Cinematic Intention
March 8, 2010 4:18 PM
When I logged into my web application thingy, I had no idea what I wanted to write about?
I had been thinking about blogging on “Up in the Air” which I enjoyed a great deal (not surprising, since it was created by the same man who did two other favourites, “Thank you for Smoking” and “Juno”). There’s lots of great themes in the movie: the nature of relationships, our reason for being, the question of what is happiness & can it ever exist consistently?
Instead I decided I wanted to ask a question.
This is possibly a very stupid idea, given that my readership is maybe 5ish…
My question, for all 5 of you is “Why do you go and see movies? To turn your brain on or to turn it off?”
I know a number of people who only want to go to movies if they can guarantee at least one explosion every 10 minutes. They need action, adventure & possibly some gratuitous violence.
I on the other hand love a movie that causes me to think. I want to know what I would do in any given situation, or whether or not I agree with the philosophical presuppositions that the main character holds. Is their moral viewpoint logically consistent? Even better, does some activity in the movie cause me to ask whether I am morally or ethically consistent?
Even something like Avatar has levels to consider. Are we a culture that is getting caught up in nature worship? Is a technological societie’s ability to dominate a weaker (if more ecologically friendly) society just reflect the same kind of relationship we see in nature between, say, the Lion and its prey?
Even when a movie doesn’t ask a deep moral question, I still prefer the “Brain turned on” movies. Something that is dialogue driven, that keeps you thinking, that distorts one’s perception of time or space… It’s nice to inhabit a reality that is profoundly not mine, yet stretches my understanding of my own reality.
What gets you going in a good movie?
Baptising Babies
February 16, 2010 4:32 PM
It seems to garner more controversy in the US, though I have had some interesting chats with baptists here in Australia too.
For mine, there are two reasons why I happily baptised my baby (actually, there are lots, but these are two big ones)
Firstly, I would say I am an advocate of the normative principle over the regulative principle. That is to say, if the Bible doesn’t prohibit something, generally I might be comfortable in doing it. The Bible doesn’t cover what it means to baptise children, and I think it is a reasonable thing to do, so away I go.
Secondly, I think there is a sense of community that we see in the Bible that we have lost in the modern day world. In the first instance you have the patriarchs of families declaring their whole family Christian & then being baptised in the Bible. Secondly, there is an expectation that the children of a person will be brought up in the tradition of their parents. Baptism for me is an expression that the child is mine, will be brought up as a Christian. Pumpkin may make a decision to go another way when she is an adult, but that is no different than any other adult who has been baptised who then choose another path.
Of course, it is also a tradition of the Anglican church & has been a traditional practice of the church as a whole for at least a millenium & most likely a fair bit more!
Anyway, I know most of my readers are more interested in the pictures (if you haven’t already seen them on facebook) so here they are!
Here we are making promises about our faith & how we intend to bring up our bub. From left to right it is Matty, Simone, Rosemary, Me, Shona & the Pumpkin.
Splash and Dash? I’d be just as happy with full emersion. Happy to baptise this way too!
Here is the pumpkin about to open a present from her Aunty Bec.
I was really happy with this pic, but have to admit that it was a fluke to have her face reflected in the bowl.
Pumpkin’s concentration on her very first sugary delight is topped only by her enthusiasm in the following picture.
A passion is born! I hope she follows in her father’s footsteps, falling in love with photography. I’ll be happy if she doesn’t inherit my sweet tooth though…
Thomas Cranmer
February 12, 2010 2:34 PM
Twitter has been a real phenomenon for many people.
There was that big race to see which star could manage to get a million followers, a million people who wanted to know all about how much BBQ sauce they put on their steak, how long the queue was at the bank or any other kind of mindless minutiae from their lives.
I’ve always preferred actual blogs for that reason. People usually think a little more about what they’re saying and you have a delightful insight, not just into their preference in condiments, but into all those things that are important in their lives.
It was some of famous bloggers that got me interested in being online. It’s endlessly fascinating to see how the life of Wil Wheaton, has changed and grown since his early days as Wesley Crusher and Gordie Lachance)
For all of my hopes, gaining an insight into the lives of the rich and famous, I never thought I would get the chance to read a blog by the great Thomas Cranmer.
Apparently being burned at the stake in 1556 wasn’t enough to keep him down, and now he has lots of spare time to comment on politics and theology. According to Dan (who passed the link on to me) he even has an email conversation with Richard Dawkins!
Will the wonders of the internet ever end?
Loving Calvin & Hobbes
February 10, 2010 2:22 PM
Calvin: Hobbes, do you think our morality is defined by our actions, or what’s in our hearts?
Hobbes: I think our actions SHOW what’s in our hearts…
Calvin: (after a moment’s contemplation) I resent that!!!
I love so much about the cartoon. I own a bunch of the collections & I re-read them every year or so. In particular, I like the fact that Bill Watterson engages with big questions about the nature of existence, art & theology. For example, the dialogue above (Watterson was quite outspoken about his thoughts on merchandising & copyright, so I won’t breach by posting the actual cartoon) really cuts to the heart of human nature!
We like to think we are good. People generally appeal to “the good inside,” but really, when you look at our actions nationally, and personally, one realises that we really are quite immoral people.
I guess it’s symmetrical to see Calvin the cartoon actually supporting his namesake’s theological viewpoint!
Organised Religion
February 2, 2010 4:44 PM
I was reading a blog the other day & the writer had made the statement that she could “never be a part of an organised religion.”
It made me wonder, would you want to be a part of a disorganised one?
Readiness
January 30, 2010 9:37 PM
So, it’s a big day when your first child spends their first day at daycare. It’s not that we haven’t been away from “the Pumpkin.” It’s just that when one of us has been away, the other has been there to report, or at worst one of our mums has been there!
Is your kid the bully? (She towers over other kids her age.. so it’s a legitimate fear.)
Will she just scream for 8 or so hours? (She DEFINiTELY has a good set of lungs!)
All of our fears came to nought. She forgot us before we had even left & then she played happily with other kids, charmed all of the workers & slept…. like a baby!
That has meant that I have been able to let go of that concern & worry about other things.
Fun things to worry about… like when my package of American foods will arrive?
The moral to the story is “don’t get into late night conversations with your sister on Skype, or you’re likely to buy almost anything!”
I got some cinnamon chocolate chips for her, while I got some liquid smoke (to go in “Not Quite Nigella’s ‘Bacon Jam’”), but I also had to make up a minimum purchase price, so a bottle of Habanero chili sauce, and a Dr. Pepper flavoured Lip Smacker had to be included too!
The sauce… yeah, it’s hot. And the lip balm tastes great! As for the Bacon Jam, that is coming soon (and don’t worry Al, you’ll get some sent to you… even if I don’t recieve a CD of sermons… ;) )
So there you go. It’s been a fun time for sending children out & getting packages in! I have received one or two other things, but they will get their own posts later! Meanwhile, here are a couple more pics…
Shona did a good job of hiding the fear in her eyes!
This is what it’s all about!
Preaching
January 23, 2010 9:34 PM
I may attempt preaching without a voice tomorrow morning…..
I’m over this cold!
Read More
Read on in the Archives