Barack Obama Sets the Record Straight at Christianity Today
Barack Obama, interviewed at Christianity Today:
I am a Christian, and I am a devout Christian. I believe in the redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that that faith gives me a path to be cleansed of sin and have eternal life. But most importantly, I believe in the example that Jesus set by feeding the hungry and healing the sick and always prioritizing the least of these over the powerful. I didn't 'fall out in church' as they say, but there was a very strong awakening in me of the importance of these issues in my life. I didn't want to walk alone on this journey. Accepting Jesus Christ in my life has been a powerful guide for my conduct and my values and my ideals.
Breaking News: Heath Ledger Found Dead in His Apartment.
The New York Times has the developing story.
Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment, apparently of a drug overdose. He was 28.Read more
Name a Character in Cyndere's Midnight!
So, there's this monster in Cyndere's Midnight, the sequel to Auralia's Colors...Read more
Favorite Films of the Decade
Adam Walter's still in the mood for lists. So he's picking his favorite films of the DECADE.
What are yours?
I'm going to wait until my next break in the editing project. And then I'll come back to this post and share my own picks in answer to Adam's. So check back...
[UPDATE]
Okay...
Here are my ten favorite films of this decade so far. These aren't necessarily the greatest works of art, but they are the films I'm enjoyed and recommended the most since 2000.
- The New World
- Code Unknown
- Yi-Yi (A One and a Two)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Gosford Park
- Punch-drunk Love
- Into Great Silence
- The Son
- Finding Nemo
- Stevie
And here are thirty more in alphabetical order...
Paprika (2006)
This brief review of Paprika was originally published in Risen magazine.
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In 2001, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away won the Best Animated Feature Oscar, and introduced the glory of Japanese animation to a much larger American audience.
Unfortunately, some of Japan’s most extraordinary animators are still relatively unknown in the U.S. You probably haven’t heard of Satoshi Kon. And thus you’ve probably missed Paprika, which isn’t just the most imaginative animated film of last year — it’s one of the best science fiction films of the decade.
We follow a Japanese research psychotherapist named Dr. Atsuko Chiba who, by night, adventures into her patients’ dreams using a high-tech innovation called a DC Mini. As she enters these virtual realities, she takes on the name “Paprika.” And when terrorists nab DC Minis so they can invade other people’s dreams. Paprika goes dream-diving to track down the true identities of the crooks. And we’re taken on an exhilarating ride through kaleidoscopic imagery.
For all of the laughs and surprises in his film, Satoshi Kon explores frightening possibilities. He suggests there is a sort of stealth warfare occurring, as we watch a parade of American icons advance down the avenues of a Japanese imagination. While our sexy heroine strives to make sense of dreams, others merely indulge in them, and we’re left to ponder how movies, pop-culture, and other art forms can be used to shape the thoughts of naïve, impulsive people. But the film is not a condemnation of imagination — the characters end up fighting for their dreams, defending them against those who would manipulate them.
Yes, it’s a cartoon… but Paprika is a rewarding, entertaining, and sometimes terrifying movie for discerning adults. Check out the new DVD release.
Saturdays are Better with a Dash of Flannery O'Connor
I'm taking a break from my four-day editing marathon to give the editor in my head some rest.
In the meantime, I'm meditating on a few quotations from Flannery O'Connor.Read more
Leigh Nash: Sixpence None the Richer is Reuniting
On her MySpace page, Leigh Nash makes it official:
Literally a few hours before I was told my father had died, I met up with Matt (Sixpence band mate) for coffee. He got married back in May and had been in Italy for 6 months. I was looking forward to seeing him and hearing about their travels! While he was away we had both been thinking about the band and what we had all those years and what we took for granted. We were missing each other and the gift that I believe God gave us- I knew before that the two of us were more powerful than one of us alone, but it was becoming more obvious as time ticked by. We realized we were on the same page and decided to make Sixpence None the Richer records for the next 2,000 to 3,000 years!!!! Seriously- as long as we can: ) We are in the middle of making an EP right now that will be available soon! We also have a tour planned beginning in April. Yay!!! These things started happening almost immediately after we decided to start up the engines again. Amazing! I am so thankful and excited for the future. There is a Sixpence myspace page in the works and many details to come about the tour, EP etc very soon...
Read the whole entry, and you can also learn more exciting news... like the fact that Nash has pink eye!
Steven D. Greydanus's Favorites of 2007
There is no film critic whose writing I enjoy more than Steven D. Greydanus, even though we sometimes have very different opinions of particular films. (There Will Be Blood, for instance, which didn't mean much to him, but my head is still spinning with all that I enjoyed about the film).
When Greydanus gets passionate about a movie, that itself is an experience worth beholding. And when he shines the ultraviolet light on a beloved blockbuster to reveal its flaws and fractures, he leaves me speechless with his analysis.
So I always look forward to his year-end list. And here it is.
Steven called me many months ago, as he has on a few other occasions, breathless with joy over something he had just seen. I had only recently declared The New World my favorite film of 2006. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was shaken up. He declared, "I have just seen what is almost sure to be my #1 movie of 2007." And then he told me about it.
Turns out he was right, not just for himself, but for me too. Into Great Silence topped both of our lists, and Nate Bell's as well.
And in spite of a croweded schedule, I carved out time for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly because he went out of his way to impress its importance on me. (Sorry Barbara, but I was swept away by the beauty of that movie, story and all.)
Reading through the rest of his choices, we have a lot of mutual favorites. Greydanus may be the only other critic who I've seen include The Devil Came On Horseback in his Top Ten. Go rent it. Today.
And it looks like I have a couple more titles to bump up to higher priorities on my must-see list.
I especially like this line from his assessment of a favorite that shows up on both of our lists... Once: "Like a favorite song, it's a film you would rather play for someone than try to describe."
Sam Phillips's stormy new songs
Performing Songwriter on Sam Phillips's Don't Do Anything, the album I'm most excited to hear in 2008:
While Don't Do Anything retains elements of her early Beatles-inspired baroque pop and her more recent Euro-chanteuse folk, this self-produced (her first without Burnett) album is striking for its uncharacteristically dissonant sonic touches. The distorted guitars and crashing cymbals contrast intriguingly with her fragile, vulnerable vocals, yet they also fit with her lyrics‚ emotional turmoil. ... Tunes like "My Career in Chemistry"‚ "Little Plastic Life," "Watching Out of This World" and the title track shine brightly through Phillips's set of stormy, heartaching songs.
Thanks, Josh Hurst, for the link!
Morefield on "Negative Caricatures" of Christians at the Movies
Commenting on yesterday's entry about "positive portrayals" of Christianity on the big screen, my friend and colleague Ken Morefield gets inspired and blogs a strong opinion on the subject. Thanks, Ken!
Among his sharp observations, I see that I'm not the only one to suggest that perhaps the "negative caricatures" of Christians we see on the big screen may occasionally have something to do with the fact that Christians often do behave publicly in despicable ways.
(It's nice to have someone else suggest this for a change, because when I suggest that portrayals of raging, judgmental Christians aren't so unrealistic, I watch my email box fill up with messages that inform me about the terrible things that await me in hell. Oh, the irony.)