Movie of the Year

It was a pretty slow year for movies, and not a lot jumped out as great. There is however, one movie I enjoyed more than any other: Little Miss Sunshine. This movie had a great cast that featured Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Alan Arkin, Steve Carell and Abigail Breslin, who was around 9 when this movie was filmed. She is fantastic in this, as is the rest of the cast, and she really deserves accolades from the numerous award shows Hollywood uses to pat itself on the back at the end of the year. That said, it should be noted that by no means is this family friendly fare, given the standout performance comes from a 9 year old. The film deals with things like depression and death, albeit in the most humor-filled ways possible. This movie had such a hold on the audience at the screening I attended, that when one of the characters in the film was confronted with a particularly awkward situation, the entire audience began to cheer hoping to encourage this person who was on film. A strangely captivating movie.

Book of the Year

Anyone who knows me, would know I would pick Philip Yancey's book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? as my favorite book this past year. I was lucky enough to read an advance copy from the publisher Zondervan because I am on a Philip Yancey mailing list, and they were looking for volunteers to read the book, and then submit a survey. So, was the book good? Yes, very much so. It was classic Yancey, taking a hard look at a subject about which volumes have already been written. It's not a feel good piece of fluff that one might expect from say, a Max (Shudder) Lucado, but a well thought out book that raises questions of its reader without necessarily providing answers in neat little packages that is so common in Christian books. It definitely forced me to look at my own prayer life and desire to make some drastic changes. By all means, get this book. It gets an A from me.
On a side note, I was able to hear Philip speak at a church in the Bay Area a couple of months ago. I was excited and anxious about hearing him, as seldom do the people admired from a distance come off as anticipated. It was a great relief to find both Philip and his wife Janet exceptionally nice people, especially as I groveled on about what a great writer he was as he signed my book at the speaking engagement. A true highlight for me, even as I resisted the urge to ask him what Bono was like in person.

Heavy Metal Hooligans

Just finished reading two more books picked up at the library. The first is Among the Thugs, by Bill Buford. I heard about this book around the time the world cup was going on, and it sounded interesting. Alas, it was wasn't. It does give insight into how mob mentality functions, and it's mostly due to alcohol and racism. It does show a perverse national drive that soccer hooligans operate under. When a bunch of drunk England fans riot in Italy get away without being arrested, they actually consider it as taking over Italy in the name of England. Very strange book. I'd give it a C.
And the second book I just finished was called Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal by David Konow. I'm not really a heavy metal fan, but the genre has always intrigued me, probably because it was considered so off limits to me when I was a kid. So I read it hoping to find interesting stories concerning the people behind the music. It offers an overview of heavy metal that includes profiles of bands such as Black Sabbath, Metallica and Poison. (Which one of these is not like the other?) And really, the VH1 show Behind the Music did a better job telling these stories. Ironically, the author even cites this show quite a bit in the book. The book doesn't really focus on any one band, or time frame for that matter, going off in all directions without ever making a coherent point about what caused heavy metal to actually rise or fall. The book comes off as a mish mash of various interviews and first person accounts. And looking at the footnotes at the back of the book, it seems all the author did was summarize tons of other books and articles. It was still a pretty quick read, but not very insightful. Worthy of a C+.

Church shopping explored

Having changed churches over the summer, this article really resonated with me. We spent months debating whether or not to change churches, and finally after meeting with our pastor and explaining our decision to leave did we feel comfortable making the change. It was definitely not a decision we took lightly.

This is SportsCenter?

I just finished reading ESPN: The Uncensored History by Michael Freeman last night. It is an interesting glimpse behind the scenes of the cultural phenomenon that is ESPN. Basically, it comes down to ESPN is the most misogynistic and denigrating place where a woman could possibly want to work. And based on the incident that receives the most coverage in the book, the biggest perpetrator of note of this philosophy would be Mike Tirico, the new lead announcer on ESPN's Monday Night Football. The book was published in 2000, and he was suspended by the network for 3 months back in 1992. From all accounts, it looks like he learned his lesson, but it made me wonder about the quality of the people who comprise ESPN on the whole. I guess it's like enjoying a hot dog: tasty, but I don't want to know how it's made. This book is pretty fascinating though, and it pretty much confirms the fact that Keith Olberman is a self-centered blowhard. I'd give it a B.

Book Buffet

I've been on a recent reading kick lately, thanks to working across the street from the library. All I do is go online and request the books I want, and then they send me an email when the books are ready to be picked up. I highly recommend this for anybody who likes to read, but doesn't like paying for a book a week at Borders.

I recently finished Ball Four by Jim Bouton. This is a first person account of Jim Bouton's season as a relief pitcher for the Seattle Pilots. I had always heard about this book, but never got around to reading it until now. I can see how this book was shocking in it's time, but now in the age of ESPN, it comes off as kinda dull. It doesn't help that Bouton comes off as an arrogant jerk. I'd give it a C.

The next book I read was Word Freak by Stefan Fatsis, which is about the game of Scrabble, and the people who play the game competitively. It really goes into detail about the words that can be used in playing the game, to the point of serious tedium. But if you can get past this, the profile of the players and how they interact at tournaments is fascinating. And the author starts the book out giving himself a year to become an expert, and slowly becomes consumed by Scrabble. He becomes very much like the people he set out to write about. I give it a B.

Finally, last night I finished Body Piercing Saved My Life by Andrew Beaujon. It is an outsiders look at the world of Christian rock music. By outsider, I mean someone who isn't a Christian, or has any previous experience with evangelical Christianity. I really give the author credit for covering a topic like this objectively. He doesn't act scornful or disdainful of the subject he covers, with maybe the exception of worship music (and I really can't fault him for that). Bonus points for his interview with one of my all time favorite artists, Steve Taylor. I recommend this book for anybody who is a Christian and wants to see how their lifestyle appears to non-Christians. An excellent book. Definitely an A.

Finally, It Gets Better

I finally found the summer movie I've been waiting for: Pirates of the Caribbean, Dead Man's Chest. It's a decent action flick that seems to have a little bit of everything for everyone. I particularly enjoyed Johnny Depp's character, as he seems to be having fun playing this character. It more than makes up for the disappointment of all the other so called "blockbusters" heading down the pike these days.

What a letdown

OK, I admit it. I bought the hype and thought that Superman Returns was going to be a decent flick. That it would exorcise earlier crap I sat through this summer and really deliver quality entertainment. The CGI was excellent, and Brandon Routh is excellent as Superman. Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, eh.....
What really blew was the script. It was like throwing a wet blanket on a can't miss idea. Brian Singer really has the chops to be a great director, but if this was his story idea for Superman, then he should be severely reprimanded because the movie came flying off the tracks at the big "twist" in the plot. When I go to movies like this I want escapism, not some freakin' soap opera with daddy issues up the wazoo. Man this movie sucked.

Summer Suckfest

This has to be one of the worst summer movie seasons ever. So far, I think the best one I have seen is Over the Hedge, the animated kid flick. Steve Carrell was hysterical as Hammie the Squirrel. After that, it goes downhill in a hurry. MI-3 started out promising as a tense, psychological thriller that came completely off the rails in the last third. And could somebody tell me why Brett Ratner is allowed to direct movies that don't have Rush Hour in the title? He completely butchered the new X-Men movie with such ham-handedness that even George Lucas cringed while watching it. It seems Bryan Singer and his Superman movies are the last shot for a decent popcorn flick, but I'm not holding my breath. Kevin Spacey does look like he'll add plenty of cheese, though. Too bad we're talking movies, not nachos. Oh well. Maybe next summer will be better.

Further Itunes Adventures

I just recently purchased three more albums with my itunes gift certificates. They include: All the Roadrunning, by Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris which I highly recommend; this in turn prompted me to buy Private Investigations: The Best of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler which was a great buy as you get 22 songs for about 12 dollars which is quite the deal; and lastly I bought The Body Acoustic by Cyndi Lauper, where she strips down her old hits and duets with people like Sara McLachlan, among others.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with all three, and have found that Cyndi Lauper is really an excellent singer. Back in the 80's I didn't enjoy her all that much, but she has aged really well.

The Davinci Furor

Here's a good article from Christianity Today, that hopefully those who picket things for a living will read. I find that its better to be well educated on a subject rather than placing blame and name-calling without knowing what you're talking about

Give me a break

This article covers "Christians" who believe that Jesus was not resurrected. The article quotes someone as saying:
"Marcus Borg really does not believe Jesus Christ was bodily raised from the dead. But I know Marcus well: he loves Jesus and believes in him passionately."

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the Jesus I believe in and the one he follows are not the same Jesus. To deny Jesus didn't rise from the dead is to object to Christianity itself.

My Own Jars Greatest Hits

I spent some time last night composing a Best of Jars of Clay album. Feel free to emulate if you'd like:

1. All My Tears - an itunes original. Meaning this is only found on itunes. A great song featuring Ashley Cleveland

2. Silence - originally appeared on The Eleventh Hour album. I used the itunes reworked version, as I can't find my copy of The Eleventh Hour.

3. Show You Love - from Who We Are Instead. Possibly their best album.

4. Frail - from Much Afraid

5. Trouble Is - from Who We Are Instead

6. The Valley Song - from Furthermore, From the Stage, From the Studio

7. Needful Hands -an itunes original. They first released this song on the Exodus album, which I highly recommend

8. Amazing Grace - from Who We Are Instead. Again with Ashley Cleveland

9. Crazy Times - from the Much Afraid album

10. Frail - the itunes remix. I didn't realize I'd put this song on twice. A pretty good mistake, though

11. Jealous Kind - from Who We Are Instead. Just go get this album if you don't have it

12. Fly - from Furthermore...

13. I'm Alright - from Furthermore...

14. On Jordan's Stormy Banks I Stand - from their latest album Redemption Songs

15. God Be Merciful to Me - from Redemption Songs

16. I'll Fly Away - from Redemption Songs

There you have 1.1 hours of listening pleasure. If you read this an it interests you, let me know and I can get you a copy

An entertaining read

I just finished reading Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas, which is a series of interviews that Assayas conducted with Bono over the course of two years. Assayas is a French journalist who has known Bono since 1980, so the conversations come across as friends talking rather than fawning journalist interviews rock star. Assayas even questions Bono on where his commitment to Africa stems from, as Bono did not go to that country until 1998. This is a fascinating book that any U2 fan would enjoy. Bono offers insight into his family, as well as the relationships with the other members of U2 that are thoughtful and interesting, not the usual patronizing words typically found in celebrity based features. This book is a sharp contrast to the one I mentioned a short time ago. Read this one, and avoid the previous one.

Sonically Splendiferous

I had a very eventful weekend, musically speaking. Friday night I bought the just released Jennifer Knapp live album, and promptly listened to it twice. I highly recommend it if you like her music. The weird thing about her is that she dropped off the face of the earth 3 years ago. I've heard unsubstantiated rumors of what happened, but no facts or interviews have appeared anywhere on the subject. I've always enjoyed her music, and this album clearly shows what we're missing.

Then a friend of mine sent one of the best wedding gifts I received: a gift certificate to itunes. When I sent him an email to thank him he said that my wife should have received one too! It was like Christmas morning and your birthday rolled into one. So armed with my bounty I downloaded the following albums:

Rebecca St James - If I Had One Thing To Tell You
The album isn't bad, but it's not quite up to par with her album "Pray," released in 1998

Delirious - The Mission Bell
I hadn't bought an album by these guys in quite some time, and haven't listened to it all the way through, but what I've heard so far is quite good.

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
A guilty pleasure. Plus when combined with gift certificates, a no brainer. Good pop music.

The Killers - Hot Fuss
My sister loves this band, so I'd thought I'd check it out. Haven't had time to listen all the way through yet.

Then on Sunday night, I saw Derek Webb, Sara Groves and Jars of Clay in concert. Derek Webb was phenomenal. I have two of his albums and enjoy him immensely. He writes songs that really challenge Christians, and it ways that aren't always easy to hear. Sara Groves was ok. I hadn't ever heard her before, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I really dug a couple of her songs, but the rest were pretty bland. I would probably consider Jars of Clay to be one of my favorite bands, so I was really disappointed by this show because they played so much off their first album which I think is far inferior to the rest of their work. The music and lyrics are blah (although Worlds Apart is ok), and not as interesting as any of their other albums. If I hear "Flood" one more time I will scream. Still, there were some really good numbers, and they played two tracks off the album they are currently putting together which sounded excellent. I did really enjoy the show closer "I'll Fly Away," but I may think I may skip their next visit to town.

Inside the Zoo.....

Books written to strictly cash in on associations are rarely any good, and this book is no exception. Turns out the lady who wrote it was just sued by U2 last year to get back items she allegedly stole from them, which would have been during the Joshua Tree tour close to 20 years ago. So the title should be "my few months with U2." But the phrasing got suckers like me to read the thing. In fact, the author's association with the band begins and ends with this tour, yet the cover of the book has a picture of Bono taken around 2000. Not a lot of new information is given about the band, although it was interesting to note that she portrays her relationship with Bono as close-knit. It makes the reader wonder if she's pulling a James Frey here because when Bono testified in the trial against her he said not many people cared for her, and that she was hard to deal with. Not exactly the words of a close friend. I wouldn't recommend this book to even the biggest U2 fan.

Taxing, indeed

I just finished this book last night. It was an interesting look at the life of an IRS Revenue Officer (tax collector), and the kinds of things they face while collecting from people who owe the IRS money. I would have enjoyed this book more if the author dealt more with his job than his personal life. In fact, the personal parts commandeer the book in the last few pages which is too bad, because his personal life isn't all that interesting. I sure wasn't reading the book to find out how much he loved his supervisor, or to find out how hitting a dog changed his outlook on life. The book goes from semi-interesting in the first half to downright strange in the last half. I'd only recommend this book to people who love memoirs.

The Twisted Logic Tour

Friday of last week I decided that I'd like to attend the Coldplay show at Arco on Monday, Jan 30th. I didn't really care about good seats, as I just wanted to hear them in concert. One of the things everyone always mentions about this band is how much they sound like U2 as this review points out (geez, look at the title of the review), and that may be part of the reason their music appeals to me. When we picked up our tickets at will call last night the lady said they had just released lower level seats, and that we could upgrade our tickets if we'd like to. So for an extra $50, instead of sitting in the nosebleeds off to the side of the stage we sat 8 rows from the stage in the center.
Fiona Apple was the opener, and she was pretty good. Although instead of getting the crowd up for Coldplay she kinda lulled everyone into a mellow mood. She seems like she'd be a great fit in a smaller theater, and not a cavernous arena. I kind of always thought of her as a little bit psychotic, but after having seen her show I'd change that opinion to full on lunatic. She is a very emotional performer, to say the least.
Coldplay didn't take the stage until 9:30, and only played for 90 minutes. For the prices they charge they could have at least gone to 2 hours, and given Ms. Apple 30 minutes instead of the 50 minutes she did have. Overall the show was excellent. Chris Martin is a very charismatic performer who really knows how to work the crowd (I'll give him one more album until he develops the full on Bono complex), and their guitarist appears to have graduated from The EDGE University of guitar playing with flying colors. I guess if you're going to crib from as band, U2 isn't a bad pick.

I blame my parents

When I was 5 one of my favorite things to do was listen to records on the stereo through headphones. I listened to two records in particular: John Denver's Back Home Again (featuring Thank God I'm a Country Boy and Grandma's Feather Bed, which made me always want pancakes), and Neil Diamond's I'm Glad You're Here With Me Tonight which featured my favorite song at the time, Desire'e. Listening to that song now makes me wonder if my parents even checked lyrics. Of course when I was five I had no idea what "Well I became a man At the hands of a girl Almost twice my age" actually referred to. I just thought it was catchy. So there you go: I enjoyed (and still do) John Denver and Neil Diamond. All this to say that I recently bought Neil's 12 Songs CD the other night, and it is quite good. For someone who is the consummate showman, this is a very restrained album. I think Rick Reuben will do for Neil Diamond's career what he did for Johnny Cash: create a late career renaissance.

The Historian

I just finished this book last night. I'm not sure it lives up to the hype that Amazon and other readers have placed on it. I think you could sum up the thesis statement for this novel as "Dracula digs books." At 638 pages it gets very long winded in places. The author is a good writer, but I think I'd settle for a little more conciseness in her prose. I do think you'll see this in a movie theater fairly soon