Why the Return of the Jedi is more awesome than you.

Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi

Does your favorite movie have light sabers in it? Does it have force lightning in it? Does it have Han Solo in it? No? Then your favorite movie cannot, (on a factual and metaphysical level) be more awesome than mine: The Return of the Jedi. (It's science.) Now that you have accepted the crushing truth of that statement, let me tell you why.

First off, if you have been paying attention at all, you will note that TROTJ has light sabers, force lightning and Han Solo in it. But as if this weren't enough, it is home to the greatest representation of flat out good vs. evil that the world of cinema has ever known. And said representation is: the amazing, awe-inspiring confrontation between the Emperor, Luke, and Darth Vader, which is the climax of the entire series. We hear the dry, merciless wit from the Emperor as Luke's friends are slaughtered before his very eyes, placing him squarely among the wickedest of baddies of all time. We watch as the strength and good will of the last true Jedi (or is he?) that we have taken for granted yet rested all of our vicarious hopes upon falters. We see father pitted against son in a duel of strength and passion, of impure broken love opposing fading malice. We hold our breath as the Jedi's strength picks itself up again right before our very eyes. And we witness the conflict within Anakin Skywalker, the black knight of a new generation, the most mysterious, ruthless, loveable/hate-able character from here to Hoth, as he is faced with a decision. He must make this decision amidst the frantic cries, "Father, please…Father!" from his only son Luke. It is a decision that must be made, as Luke is tortured before his very eyes, nearing a pitiful and meaningless death at the crooked hands of the Man who claimed and destroyed his own life, but made him great. Will he intervene and rescue his begotten child, once conceived in love? Or will he stand by idle as Luke's last breath is drowned in a storm of hate. We wonder: has this hate chased the final traces of love away from the man that is left underneath the deathly black exterior we have come to fear? We hope: could there still be a chance for Darth Vader? And then it happens: Redemption.

What is the moral or message I am selling here? Well, one could be: "Despite a less than perfect ewok sequence, a film can still possess the makings of a heart wrenching masterpiece." Another moral could be: "If you haven't seen the original Star Wars trilogy, I will attack you with a wooden cane." (Audra...) But I think the best one is this, "Light sabers are just too awesome, you know you wish you had one, so just accept it and acknowledge the greatness of my favorite movie ever: The Return of the Jedi.

Currently listening : Twin Cinema By The New Pornographers Release date: 23 August, 2005

9:54 PM - 2 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Juxtaposition

Well Mother, what the war did to my legs and to my tongue,
You should've raised a baby girl,
I should've been a better son.
If you could coddle the infection
They can amputate at once.
You should've been,
I could have been a better son.

And when we go don't blame us, yeah.
We'll let the fires just bathe us, yeah.
You made us, oh, so famous.
We'll never let you go.

She said: "You ain't no son of mine
For what you've done they're gonna find
A place for you
And just you mind your manners when you go.
And when you go, don't return to me, my love."
That's right.

Mama, we all go to hell.
Mama, we all go to hell.
It's really quite pleasant
Except for the smell,
Mama, we all go to hell.


Mama- "And if you would call me your sweetheart,
I'd maybe then sing you a song"

But there's shit that I've done with this fuck of a gun,
You would cry out your eyes all along.

We're damned after all.
Through fortune and flame we fall.
And if you can stay then I'll show you the way,
To return from the ashes you call.

We all carry on (We all carry on)
When our brothers in arms are gone (When our brothers in arms are gone)
So raise your glass high
For tomorrow we die,
And return from the ashes you call.

From "Mama" by My Chemical Romance

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

If we get included in Christ's sin conquering death, we also get included in his life saving resurrection.  We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was signal of the end of death-as-the-end.  Never again will death have the last word.

Romans 6; 7-10

10:32 PM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

A Quiz on Applied Theory: The Life of Jonny Walls

Hello everyone, and thanks for taking a look at my quiz.  This is not some stupid forward, I made up all of these questions, just for fun, for my friends, to see who knows me the best.  If you don't know me well, you will be completely in the dark.  If you wanna give it a try, message me your answers, (just the letters and their corresponding question number will be fine) and I will score you, and send you your score and the correct answers.

A Quiz on Applied Theory: The Life of Jonny Walls

Note: Every question has option "e. all of the above."  I did this only so that when I wanted to have that answer, it didn't stick out like a sore thumb.  Fear not, it is never the "trick" correct answer.  It only applies when it actually may make sense.

1. What is my middle name?

            a. Leroy

            b. Levi

            c. Lee

d. Alan

e. All of the above

2. Where was I born?

a. Wausseon, OH

b. Lexington, KY

c. South Bend, IN

d. Chillicothe, OH

e. All of the above

3. What is my birthday?

a. April 23

b. April 24

c. April 25

d. April 26

e. All of the above

4. What do the pickles do?

a. Give it an extra kick

b. Really take it to the next level

c. Taste good, smell bad

d. Really put it over the top

e. All of the above

5. Who do I think is the greatest rock drummer in the world?

a. Me

b. Dave Grohl

c. Dana Carey

d. Neil Pert

e. All of the above

6. What is my favorite book?

a. A Clockwork Orange

b. TLOTR

c. Harry Potter & the Half-blood Prince

d. The Purpose-Driven Life

e. All of the above

7. Which of these is NOT in my top 10 favorite movies?

a. Boondock Saints

b. American Beauty

c. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

d. Chasing Amy

e. All of the above

8. Who do I love?

a. Bobby Bowden

b. That guy from Linkin Park

c. John Woo

d. Emily Jones

e. All of the above

9. What's the 1^st song I learned to play on guitar?

a. Come As You Are—Nirvana

b. Voodoo Chile—Jimi Hendrix

c. Sunshine of Your Love—Clapton

d. Disarm—Smashing Pumpkins

e. All of the above

10. What will I take any day of the week?

a. 5 or 6 yards on 1^st down

b. a close win

c. free money

d. a good football game

e. All of the above

11. What is the greatest gift I ever received?

a. 4-pack of Haynes underwear

b. My first Nintendo®

c. Signed Darth Vader figurine

d. Remote control car

e. All of the above

12. Zelda, the Ocarina of Time, is my favorite video game.  What is my 2^nd favorite game?

a. Kingdom Hearts

b. Resident Evil 4

c. Zelda, the Windwaker

d. Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic

e. All of the above

13. Who is hottest?

a. Ariel

b. Belle

c. Jasmine

d. Pocahontas

            e. All of the above

14. Which of these have I been known to say while burping?

a. Weep

b. Blink 182

c. Gilgamesh

d. Bilbo Baggins

e. All of the above

15. Who should we call?

a. Geoffrey…you know, Geoffrey Chaucer

b. Gin…you know, Bin Laden

c. Al…you know, Al Qaeda

d. Ghostbusters…you know, Them

e. All of the above

16. Who is my favorite movie character?

a. The Bride/ Beatrix

b. Tyler Durden/ "Rupert"

c. Anakin/ Darth Vader

d. Joel Barish

e. All of the above

17. Where do we have something for the whole family?

a. The Whole Family Restaurant

b. Hosternochee Bar & Grille

c. The House of Love

d. Walls' Café

e. All of the above

18. I am the ________ of Wilmore.

a. Offensive Coordinator

b. Count

c. Duke

d. Full-blood Prince

e. All of the above

19. Which of these is NOT one of my imagined places?

a. Aragorn's Lair

b. Gimli's Grotto

c. Legolas' Landing

d. Pippin's Palace

e. All of the above

20. What makes my teeth hurt?

a. Knives stuck between fork tongs

b. Ice skates scraping ice

c. Tough Meat

d. Scope mouthwash

e. All of the above

21. What is my favorite color?

a. Blue

b. Orange

c. Green

d. Silver

e. All of the above

22. Who do I hate most?

a. Miami Hurricane Football

b. Duke Basketball

c. USC Football

d. The Yankees

e. All of the above

23. Who do I love most?

a. Nirvana

b. Pedro the Lion

c. Stone Temple Pilots

d. Nickelback

e. All of the above

24. In what class did I receive my lowest score (single digits) ever?

a. Chemistry

b. Foods & Nutrition

c. Algebra 2

d. Floral Design

e. All of the above

25. Which of these cities have I NEVER visited?

a. Santa Monica

b. Las Vegas

c. Seattle

d. Chicago

e. All of the above

26. What is my part in the cheer?

a. Hey-oh!

b. Hya-hya!

c. Shiggity Shwah!

d. Woo-hoo Woo!

e. All of the above

27. What was the name of my select soccer team?

a. Jessamine Jammers

b. The Freedom

c. The Flyers

d. Storm

e. All of the above

28. What is the only bone I've broken?

a. Arm

b. Ankle

c. Thumb

d. Big toe

e. All of the above

29. What was the downfall of my 1^st attempt at a short film?

a. Dirty heads

b. Corrupt Mini-DV's

c. Botched audio

d. Actor strike

e. All of the above

30. What is my favorite animal?

a. Ring-tailed Lemur

b. Great White Shark

c. Mir-cat

d. Pygmy Hedgehog

e. All of the above

31. I have NOT been a member of which of the following?

a. Movie Club

b. Drummers Club of Wilmore

c. Car Club

d. Adventure Squad

e. All of the above

32. What was the name of my first car?

a. Millennium Falcon

b. Sonny

c. Charlie

d. Dirty Frank

e. All of the above

33. What was the 1^st CD I bought for myself from a store?

a. Everclear—Sparkle & Fade

b. Alanis Morrissette—Jagged Little Pill

c. Hootie & the Blowfish—Cracked Rearview

d. Bush—Sixteen Stone

e. All of the above

34. Which of the following has NOT been one of my jobs?

a. Ramsey's—Cook

b. BB Home & Garden—Assistant

c. Best Buy—Cashier

d. Asbury Cafeteria—Worker

e. All of the above

35. Which of these do I NOT abhor?

a. Root Beer

b. Swiss Cheese

c. Sushi

d. Baked Beans

e. All of the above

9:39 PM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

A seemingly random hodge-podge

"Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words.  And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!.........."Thank you!"

                                                            -Albus Dumbledore

   (From the book 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone', by J.K. Rowling)

Around this turn where the cross will cast your shadow
The people will all gather
To remember such a day
Where the flames grew as high as trees
And the world stopped for you and me

   -Underoath (From the song 'It's Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door) 

How to get the "Biggoron's Sword" in 'The Legend of Zelda; The Ocarina of Time'  for the Nintendo 64:

Get the normal cuccoo from the cuccoo lady by the fence in Kakariko village.  Take this cuccoo to Talon, in a building to the northeast in town, and use it to wake him up.  Return it to the cuccoo lady to get Cojiro, the blue, seemingly silent rooster. Take the blue cuccoo to the lost woods, by skull kid's tree, and use it to wake the carpenter's son.  You will recieve an odd mushroom.  Take this mushroom to the old hag in the potions shop in kakariko village before time expires and the mushroom goes bad. (You have to go through the back of another shop to get to her shop.)  Take the potion the hag mixes for you back to the boy in the lost woods.  When you get back, however, there will be a girl instead.  Offer her the potion, and she will give you a poacher's saw in return.  Take this saw to the boy's father, in Gerudo Valley.  He'll give you his broken Biggoron's sword in return.  Take the broken hilt to Biggoron at the top of death mountain, who agrees to fix it, but needs some eyedrops before he can work.  Take the prescription he gives you to King Zora in Zora's domain.  (if he is still frozen, you must thaw him with blue flame, found in the ice cavern, which can be carried in a jar.)  King Zora will give you the main ingredients (an eyeball frog.)  Hurry these over to the scientist in the little hut inside the entrance to Lake Hylia before the time runs out.  Once he makes the drops for you, run them back to Biggoron on top of Death Mountain, once again before time expires and they go bad.  Once you give them to him, he needs three days to make your sword.  You can just wait, or play the sun's song until the sun rises and sets three times.  After three days, talk to him and collect the bad ass-est sword since Andruil.

emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness
and cleanliness is godliness, and god is empty just like me.
intoxicated with the madness, i'm in love with my sadness
bullshit fakers, enchanted kingdoms
the fashion victims chew their charcoal teeth

(From the song 'Zero', by  Smashing Pumpkins)

"Listen, I don't care what you say about my race, creed, or religion, Fatty, but don't tell me I'm not sensitive to beauty.  That's my Achilles heel, and don't you forget it.  To me, everything is beautiful.  Show me a pink sunset and I'm limp, by God.  Anything.  'Peter Pan.'  Even before the curtain goes up at 'Peter Pan', I'm a goddam puddle of tears."  

                                                    -Zooey    

                          (From, the book, 'Franny and Zooey', by J.D. Salinger)

"But there is another kind of evil that we must fear the most, and that is the indifference of good men."

 -Mosignor  (From the movie, 'The Boondock Saints)

"I miss the comfort in being sad." - Kurt Cobain

5. Franny and Zooey/The Catcher in the Rye (can't decide)-----4. The Great Divorce----3. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire/ The Half Blood Prince (can't decide) 2. A Clockwork Orange------1. The Lord of the Rings

"Say what you want about the tenence of national socialism...at least it's an ethos."  - Walter  (From the Movie, 'The Big Lebowski'

Some Will Serek Forgiveness, Others Escape--  By Underoath-----

I heard a voice through the dischord
Of a deluge of passers-by.
I saw one gaze frozen in time
Watching me passing by.
I swear I'll know your face in the crowd,
And I'll hear your voice so loud
When you're whispering...

Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger, to be stronger.
Hey ungrateful I will teach you
To forgive one another.

Here's my kiss to betray
Desperate to brush the lips of grace.
Do you feel hollow when you think of how I've lied?
Oh sweet angel of mercy with your grace like the morning
Wrap your loving arms around me.
Oh sweet angel of mercy with your grace like the morning
Wrap your loving arms around me.

Hey unfaithful I will teach you
To be stronger, to be stronger.
Hey ungrateful I will teach you
To forgive one another.
Hey unloving
I will love you

Jesus I'm ready to come home...

1:31 AM - 5 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Beauty in the eye of the beholder?
Current mood: contemplative

Beauty- 1. An assemblage or graces or properties pleasing to the eye, the ear, the intellect, the aesthetic faculty, or the moral sense.  -Webster's Dictionary.

So that is the definition of beauty.  But is the old saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," an accurate description of the effect that beauty has on the human mind (or should I say, the effect we have on it) or is beauty a universal constant, like hot, cold, black and white?  I certainly won't be the first to discuss this question, as beauty is often the subject of philosophical discussions heard round the world, but I mean to just give my opinion as it is now, owing to the fact that my mind and heart could change as experience opens my mind even further.

Beauty, in my opinion, or the word beauty rather, has become sort of a whore for the artistic crowd of a new generation, and perhaps, like Love, and Hate before it, has lost some of its luster or power.  One way being in the sense that people reel off the word casually, to describe say, a nice toss of the baseball, just as one might say, I love hot-dogs, or conversely, I hate hot-dogs, someone might say, "What a beautiful throw!"  I shouldn't think I'm alone in saying that when used in these types of situations, the word is being stretched thin, to say the least.  But, as this is almost excusable in the same way that slang is excusable in the place of correct grammar, I will not pay it much heed.  But in the other sense, the word is quite often heard within the aformentioned, "artistic crowd" (to use a terrible, generalization, but forgive me, I count myself among them) and is starting to lose its gusto.  Want to sound insightful while discussing a piece or art such as a painting, book, or film?  Say its beautiful.  Want to explain your worldview, but sound enlightened?  Just say you love beauty, in all of its forms.  This is the kind of mumbo-jumbo I'm talking about here.  This however, is not the topic of discussion, but a mere insight into the way I believe the word has evolved, and of course, this is by no means an ultimate assesment, but a general trend, that is only true for some.

Now, back to the original question.  Is beauty, really in the eye of the beholder?  One easy answer, would just be, "Yes,of course.  All beauty is, is the perception of beauty in one person's mind, so therefore, it can exist anywhere, in anyone's mind.  It may not necessarily exist in anyone's mind, but the possibility is there."  This argument holds strong on many fronts to be sure, and from one point of view cannot be refuted. From this first point of view, to deny it would be like telling someone, you can't like liver, because it simply isn't good.  Which, is of course, absurd, no matter how vile liver may be (and is.)

Another point of view however, would see beauty a little differently.  This point of view sees beauty as a universal entity, not to be determined case by case, by the fallible minds of humans, no less.  Let me explain.  For one to truly believe the first point of view, one must be willing to accept that bile, could be beautiful, or that a landfill could be beautiful.  Not enough to make you reconsider?  Well how about the possibilty that cold blooded murder could be beautiful, or rape, or burning children.  Because, after all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder right?  This may cause a hiccup in thinking for those in the first camp, but still, may not for others.  For this example, lets look at war, something that is at least a little more flexible than cold blooded murder or rape.  Now first off, there are many things found within a war, that many may hold to be beautiful, like self sacrifice, courage, and so forth.  But for this example, lets look at it through the eyes of a Hitler like character, who is on a conquest for domination.  Some may say (while even agreeing that they see this man's actions as brutal) that it is not unreasonable to think that one, although one that we find sick and dispicable, may find the unflinching quest for power, beautiful.  Or the will, and heart to dominate, to rise above, beautiful.  As awful as this sounds, it rings true, or can, at least.  That is not for you, or me to decide.  But this second point of view would say no, beauty itself, is above and beyond the terrible things that this world can produce.  For this to be true however, that is to say, that universal beauty does exist, another, more important thing must exist, and that is universal truth.

Ah, now here's a touchy subject.  Who am I, or is anyone else, to claim to know what universal truth is, if it even exists?  Well, I do not consider myself so great so as to try to lecture on what that is, but I tell you this, I do believe that it exists.  Is there ever a situation in which cold blooded murder of the innocent is beautiful?  No, there is not.  Lets look at another medium, music.  I think music is one that depends very heavily on one's point of view.  But in a rap song in which the entire chorus is, "Fuck bitches, make money," I have to say, according to my view of universal truth, that is not beautiful, and cannot ever be, that is ugly.  But for one who believes that degradation of women and the pursuit of riches is just another meaningless path one may take, or maybe even that is is a meaningful, admirable path, he could think that is beautiful.  Here you see the two points of view.  I am not afraid to say here, however, that I would find this other person to completely wrong.  Now of course, is everything as cut and dry as murder, rape, and souless non-art "music"?  Of course not.  A painter may find an abstract piece beautiful, and an attourney does not.  Or conversely, and attourney may find a painting of a pond and sunset beautiful, while a more "enlightened" artist may not.  Now in this sense, I believe in what many like to call shades of grey.  Of course the pond and sunset can be beautiful to the attourney, and not to the painter, or vice versa with the abstract piece, or whatever combination you like for that matter.  Perhaps a layperson who knows nothing of video games sees a game involving a sprawling landscape and mountains, and finds it beautiful, while the expert who programmed it only sees the text and numbers that went into its creation.  It is in these kinds of situations where I make my stance that no one has a right to tell another what is beautiful.  Some philosophers may find this to be a soft argument, catering to those who aren't sensitive enough to appreciate beauty, but I think that is senseless jargon.  I say, there is universal beauty, and then there is the beauty that we as humans can create, to emulate it as best we can.  Some emulate it better than others, and this is where debates over quality of art enter in.  If someone truly believes that Nickelback's stale "riffs" are truly more beautiful than the Beatles song "You Never Give Me Your Money," then I think they have no appreciation for aritistic beauty whatsoever, but you see where this differs from the actually black and white issues raised above.

So in the end, what do we know?  Maybe nothing, but I know what I think.  We know that there are shades of grey, but pitch black and perfect white do exist.  Some may not agree with this.  But wherever you stand, and least find beauty, love it, and love it hard.  Thanks for reading.

Currently playing : Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion Release date: 20 March, 2006

3:16 PM - 16 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

Story tellers Edition 1...The Odyssey
Current mood: tired

Story tellers- Edition 1. 

This first edition of storytellers will actually be an old piece I wrote (as you can see by the date)  for my old website that I used to keep up.  All events in the story are true (sort of.)  Future editions of storytellers will feature new writings, but mostly of old stories.  Enjoy.

The Odyssey---5/28/04

I'm just going to start off by saying how ironic it is that I am reading the Odyssey right now, for I experienced something much similar to what the brave Odysseus went through the other day. All though I am sure Odysseus would have considered his trying experience a carousel ride compared to what I went through the other day along with my companions Aaron Headley and Kozmo. Sure ol' Odysseus had to face man eating cyclposes, spell casting goddesses, enchanting Sirens, and these really huge guys that threw rocks, but all of these things are slight and insignificant next to the sheer incompetence of Steven Zunker. Now what had happened was, Steven and Koz's band had a show coming up, but their drummer is out of town, and they did not have a lead guitarist. So they asked me to play drums, and Headley to fill on the lead guitar. So Monday, Koz comes to pick me and Headley up from our homes in Wilmore, the peaceful land with more temples than restaraunts, to take us to Zunker's to practice, and this is where the story begins. Now from here on out, whenever you see the word "years", or "year", just replace it with "hours", or "hour." The reason for this being that each hour of this circus seemed like a year, and saying years is the only way to really do it justice. So off we set on the perilous Harrodsburg Rd., my companions, "Headley the Disgruntled", "Koz the Lion Hearted and Lion Haired" and I, "Jonny the Good looking," with Koz at the wheel of his ship, "The Tan Camry." Far away in a land of riches and women known as Equestrian Woods, the fair Steven awaited our arrival, so that we may make heavenly music unto the gods. All was smooth sailing when we neared Equestrian Woods for the first time, a mere 3 months later. But to my dismay as we got close enough for me to even see fair Steven's (parent's) house, we rushed right on past. (Here is another connection to the Odyssey, where they get close to home a number of times, one time so close that they can see people milling around on the shore, only to be swept back out to sea.) The reason we stayed out course north past Equestrian Woods was a good one, and it was because Koz's bass and part of his amp still lay in their resting places at Steven and Koz's own place in the far reaches of Lexington known as "Downtown", very near to the gladiator's collisseum of death known as "Rupp Arena." So at last after fighting and manuvering through many a ship on the congested seas, we reached Koz's and Steve's place. We were not here long, but did make contact with fair Steven through the messenger gods "Cingular" and "Verizon," and the Fair Steven assured us he would be waiting when we arrived at his parent's house. Treasure in hand, we set back on the wild and rainy seas of Harrodsburg Rd. toward the land of riches, where sweet music can be made. After a few months more of fighting the congested seas, we once again neared the land of riches. We were right next to the Island of great commerce known as "Palomar", when we were contacted again by the messenger gods with a message from Steven the fair. (It had been over a year now since we had left Wilmore) And the message was this. Steven had left his magical guitar in it's resting spot back at his house in Lexington, the very spot we had just come from. He had somehow failed to mention this earlier when Koz had told him we would be running out there before coming to the land of riches. At this point in frustration, Headley the Disgruntled opened a window and screamed at a vile tempter of the Palomar Industry, who was advertising Pizza for only 5 gold pieces. Headley told him this was an obvious lie, and the tempter was very afraid. So back north we headed, once again fighting through the increasingly congested seas. Finally we made it to the downtown house, obtained the magical guitar, and headed back shouthward. After fighting through the congested seas once again, we finally approached Palomar Center again, now over two years since we valiant three had left the peaceful land of Wilmore. Now for the third time, the land of riches was very close. It was at this point that Koz the Lionhearted and Lion Haired, busy with his piloting of the ship, hung his head in dismay, for he had realized a terrible mistake he had made. He had left the earth shaking bass pedal, and the drum throne of life at his parents house, which was far in the south seas, in the barren forgotten lands known as "Clear Creek." And that was how it came to pass that as we got to the Land of riches' neighboring land of equal riches, "Firebrook", which is no more than a mile away from our destination, we had to turn hard to the West and sail into the forgotten lands. It was at this point that Koz the Lion hearted and Lion haired contacted the fair Steven once again, and told him to be sure that the instruments were in place and ready upon our arrival. On the winding seas toward Clear Creek, the gods sent a sweet smell of honey dew through the windows of our ship, and I was forced to observe that this was the best thing that had happened to me in three years, and as soon as it had come it was gone, and our journey wore on. At last we arrived at Koz's parents' house, now almost three years since we left the peaceful land of Wilmore. After quickly obtaining the needed treasures, it was back north east toward the land of riches. A good three and a half years after our journey had begun, we finally reached the land of riches, and the sacred place for making sweet music, "Steven's Parent's house." Now in the Odyssey this is the point where things start to look up at last for ol' Odysseus. But this was quite the contrary for us. As we pulled into the harbor, we were greeted with the sight of all of the musical instruments, not setup, in the holding place for the Zunker's ships. (which were made in the faraway land of Germany, by the magical engineers at B.M.W.) So down into the dungeons of the house did we have to drag all of the musical instruments. And now, more than three and a half years after departing from the peaceful land of Wilmore, it looked as though finally, sweet music would be made. After a painful time of tuning, and preparation, the music finally began. Things were finally going our way, even if we did only have 9 months to practice. But just then the Earth Shaker Poseidon struck again, and reached his foul hand down into our practice and smote the bass drum pedal. That's right, 2 minutes into the first song, the bass drum pedal, which we had driven nearly a year out of the way for, snapped in two. Practice was over. Needless to say, nearly four years of my life were gone, with absolutely nothing to show. And I, Jonny the Good Looking despaired, The Fair Steven shrugged his shoulders and began speaking in tounges, Koz the Lion hearted and Lion haired was a little less lion hearted, and Headley the Disgruntled, was even more disgruntled. The End.

Currently listening : A Ghost Is Born By Wilco Release date: 22 June, 2004

11:41 PM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

The trek through the wild wild west (Part 2)

For all of you that used to look at my website that I had about 2 years ago, you will remember that I took a trip out west, very similar to the trip I am about to describe in full for you now, in which I wrote a detailed account of that trip.  Hence the subtitle, part 2.  The reason for this year's trip, is to help my friend Tim Cramer (henceforth known as Darth Tim, since there is another Tim in this story, and since Cramer is a Sith Lord) move back to KY.  So I was to fly out, help him pack, then drive his car while he drove the moving van home. Well in fine adventurer style, we decided to make a vacation out of it, and Steven Farmer (henceforth known as Farmer) joined along for the ride.  The following will be a long, and maybe somewhat overexaggerated version of what has gone down in the last 6 days.  Enjoy.
   
      It starts off with myself, and Farmer,  flying out of Louisville airport at 7 a.m. (after getting a ride to the airport from the trusty Dave Moughamian) and landing in Phoenix, AZ 3 hours later, at about 8 a.m. Phoenix time.  After some sleep, ( I had been up since 11 p.m. KY time and just pulled the all nighter) we hit the all famous, In and Out Burger, which rules the fast food world with iron fist, and golden bun.  Now the only reason I take the time to mention a fast-food restaurant is because...well, if you've ever been to and In and Out Burger, you know why.  If not, its worth you coming out west just to try it.  Yum. 
    Anyway, the following day we jumped in the Acura, (thankfully airconditioned) and headed west for L.A., to stay with the all faithful Tim Sheppard.  Around 6 p.m. we pulled into the beautiful Santa Monica, found Tim's place, got unloaded, and decided we would head down to Santa Monica pier.  Santa Monica is really great for a number of reasons.(PAUSE)....and here they are: It's on the ocean, there are lots of mountains, the pier (mentioned above) is a great place to go at night, with restaurants, a carnival, fishing, arcade, and just a bustling, lively, yet laid back atmosphere...and oh yeah, its the south California coast, its flat out beautiful.  Tim Shephard is a very fortunate man to have landed here, and we can't thank him enough for taking us in and showing us around.  After watching the sunset over the mountains up the coast, a delicious meal at Bubba Gump's shrimp, and hanging out on the pier, we made the next great stop.  And that was, a behind the scenes, 2 a.m. look at the offices of icon studios, owned by Mel Gibson, where Sheppard works as Mel Gibson's assistant.  Much to my delight we were even allowed (not entirely legally) to have a go in Mel's (yeah, we're on a first name basis now) office, where we saw and or held, the sword and axe from braveheart, (the sword still had mud on it) the crown of thorns from the passion, numerous awards, and a number of other things.  They're just sitting around his office!  The coolest thing I guess was just being in here, seeing some things that are projects in the works that won't come out for a while, and being in the personal work place of a legend like Mel Gibson.  Oh yeah, I also took a half eaten nut off of his floor.  The bidding starts at 2,000 dollars.  After this we snuck into a look-out park off Mullholland Dr. that was closed for the night and drank in the unbelievable scenery that is the City of Angels at night, a literal sea of lights.  After pie and shakes at the first Bob's Big Boy(yeah, out here, its Bob's, not Frisch's)in Burbank, it was around 3 a.m. and time to hit the sack.  The next day was full of a lot of sights that I saw last time around, but were new to Farmer, such as, The Kodiak theater (American Idol, Oscars, etc.) the Chinses theater, stars in the sidewalk and so forth, the hollywood hills and hollywood sign, and the scenic mulhollad drive view.  Later that day, we joined back up with Shehpard, who opted to sleep through the tourist stuff just mentioned, and headed down to the beach.  After some time soaking in the beach and the sun, and a very diligent lifeguard, we headed up to drive through Malibu, just to see it.  You might say its a "Quiet little beach community," (What movie, anyone?) After this we went down to the famous 3rd street for food, and to walk and take in the atmosphere, which was very alive with street music, dancing, rich people, etc.  Later that night, came one of the high-lights of the trip, and that was to see the movie "Brick", in the Arclight theater, one of the nicest, if not the nicest multiplex theater in the world.  The reason this was so great, (even though it cost 14 dollars for one movie) was cause this is an independent movie, which will probably never come to Lexington,  and I had seen the trailer and was dying to see it.  Since everything plays in L.A., we were in luck.  It was a fantastic movie, but that may have to be its own blog.
   The next day we said our good-byes to Shephard and his diligent and tolerant roomate Koji, and headed for Vegas.  I am not going to spend alot of time on this, as most of the thrills I got from Vegas, I got last time 2 years ago, since that was my first time, and I had more money for gambling.  This time was more of a stop in, let Farmer have a chance to experience it, blow 10 bucks in about 5 minutes in slots, get a steak dinner and a beer for 7.99, watch the fountain shows at the Bellagio, realize what a filthy town full of porn, and degradation Vegas is, go to bed, and get the hell out of there type of trip.  But the fountain shows really were spectacular, and the steak and beer was good.
    Moving on, on our 5th day of the trip we headed toward Lake Powell, which is a man made lake that is basically at the end of the Colorado River.  On the way, we were fortunate enough to drive through Zion State Park in Utah, an absolutely beautiful area of mountains, cliffs, desert, and greenery, the likes of which we do not have in KY.  I have pictures, and you will see them. Eventually we got to tiny Page, AZ, right on Lake Powell. Since we got in a bit late, we just found a room and did some sightseeing that night, finding great lookout points for the lake.  The next day, after checkout, we went in search of a good access point for the lake.  After a few unseccessful ventures we found a nice beach, and headed for a nice cove down at one end.  This was a mistake.  One minute we were driving along a nice sand dusted road, and the next, we were buried in a foot of sand in our low, two wheel drive, racing style, car.  We were stuck.  For the first time, my direction had led us astray.  After lots of pushing, grunting, and cussing, we had managed to get our the car out of the spot we were buried in.......to an even deeper spot, completely stuck.  Fortunately, after some time, some nearby vacationers came and gave us a hand, and we were able to push her out.  After kissing my biceps and tucking them back away, we got into the car and found a nice spot, where we spent the afternoon swimming, and laying around.  The best part of this was the sheer scenery, the immense feeling liberation from being on this clear blue lake, buried in these rock walls, that are still spread out enough that you feel out in the open.  The nature portion of the trip had finally, really begun.  After a quick scare where Darth Tim, in pure Sith Lord fashion, left his keyless entry remote, (the only way to get into the car without his alarm going off) in his pocket while swimming, leaving it dead for a while,  we finally got it working again, loaded in the car, and headed for the Grand Canyon.
    We arrived at the Grand Canyon that night a few hours before sunset, did the usual sightseeing, picture taking, and eventually ended watching the sun set into the canyon(so it seemed) and watched the colors spill across the abyss, and finally fade away into black.  Amazing,  What sucked was that we didn't have as much time to hike around the rim of the canyon like we did 2 years ago, but what was better was the angle we got of the sunset, which was (as I have already mentioned) quite striking.
    That night we drove into flagstaff AZ, where we spent the night, and got up his morning to go hiking in the mountains.  This was memorable for sure, as we were near the top of the highest point in the state.  The trails through the woods were really cool too, and the woods were just littered with fallen trees everywhere you looked, yet the live forest was still very thick and encompassing.  It was bizarre, but beautiful, being surrounded by all of this wreckage, and all of this standing natural life all at once.  I don't know why so many trees had fallen, but it was one of the most unique scenes I have ever seen.
    Tha night (that is, this night) we drove on home to Darth Tim's place to Phoenix, where we will spend all of tomorrow (Friday, 6/02) packing, and will head home on Saturday.  We don't feel like pushing it, so we are gonna stretch the 28 hour drive over 3 days, and arrive home on Monday.  This now concludes the chronicles of my second trip out west.   Look for pictures scrolling on my profile page after I get home.  If you actually read this far, thank you.  Now get a life.

Currently reading : The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Narnia) By C. S. Lewis Release date: 11 November, 2003

10:58 PM - 4 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

Book Review; The DaVinci Code
Category: Writing and Poetry

Well, it certainly is a national craze, I'll give it that much.  The highly talked about, highly feared (by the church) and most of all, the highly bought, Davinci Code.  This book by Dan Brown has been the center of controversy, discussion, and about anything else the popular reading world could put it at the center of.  I myself had no desire to read it.  I had heard the premise, and thought it sounded ridiculous, but after a while my curiousity got the best of me.  So I finally decided, "You know what, alot of my friends have read it, (not all mind you) but a lot, and its such a national phenomenon in sales, I might as well read it so I can know what the big deal is about."  So I did, and now, I give you this review, of  The DaVinci Code, by Dan Brown.

Like I mentioned before, I didnt't really want to read the book for a long time, so I did go into this book very skeptical.  However, when I had gotten about 40-50 pages into the book, I thought I knew what my overall diagnosis was going to be, and it was a tad different than what I had expected before beginning the book.  I could already see myself talking to all of my friend who love the book, and saying, "Well, it really is not a bad story, in fact its a well put together and creative story, its just Dan Brown is not that great of a writer, as far as his prose and ability to craft words and sentences.  I really felt this way, and figured this would be an acceptable answer to my friends who were fans of the books.  However, upon completing the book, I now have a different opinion; The DaVinci Code is simply not a good book.  The story, relies completely on a tangled mess of  "facts", which are admittedly interesting, but everything outside of these, or in other words, every original thought from Mr. Brown, I.E. characters, events, dialogue, descriptions, are downright boring, cliche,' and flatout childish.  Let me expound. 

First there are the so called "facts" that have the church and religious world in a tizzy.  If you do not know what these are, I will not spoil the book for you by saying them, but suffice it to say that they upend everything Christians believe.  Well I have heard many people get arrogant and completely dismiss any problem saying, "It's a fiction book, and thats that."  Well this is true, but it cannot be dismissed so simply.  At the very beginning of the book, before the story begins, it says, "All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate."  Obviously they are suggesting that there is truth to be found in the suggestions made in this book, being that every piece of evidence used to support the claims come from either, a piece of artwork, architecture, document, or ritual.  So, do I believe any of what this book claims about Christianity?  The answer is, "Hahahahaha!  Hell no."  Or do I believe the claims that it makes about history, outside of religion?  Well, some of it is plain fact, and some I wouldn't necessarily have a hard time believing, but alot is plainly biased, side taking historically, and cannot be given any credence.  As if Dan Brown, and his wife (who actually provided him with all of the interesting facts, that make up the only intriguing part of this entire story) are somehow in on a secret that you, me, and thousands of other historians are not.  It's ridiculous.  Now let me clarify once more.  I don't have a problem with a fiction book taking liberties to tell a good tale, thats what fiction is all about, even if it is something that I don't agree with.  But in this case, there is obviously an agenda, other than telling a story,  not just in the opening statement in the book, mentioned above, but with the tone taken the entire story.  Also, the story is so completely one-sided in every claim that it makes, painting Christianity so badly, its almost funny.  So as a Christian, am I offended.  No.  Thats dumb.  And truth be told, Christians have done plenty in the past to deserve to be strewn in a bad light.  But maybe I feel my intelligence is insulted the way the characters make it sound like its so plain that they know the truth, and the entire rest of the world, basically, does not.  Its also just poor writing to be so, completely biased, even if it is through your characters.  So as a Christian, morally, should you read this book?  I don't see why not, I mean, I don't exactly side with fanatical "Christians" claiming that the devil comes in a book, I just personally see it the way I described above.  Just don't be surprised if someone younger or more impressionable could be influenced by this book.  Now, if you're not a Christian, and couldn't care less if Jesus is painted as the son of God or the son of Buddah, or are a Christian just coming in as a fan of literature, and good writing, should you read this book?  No, you should not.  I'll explain below.

As you saw above, I had some problems with the liberty this book takes on some historical claims.  But this doesn't mean that a well written, and engaging story can't exist within these parameters.  That, is not the case the DaVinci Code, however.  First of all the overall writing is just so flat, and so basic, its almost like someone came up to a seventh grader with a plotline, and was like, here, you write all of the dialogue and descriptions. 

The characters in the story, while there is obvious effort to give them all unique voice and personality, still just come out sounding like they stem from the same being.  Yes, there is a difference in the things that are thought and said by the protagonist, a mild, scholar and professor, and things said by the more extreme, "wicked" characters.  But to a discernable reader it is evident that they all came from the same mind, like they're all just an extreme extension of one personality.  Whereas with great character development, you forget that the characters all came from one person's imagination.  Its almost like the characters are truly their own entities, existing outside of the boundaries of that particular story.  But again, this is not the case. 

The events in the story unfold one after another, and Dan Brown just basically lays each thing out, without any sort or beauty or mysticism.  The story is just simply written down.  The one thing that can be said for the story is the intricate ways all of the clues and facts and everyting tie together.  There was obvioulsy some care taken when mapping all of this out.  But the truth is this, the book just continues to withold information from you in a cheap attempt to keep you reading.  Now I must say that this tactic of story telling is not inheirantly a bad thing.  But when the story is as devoid of any sort of unique voice, atmosphere, or prose as this one is, this tactic is all the story is relying on, and I'm not buying it.

The message;  What is Dan Brown's message?  Well, I don't have to spend long here, because there is none.  Every great song or writing has a message in it, no matter how deeply buried it may be.  This is the essence of the story.  Like so many other suspense, or thriller stories, The DaVinci Code has none.  It is simply a set of events laid out.  There is no great moral, or anti-moral truth or belief ingrained into it.  This contributes greatly to the book's overall sterile heart and soul.  In fact, at one point, the main character's thoughts reveal him to believe the Church to be a good thing, because they help people, and give people a sense of security, even though they hinge their beliefs on (according to him) complete falsehoods and lies.  This shows absolutely no backbone, and a very wishy-washy overall worldview.  And yes, it comes from a fictional character, but anyone with any sense can see that the main character portrays what is supposed to be the closest thing to any moral or fundamental truth in this story.

My final thoughts;  Dan Brown is not a good writer, at all.  At first I thought he was at least a good story teller, but the twists and events in this story are so, well, just exactly what you would expect, it makes you feel dumb.  Now I'm not saying they are completely predictable, but once you find out, you're just kind of like, "Seriously, you couldn't come up with anything else?"  And the main big twist and final closing piece of the "puzzle" are so horridly, just, typical, that I almost laughed out loud, and read the paragraph like 4 times to make sure I wasn't mistaken.  Again, the writing itself is just a joke, and just proves that America will swallow anything you feed it if its shiny or glossy.  I literally know 15 people who can write better than this, and this is just out of my closest friends.  I was in Joseph Beth yesterday, just surrounded by mountains of books, many of which are no doubt masterpieces.  And the thought occured to me, there are so many incredible books that I will never have time to read.  Which brings me to my last point; Given the fact that there are mountains of great, unique, inspired, visionary tales out there that you and I will never have time to read, please, do not waste your time on The DaVinci Code.

10:53 AM - 11 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

Harry Potter (Just read it)
Current mood: content

This is not a book review of Harry Potter, nor will I discuss in any details any plot points or facts about the stories.  This is an argumentative piece on why you...yes, you, should read Harry Potter, the best-selling book series, by J.K. Rowling.  (Though I may mention the movies at some time in this article, this piece is about the books and the books alone.)

Let me start out by telling you how I see Harry Potter.  So far, (that is having read books 1 through 6, the seventh not due out for over a year I believe) the Potter series has been a shockingly profound, and insightful view of the pressures and pains of coming of age.  It has been an emotional roller coaster, dealing with morality, spirituality, philosophy, physicality, and anything else you can stick a "y" on the end of.  It has been an intricate story of a wide cast of characters, meticulously thought out from the biggest event from one's past, to the slight twitch of anticipation a character may accidentally give away during a critical scene.  In Harry Potter, the lines between good and evil have been laid out bare, blurred, erased, and laid out bare again, without showing any signs of stopping.  But mostly and above all, Harry Potter is an outright thrilling(and let me repeat, thrilling), suspenseful, funny, and enjoyable adventure, covering almost any and every reason anyone would ever pick up a book.

I was skeptical myself before starting, and having finished the first book, The Sorcerer's Stone, I was pleased, though not blown away.  Do not misunderstand me, this is a very well written, enjoyable book, but do not judge the series by it alone.  What is in store in the coming books is more than a little bigger, and better than this modest, concise initial offering.  Upon completion I was eager to read the second book, The Chamber of Secrets.  By the time I had read two chapters of this I was hooked, and bought the third book; The Prisoner of Azkaban the very night I had finished it.  (I have spoken with others that, while thoroughly enjoying the first two installments, did not fall head over heels for these books until the third.  Like I said, I was hooked early into the second book, but I can at least understand where they are coming from.)  However, one thing is certain; Once you move into the third book and beyond, into the Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, and The Half Blood Prince, a tale so immersive and well thought out is being weaved, literally, weaved together, that you will understand why Rowling has boxes and boxes of background stories for each character written, most of which  will never even make it into the books.  Not only do the books take a darker, more mature tone with each installment, but constantly the smallest details that you thought inconsequential from past books begin to resurface and reveal themselves to have been clues, and foreshadowing in hiding all along.  The character development in these books is literally second to none, that I have ever come across.  Having read classics like the Lord of the Rings, (my favorite book of all time) and The Chronicles of Narnia, along with a lot of other genres spanning from recent times to the earliest poems of Dante and Homer, I can still say this with confidence.  If there is one thing Rowling does better than or as well as any one, it is character development.  You will, become attatched to these characters.  You will love some, and you will hate some, and surely, you will always want to read on to the next chapter to see what happens to them.  I for one am positively bursting to get my hands on the final book

Now, I address those of you that think, (incorrectly), that Harry Potter is not for you.  You may think that you are above Harry Potter and your reading tastes are too good for something so childish and terribly "popular."  Well if you could get off of your self righteous high horse for a moment, you would see that  because something is popular, does not neccissarily mean it is watered down, easily accessible, mindless crap.  Admitteldy, often, that turns out to be the case, but realize that art sucking is what makes it suck, being popular is just an affect, not a cause.  And obviously, this is not always the case.  But those of you who are too self important to see that the Beatles, The Lord of the Rings, Nirvana, Casablanca, and The Divine Comdey (to name a few) are some of the most popular works of art or artists of all time, must be so caught up in your quest to not be trendy that you probably don't see how incessantly trendy your very attitude is.  The real thinkers will always be those who decide for themselves what is great and what is not. 

Now for those of you who say, "Well I'm just not a reader."  To you I say, "Well now you are."  These books have somehow found a way to be completely accessible and enjoyable, while remaining completely well written and extremely thoughtful.  I don't know what else to tell you except that I almost guarantee that you will thank me if you finally decide to crack these books open. 

To further my point to all parties, here are some of the people that I know personally who like myself love the Harry Potter series.  An engineer, a psychology major, another engineer pursuing a phd., a degree holder in philosophy pursuing a phd. in interplay between theology and the arts at St. Andrews University in Scotland, a philosophy professor at Kings College in PA, an English Major, a foreign policy major, a singer/songwriter pursuing an M.D., a college dropout, a half asian guy, and of course, me.  (These are only a few of the people I know personally who love these books.)  Believe me when I say that some of these people are very, very intelligent, well read, and cultured, to what I'm sure would meet even the highest of you elitist's standards.  And I have never, ever met anyone who read these books and did not love them.  I'm sure these people exist, I guess.  I think one guy once said they weren't good in some stupid book review, but let me assure you, this man is an embicile, and an ass.

J.K Rowling has sold millions upon millions of books, and millions upon millions of people can't be wrong, am I right?  No, I am not.  Millions of people can be wrong, just look at the Left Behind series, or Nickelback.  But I'll tell you this, the millions upon millions of Potter readers are not wrong.  If you haven't seen the movies; consider yourself lucky.  (they're not bad, actually  3 and 4 are really good, and are worth watching AFTER reading the books) but you still have the opportunity to take Harry Potter as a completely new experience.  This is truly a great thing, take advantage of it.  Those of you who have seen the movies and enjoyed them; READ THEM ANYWAY.  The movies don't even begin to cover as much as the books, meaning there is an astounding level, not only of detail, but of main story that you had no idea even existed.  For those of you who saw one or more of the movies and didn't like it/them.  READ THEM ANYWAY.  I didn't care much for the first two films, but really liked the third and fourth.  However, to put it simply;  the books put the movies to absolute shame. 

Some things are not for everybody.  Pulp Fiction, for example, is brilliant, devious, disgusting, and beautiful, though some will flat out hate it for its over the top crudeness and vibrantly unique, therefore hard to get used to, style.  Coldplay, while catchy, and generally well thought out in their progressions and compositions, may be to soft or easy to swallow for the tastes of some looking for more ground breaking or edgy themes.  The Harry Potter series however, is: Funny, heartbreaking, intense, exciting, lighthearted, extremely dark, profound, fun, heavy, light, and everything in between.  And somehow, it does them all right.  Very, very right.  If you haven't read Potter, do yourself a favor, go, read them...Now.

Currently listening : Ok Computer By Radiohead Release date: 01 July, 1997

12:28 AM - 9 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

The Big Apple v.s. the City of Angels
Current mood: okay

Alright, here comes the most random blog I've done yet, but hey, why not?  I was about to give you an explaination of how I came to the decision to do this blog, but to hell with that, lets just do it.  L.A. v.s. New York.  (all in my ever humble opinion of course.)  I have been to L.A. once, (though we spent two days there) and New York city twice, (once almost exactly a year before 9/11, and once 2 years afterwords.)  but I did alot of the same things in New York the second time, because I was with two people who had never been.  Therefore this contest should be evenly keeled.  Also remember, there is plenty from each city that I have not seen, but this is just my impressions thus far in life.  I claim to be no expert.  With that, let the sparring begin. 

Round 1- Climate

L.A.-Sunny, extremely hot in some places, but very comfortable near the coast, the same breeze that blows through the palm trees oughta cool you off.  It pretty much never gets cold.

NYC-Freaking freezing in the winter, hot as balls in the summer, (the buildings create this wall that encloses the heat from the pavement) and don't even get me started on the subways in the summer.

This one's a no brainer.  Round one goes to-L.A. 

Round 2- Culture

L.A.- As you would expect with any big city, there is a little of everything.  China town was pretty cool, but sorta slow, and spread out.  From my impressions the overall diversity was about what you expect from any city that large, nothing more.

NYC- The melting pot of the world.  Ok, I guess I can't really say that, since I have not seen so much of the world, but good lord, I, for one, have never seen anything like it.  There are numerous cultures literally back to back, side by side, everywhere you look.  There is