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I Actually like the Star Wars Prequels

20 Jan

I don’t know about you but the farther I get from the original release of Star Wars eps. I, II, III the more I appreciate them.  The acting is not great, and Jar-Jar Binks is still a painful experience, but the story arc is still good.

Yes I do believe that eps IV, V, & VI stand-alone and they are amazing.  In the original trilogy Luke Skywalker is the hero, Han gets the girl, and the Rebellion defeats the evil Empire.  It’s great.

What George Lucas was trying to do with the prequels is important though.  I think he was trying to show us why Luke matters so much.  Using Anakin Skywalker’s journey from an innocent and gifted child, to an accomplished yet troubled hero, to a man who is willing to do anything to save the woman he loves and ultimately the person who destroyed the Jedis and fell to the Dark Side, George Lucas gave us a character who is troubled and conflicted.  Darth Vader is no longer just the face of evil.  He’s a person who tried to do what he thought was right and he was ultimately decieved.

Star Wars then becomes about the redemption of Anakin Skywalker.  Luke’s mission is not about overthrowing the empire it is about rescuing his father from darkness.  In the process the Emperor is defeated but in the process Luke saves his father.  I find the saga of Anakin Skywalker to be compelling.  I find Luke’s journey to be very interesting.  And I wonder how long we should wait until we reboot eps. I, II, & III and see if we can do it right.  that or just edit out Jar-Jar and replace the actors for Anakin.

Dear Writers of The Office

31 Aug

Dear Writers of The Office,

First of all, I love The Office.  I do however feel like it is reaching the time when we have to say good bye.  I know that as long as this program lives it will be making NBC and all involved a lot of money.  That fact does not justify leading the show into it’s twilight years and sucking every last bit of life out of it.  I suggest that we make this year the last year of the beloved program.  Let’s begin to set in motion a plan for how The Office should pass into syndication eternity with dignity.

Having said all of that may I propose a tidy little way to wrap things up?  I’m going to do so anyway.  The premise of my suggestion is nothing new, but there are new layers to the whole thing.

First, the whole thing was a dream.  Here’s where things get interesting.  The whole thing is Creed’s Dream.  But not Creed as we know him today.  A younger Creed, played by Ryan (B.J. Novak).  This could be revealed when he wakes up and the person trying to wake him up keeps calling him Creed.  This makes the entire narrative of The Office a kind of warning for Ryan as he may turn into (old) Creed someday.

Second, the person trying to wake him up is James Spader, who is his father in the waking world.  That could explain why he appears so late in the dream.

Third, Ryan (Creed) is waking up on his first day of business school.

Fourth, Ryan’s first business school professor is none other than Michael Scott played by Steve Carrell.

Tight shot on Ryans bewildered face. Then Credits.

You’re welcome NBC.

Super Heroes in Seattle

6 Jan

As somebody who grew up reading comic books and still enjoys a good graphic novel today.  I remember asking myself as a young man, what would it take to actually become a crime fighting vigilante.  I realized early on (around 4th grade baseball when I really sucked and didn’t get a hit all season) that I would never have the skills required to roam the streets fighting crime and dispensing immediate justice on the hordes of villians that terrorized my quaint Kirkland neighborhood.

Even though my dreams were crushed early that did not mean that super heroes would not emerge some day, some where.  And now they have.  In Seattle of all places.  The video above recounts an event where Phoenix Jones stopped a car burglarly in process.  This happened in Lynnwood.  That’s where I live.  I will sleep better knowing that this guy is out there.  His arsenal is not as impressive as Batman’s but even Bruce Wayne had to start some where.

Now . . . about those super powers he’s lacking.  I will immediately begin research on radioactive bugs . . .

Personality Patterns

22 Sep
I took the Personality Patterns assessment, and my top four were: Creative, Intellectual, Innovative & Introspective.

I don’t usually like personality assessments because in my experience they have been used to limit instead of enhance relationship.  This seems like it could be helpful to expand relationships.

Creative

You are good at solving problems, coming up with original ideas, and seeing connections between things, connections that most other people miss. People with a high score on the “creative” trait often are employed in such fields as finance and scientific research, and enjoy avant garde and classical music as well as literary fiction and scholarly non-fiction.

You do not shun abstractions and concepts in favor of the concrete and tangible.

Intellectual

You are thoughtful, rational, and comfortable in the world of ideas. People find you interesting to talk to. You’re the living embodiment of the saying “You learn something new every day.” In general, those with a high score on the “intellectual” trait are employed in such fields as teaching and research, and are enthusiastic about reading, foreign films, and classical music.

You do not avoid abstract conversation, experimenting with new ideas, or studying new things. It bores you to stick to the straight and narrow of what you already know.

Innovative

You come up with a lot of ideas; if one doesn’t work out, there’s always another waiting in the wings. You often have interesting solutions to difficult problems. You’re practically a one-person brainstorming session.

You are less interested changing the world than in dealing with things as they are. Unlike those who spend all their time trying to solve problems, you prefer to zero in on things that work and stick with them.

Introspective

You like your own company; you’re a very interesting person. Tracking your own mental processes, knowing what you’re thinking and why you do what you do, is important to you. Often, what’s going on in your mind is more compelling than what’s going on outside. For the most part, those with a high score on the “introspective” trait enjoy reading, taking long walks, learning new things, and other solitary activities.

You are not someone who is constantly looking to be among a group of friends; you never feel bored when you are by yourself.

- – - – - -

I think this profile was a pretty good assessment of my personality.  I think these kinds of assessments are valuable to individuals because they help us to know who we are and how we think.  If we are going to follow God, one of the most vital aspects of that is knowing how we work, think and view the world.

Who are you?

Ah man, and I just got new cards

20 Apr

should have listened to this guy:

thanks mynorthwest.com/tbtl

No Drowning

2 Apr

I thought this was a nice reminder:

probably the coolest thing I’ve seen in a long time

12 Mar

I saw at 37signals.com

more cool stuff here.

This Sunday

9 Mar

I have the honor of preaching again this Sunday Morning.  Talking about 1 Thess 4:13-5:11.

Thinking about just playing this movie.

not really.

My Son Is Famous

3 Mar

I listen to a radio show podcast – TBTL, which is short for Too Beautiful To Live.  Great show!  Last monday Judah and I were bored and we were playing with Garage Band which was awesome.  I had Judah says, “boom roasted”, “RAWR”, “Come On”, and “Awesome”.  All of which are regular audio drops on TBTL. On a whim I emailed the recording to the TBTL host, Luke Burbank.

Like I said I listen to the TBTL on podcast so I’m a little behind.  Today i was listening to last monday’s show and what do you know, I heard them playing our recording.  How fun.

If you are not listening to TBTL, I would recommend it, it’s a great, fairly random podcast on 97.3 KIRO, weeknights from 7-10. or you can get the podcast on mynorthwest.com/tbtl.  If you want to download the specific episode where Judah was “featured” you can download that here.  You should listen to the whole thing, but you can hear Judah around the 23 minute mark.  Enjoy.

what’s in my brain

26 Jan
  • vision day was great, and the video and audio are up at thecreeksidechurch.org
  • i’m really proud of our guest services team as they made this thing happen yesterday.  Go TEAM!
  • Team work makes the dream work, (that’s for you matt hodson)
  • our ministry passports turned out really great – Kate Thaete is a ninja
  • youth group was fun last night
  • church and youth group in one day makes for a super long day and monday is hard to get motivated and get going.
  • Looking forward to purpose leaders meeting in 5 minutes.
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