life! I feel as if Kermit and Miss Piggy are real living people! Secondly, there is a true gentleness and kindness to the whole Muppet world. Jim Henson, quite deliberately, strove to create an optimistic world that reflected love, caring, and humor. Thirdly, Jim Henson's creations are totally original. He did not create these characters in order to "break in" to show biz. He was interested in television, but he was not greedy or power hungry. He did not follow a formula in creating the Muppets. It was a true artistic creation rooted in his genuine passions and imagination.

I think that's why his lovable creatures connect with so many millions of people. Jim Henson has made a big impact on the culture of the world, with pure imagination and passion. That is inspiring, and worth commemorating.

Gameboy Micro

Have you heard of the new Nintendo Gameboy micro? It's the latest from Nintendo. With Gameboy sales in somewhat of a slump lately, and with the holidays coming up, they released this little bad boy.

I played one yesterday in a video game store. I knew it was going to be small, but seriously, the thing is tiny. It's the same size as my cell phone. It could easily fit in my shirt pocket. And, the graphics and screen quality are amazing. They're only $80, which is relatively cheap for a piece of brand new video game hardware. They look like a lot of fun. They take Gameboy Advance games. Which means, you could play Super Mario Brothers 3 on it! Or, old Atari games. It's mindblowing, really.

netflix, I guess

It's a rainy day here in East Tennessee. Nothing too eventful has happened lately. At least, nothing I could articulate in my presently groggy state.

I am somewhat enjoying Netflix. If you're not familiar with it, it's video rental over the internet. After my friend Mike preached it to me for a few years, and my friend Andy gave me a free month, I finally broke down and decided to try it. So far, I am fairly satisfied. On a scale of 1-10, I guess I would give it a 7.

The upside:
1. Well-designed web site.
2. Fantastic selection.
3. Convenience of not leaving my house to go to the video rental place.
4. It's cheap (10 dollars per month).
5. I'm fighting the corporate beast. (I think we all know which video rental beast I speak of.)
6. I can brag to my friends that I have Netflix, so my social status goes up a couple of points.

The downside
1. Sometimes it takes the DVD's several days to arrive in the mail, even though it's only supposed to take one day.
2. Video renting is not as spontaneous.
3. No more weird, smelly video rental stores!!!
4. I only get one DVD at a time.
5. I often have to watch the movies at awkward or inconvenient times in order to get them back in the mail.
6. I'm wasting all my time watching pointless schlock.

Overall, though, I'm satisfied with it. Click here to see their site.

southern cuisine

Living in the south certainly has its ups and downs. There are things to love and things to loathe, like any place. One of the biggest down sides of living in the region I live in is that it is fairly boring most of the time. I have great friends and family, but staring at empty cow fields takes a toll after a while.

One of the greatest things about living in the south is the quality of food. Southern cuisine is unapologetically decadent, and sometimes over-the-top. Much southern food is also really good for you. The south has certainly come along way with technology in the last twenty years ago, what with our e-lectricity and shoes and whatnot. With cell phones and the internet, it's truly turning into a global community.

Today I was reminded of my southern roots. My parents recently joined a little Baptist church in the small town of Athens, TN. The people there are wonderful. However, they are certainly extremely southern. My parents told me the story of their experiences in their sunday school class. Before the "class" started, the members of the class sat around and "chewed the fat" for a few minutes. One older woman was telling everyone how beautiful her new shotgun was. She was telling them all about the pearl handle. No, really.

My mother also recently got a church cookbook. If you're not familiar, most churches in the south have cookbooks filled with recipes submitted from women in the church. My mom was quite impressed with the East Athens Baptist Church cookbook, until running across one entry of particular interest.

Now, I know some of you faithful blog readers are not as familiar with the south. And, in fact, you've probably already cracked up at this blog entry at some of the absurdities described in small town life. Indeed, it is a de-light. However, this one takes the cake. For you see, there is an entry in this cookbook for Baked Possum. That's the point where I may lose some of you. But, trust me, it's real. This is NOT A JOKE. It is in this cookbook, submitted by a man named Jerome.

Baked Possum

Catch a live possum. Put it in a pen for 7 days. Feed it cornmeal dough and fresh water. Kill, skin, and dress it. Wash thoroughly. Place in a roaster pan, sald and pepper thorougly inside and out. Place 7 or 8 medium-sized clean sweet potatoes around meat. Cover with roaster lid or aluminum foil, bake in oven at 350 degrees for 3 hours or until done.

Wow. Most times, I'm proud to be from Tennessee. There is a rich history here. And, the roots of American pop culture in Tennessee are amazing. There is also a lot of beautiful scenery and wonderful natural landmarks. However, when I read about baked possum, it puts things back into perspective for me!!

I want my MTV!

I am a young guy. 26 years old. I don't really feel old, and in fact I feel younger than my age most of the time. However, there are a handful of things that make me feel the perspective of my age. One of these things is MTV.

It seems like MTV used to be for all ages when it first came out. Crusty old rockers, as well as young teenagers were captivated by the new music video format. Now, when I watch some of those old early 80's videos, they're so incredibly cheesey, I can't believe they were on TV. They seemed so fun and charming. At the time, they were "edgy". And, as a kid, I used to watch MTV when I wasn't supposed to! I remember watching Michael Jackson videos when they were new! I know, it seems like an eternity ago.

Then, there was the middle school phase. This was the phase when MTV got much darker. They were showing Metallica, and grundge hit the scene. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Green Day, and a whole host of heavy metal and early 90's alternative videos ruled MTV. Late night MTV was filled with an array of low budget, and absolutely bizarre animated shows and theme shows. Not the least of which was Beavis and Butthead. Then, Dr. Dre made a little video called "G Thang", and the world was changed forever. (Or, at least pop culture changed!) Now, the gangsta rap video was mainstream. All of these developments seemes monumental to my young mind. In retrospect, it seems impossible that my parents, and my friends' parents, were pretty much completely oblivious to these giant shifts in pop culture.

I enjoyed MTV when I was in high school, somewhat. It got a bit stale to me my junior and senior years of high school. I never got into "Puff Daddy" videos, and rock never recovered from the loss of grundge.

Now, at age 26, MTV seems quite foreign to me. I mean, I enjoy "Cribs", I vaguely liked "Ozzbournes" during its prime. And now, I have to admit, I have occassionally watched (and laughed at) Laguna Beach. But, for the most part, most MTV shows are really boring to me. What was once edgy has now swelled into a worldwide corporation. There are no real shows on MTV anymore that are that bold, or dark, like the early 90's. I guess I'm just getting old.

Everyone on there looks so young. TRL, a show that screams "after school entertainment", is filled with a studio audience of fifteen year old screaming girls. And, I'm pretty sure I'm older than every VJ on there. Exit Carson Daly, enter new generation of mediocre MTV puppets. They're all fairly bland, and their clothes look more like costumes than "cool" hipster rock clothes. I don't know any of the bands on the countdown, and I rarely know any of the guests that visit the show. Truly, the MTV train has left without me in recent years.

Gone are the days of home video camera quality videos, and obscure late-night shows. Am I getting old?

eat your vegetables

I recently read a fascinating article in the latest issue of National Geographic. In the article, Dan Buettner visits three different countries, with three different communities of people who have unusually high average life spans. The communities varied from Loma Linda, California to Sardinia, Italy, and, finally, Okinawa, Japan. Three communities that are literally worlds apart, yet they each hold a longer-than-average life span.

Even though these three cultures vary greatly, there are a handful of common traits. First, emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial support from family is a common binding trait. Each community values their elders, and extended families look out for each other. They each encourage a healthy work ethic. Not too much workaholic attitude, not too much laziness. Just enough.

But what's the biggest common factor? You guessed it. In each of these three communities, the diet of their cultures is made mostly of vegetables. Each community also eats vegetables they grow themselves. And, the gardening itself provides physical exercise, mental fulfillment, and spiritual satisfaction. And, good old fashioned healthy vegetables. Here is an exerpt from the article:

"When she's not watching sumo wrestling on TV, Yasu Itoman, 100, gets her own exercise by growing onions, tomatoes, carrots, and other herbs and vegetables in her garden. They give her natural antioxidants that may help prevent cancer."

In the Adventist community of Loma Linda, Caifornia, where one community of extra-old people reside, Marge Jetton (101 years old) had this to say about her diet and long-life:

"I haven't eaten meat in 50 years, and I never eat between meals."

There is a somewhat interesting online page on the National Geographic site about this article. Hopefully it will convince you to eat your vegetables! It has certainly inspired me.

Click here to check it out.

more blog adventures

Faithful blog readers! An apology is certainly in order. I have neglected my blog for several days now. In fact, I think it has been almost two weeks since I wrote on this blog. There are several reasons for this.

I got a new job at a Super Target, and I have been working crazy hours. And, in my off time, I seem to be trying to squeeze in every amount of errand-running I can manage. And on my days off, I have successfully found other diversions from blog writing.

Another reason, and the main reason, for neglecting my blog is simply an old-fashioned lack of inspiration. Sure, several things have happened that are probably blog-worthy. I started a new job, I went to a Halloween party, I may be auditioning for a professional show, and I've gone through changes and introspective phases that are more than blog-worthy. However, I've found that my drive, and my motivation for blog writing has been dried up. It has been dried up by wrestlings with my self-esteem, and emotional confusions. Sometimes digging around the extra and distracting thoughts and feelings in order to draw out the real meaning or feeling behind something proves to be far too much work for a blog entry. But, it may be a healthy exercise nonetheless.

Since I started this blog, the idea was to relay exciting stories to my friends from afar. To that end, my blog was very successful and emotionally cathartic. But, now honesty seems to painful.
I feel like a sheep that has wandered from the flock. And, for far too long, I've been trying to find my way back. There are occurances and developments in my life that are pulling me toward that end, but in the mean time, I feel confused and discouraged. I'm sure you can relate.

A friend of mine from college once wrote a play called "Wading Through Peanut Butter." A funny name. But, also an apt description of how my own development feels most of the time.

I hope you'll forgive my frank honesty, and indulge my emotional pleas for reassurance. I don't mean to be the perpetual martyr. Or, the constant complainer. My goal is to simply be baringly honest and straightforward. But, enough. I think I've made my point.

Stay tuned for more blog adventures!