Two Films with Heart: One Crazy, One Blind

Despite the fact that the film Precious has yet to play in Prescott -- I guess if it were in 3D we'd be in business -- I've managed to see several of the 10 Best Picture Oscar contenders. The last two films deserved their ranking, despite what some critics have said.

I'm referring to The Blind Side here as one of the less favored contenders, possibly because several critics called the story "predictable," and were not impressed by the script's straightforward structure. They, of course, miss the point completely. The story is about the power of love to transform and to lift up a human life, and there's nothing more dramatic than that, even without shocking moments, directorial risks and special effects.

My gut tells me that the fact that the story is also about what happens when people follow their Christian beliefs put off some of the cynical critics who don't like religious themes in their films. As a Christian, I was moved by the scene when the main character studies the words on the archway entry into the school, a quote from the Bible that says, "With God all things are possible." He, in fact, looks at the words twice in the film, once in a moment of confusion and once in a moment of grace.

Based on a true story, The Blind Side is about Michael Oher, a black teen from the Memphis ghetto who gains the opportunity to learn at a private Christian school by a football coach who sees his potential and urges the board to do their "Christian" duty. Eventually homeless, he is taken in by the Tuohys, a wealthy white family that helps him bridge the gaps in his education so that he can play football.

Despite a gentle nature that is a liability as a linebacker on the high school football team, he is coached and encouraged by the Tuohys, and becomes a phenomenal player, and ultimately a professional. Told with great compassion, truth and humor, the story pulls at the heartstrings as he struggles to believe in himself and overcome his past as the son of a drug addicted mother who rejected him.

In the role of Leigh Anne Tuohy, Sandra Bullock absolutely earned the nomination for best actress as the spunky mother whose energy and iron will enables her to break down Michael's barriers to love and to be loved. Then when he needs to find a reason to defend the quarterback on the field, she coaches him that he must treat the quarterback like his own family, and keep him from harm. In the end, the Tuohys gain as much as Michael does as he strengthens their faith and teaches them that helping others can bring meaning and unexpected joy to their lives.

Crazy Heart, the other contender, stars Jeff Bridges in his best role since The Fabulous Baker Boys, with Maggie Gyllenhaal as his love interest. Nominated for Oscars for best actor and best supporting actress, they bring powerhouse performances to a quiet story about the redemption of Bridges' character Bad Blake. Bridges becomes the character by singing onstage as believably as any country singer out there. Though I'm not a fan of country music, I loved the bluesy guitar licks and the lyrics of the songs, and am still humming them days after seeing the film.

A down-on-his-luck alcoholic songwriter, Blake meets a woman who pulls him back from the brink and gives him inspiration and a reason to change. I'd be surprised if Bridges doesn't win best actor for his portrayal of a man who finds a savior in more ways than one.

Groundhog Day Beats New Year's For Hope

"Well, it's Groundhog Day. Again."

In the immortal words of Bill Murray's character in the eponymous film, this day is NEVER going to end. OK, it will at midnight, but what changes in his character and ultimately makes time move forward again is his view of the world, not the world itself, after months or even years of the same mistakes and the same perspectives.

This is one of my favorite films for a number of reasons, but mostly because it serves as an annual reminder of how faith, love and joy are always able to redeem our lives, even if we've lived selfishly or dishonestly or without a relationship with God in the past.

Also, it shows that if we embrace the good things we tend to take for granted, and have real love and appreciation for them, it changes us for the better.

God gives us a second, third, fifth and seventy-seven times seven chance to know Him. It's a wonderful day to be a Christian.

If you live in the Northeast or Midwest, though, it's too bad, because Punxsatawney Phil saw his shadow this morning...

State of the Union with God

Every year about the time the President -- whoever it is -- delivers the state of the union, I pause to think about what it means. He spouts goals, lofty ideals and sometimes pointed ideological statements, directed at other nations and the world. There is rarely a spiritual challenge, but I think this year should have had one.

In the past, the wars were the emphasis, evil empires and triads of evil, as well as directives that seemed to be an attempt to create an image, rather than to address actual problems. Much was glossed over that was important. Instead of real solutions, ideas of what could be done were brought up one year and dropped the next.

Now that the country's deep economic flaws and divides are highlighted, one party has turned to stone and the other is working hard to bridge these problems. There must be a healing medium. God is it -- in spite of what people from the ACLU will say. And I'm not just talking about lip service and pandering, I mean a real spiritual transformation, one that we probably won't see until 2012. I'm hoping President Obama will become a part of that.

I am reminded constantly in my own life that living without purpose is not life, it's just going through the motions. When a job is lost or a house is taken or health issues arise, it becomes clear that those aspects of life will only take you so far. The rest is reliant on the spirit. The Bible is chock-full of wisdom on this subject, but I will not quote it here. Instead, I will note an obituary in The New York Times.

Along with the stories on the State of the Union speech, the pullback of Toyota from car production, the Apple iPad introduction, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner defending AIG's bailout, and an Afghan tribe vowing to fight the Taliban to get U.S. aid, buried inside was an obituary of Andrew Lange, one of the foremost astrophysicists of our times, who killed himself at age 52. Lange's experiments helped prove the Big Bang caused an expanding universe that is accelerating in its expansion. The only explanation given of his suicide was that he suffered from depression. What is almost always left unsaid is that a dearth of spiritual knowledge and practice leads to depression, as much as any physical cause. A bright mind was extinguished by a poor spirit.

Dan Brown, who I wouldn't call a great author (some flat characters, an excess of unbelievable action) but definitely occasionally an entertaining one, writes in his new book "The Lost Symbol" about the convergence of science and faith, and the central role of the Masons and Christianity in the founding, and presumably, the success of this nation because of the founders' deep beliefs in God. While separation of church and state is necessary in executing the law, it is not a prerequisite for governing the country, nor has it ever been. Examination of our moral precepts in our own lives and in government are a necessary aspect of setting the agenda of the nation. If our representatives are believers (and most claim to be), then it should be clear to them that they have an obligation to follow their conscience and the teachings of their religion, and not to blindly follow party directives.

When President Obama called for "responsibility to govern," he touched on this concept. If the GOP becomes the Grand Opposing Party, then its members are acting only in their own interests, and not those of the country.

Several years ago, I never would have come to this conclusion, but sometimes God is the only answer. In the times we live in, all I can say is God bless America.

'Avatar' Wins Globe; Some Critics Scoff

Get ready for the "Avatar" backlash.

The film won a Golden Globe for best movie of 2009, which officially makes it open season for attack, along with the fact that it has earned over a billion dollars since its release. Critics are sharpening their knives.

Ironically, one of the first to come forward was the Vatican, which declared it emotionally unengaging and an attempt to replace God with nature, according to a New York Times story, which goes on to say: "The A.P. Vatican Radio said the movie 'cleverly winks at all those pseudo-doctrines that turn ecology into the religion of the millennium,' adding: 'Nature is no longer a creation to defend, but a divinity to worship.' "

Also, Times columnist David Brooks had a field day bashing the movie as a standard example of the "White Messiah" fable in which a man from somewhere else comes and saves the natives in a Godlike manner. He cited "A Man Called Horse," "At Play in the Fields of the Lords," "Dances with Wolves," and "The Last Samurai" as other examples. The kiddie version is "Pocahontas," he writes.

Another Times writer quotes his daughter's name for the film as "The Blue Kitty Movie."

There's no arguing that "Avatar" is a visually arresting film, and it does bring you into a fantasy world. As long as viewers don't confuse fantasy with reality, I don't see the harm. In fact, I think its plot far surpassed James Cameron's other mega hit, "Titanic," which I think the Vatican could have objected to on moral grounds.

As long as the viewer doesn't sink into the fantasy world and ignore the real one as people in Haiti and other parts of the world suffer for lack of attention, then no harm done by the blue kitties.

Mr. Bojangles Was Not Alone

The song "Mr. Bojangles" tells the story of a man who lives on the street and dances for tips, and how he and his dog traveled around for years to earn their keep, until one day the dog "up and died." The line about how "after 20 years he still grieves" always gets me. There are lots of people who connect more with dogs than other people, and in that case the dog really was the man's best friend.

In the 11 days since Lucky died, I've been hugged by at least half a dozen dog lovers who had offered their sympathy when they heard the news. In a place like Prescott, where a dog or cat lives in nearly every home, almost everyone has a story about a special pet they had loved and lost, and how they have coped since. The sad fact that we'd like to forget is that we expect to outlive our pets, and have to be prepared for the resulting pain. Fortunately, the memories of their roles in our lives comfort us.

I've learned, too, that some ministers do believe that our pets join us in heaven, and my current church even has a memorial program of prayers for pets that have passed on. As Father Mark explained, "they are part of the family, and this helps meet the family's needs."

People who don't much care for pets might find this strange and over the top, but I find it touching and indicative of a society with great compassion. Just as people who abuse pets are more apt to be abusive to other people, those who possess a genuine love for pets are capable of great love for their fellow humans.

When we first took Lucky to a vet here, we were surprised at how affectionate everyone in the veterinary center was toward him, and at how his veterinarian kissed him on the muzzle after she got to know him. We mentioned how we'd never seen a vet do that before, and she laughed and said that it just seemed natural to her. In fact, Lucky was so thoroughly charmed by his vet that he actually liked visits to the office.

In the Bible there are very few mentions of pets, other than the dogs that licked the homeless man's wounds and a parable about how the wealthy man who owned the dogs let them watch over the ill man -- the Mr. Bojangles of Jesus's era. However, the one parable that shows great love for animals is how the shepherd lays down his life for the sheep to protect them. This obviously is symbolic of what Jesus did for us all, but it also shows the deep connection between animals and people and our dependence on each other for food and protection.

This past week the Today Show had a segment on how a golden retriever named Angel saved the life of an 11-year-old boy when a cougar was poised to attack him. In spite of being clawed and bitten and nearly suffocated by the big cat, who had clamped down on her muzzle, the dog was rescued by a Canadian Mountie who shot the cougar. Angel survived her wounds, and her young owner knows that she has lived up to her name in more ways than one.

Workplace Shooting Signals Growing Anger

In the film "Up in the Air," the protagonist played by George Clooney flies around the country firing people for corporations conducting mass lay-offs. In one scene, Clooney goes to St. Louis to wield the axe for a company. Sitting across from his victims at a borrowed desk, he calmly watches as they cry, rail and melt down at the loss of the jobs that had defined their lives often for decades.

Director Jason Reitman had hired non-actors who had experienced a recent firing to play the laid-off workers, delivering lines as they relived their personal dramas, and bringing a level of genuine anguish to the scenes that's uncomfortable to watch.

While the film is fiction, in the real world the anger that's bubbling over from the loss of jobs, fraud and corruption in corporate management, and the pressure of foreclosures and bankruptcies on unemployed families is taking its toll. Today, a St. Louis man who was involved in a class action lawsuit against his company's pension review committee for losses and excessive fees, went on a rampage at the ABB, Inc. factory, shooting eight co-workers and killing three. Then he killed himself.

One of the most ironic lines that Clooney spouts to his victims in his role as the corporate downsizer is that firing them is "not personal." Anyone who has ever been on the receiving end of getting laid off knows exactly how personal it is to lose a livelihood, be plunged into economic uncertainty and to have to start over again in a career. The lack of compassion by corporations looking to appease shareholders and uphold a bottom-line goal despite the human costs demonstrates a truly soulless approach to management that I think will cause Karmic repercussions when the economy improves.

This ongoing economic Armageddon is cutting deeply into the American psyche and will have an impact for many years to come -- workplace violence being just one example of the backlash from a citizenry that is simmering with rage and looking for targets to blame.

Songs Can Tell The Story

Songs are running through my head, especially after hearing the Alice Cooper radio show. He plays some of the best old tunes, like this one from the Allman Brothers Band, which is straightforward, simple, yet moving.

"People can you feel it? Love is everywhere.
People can you hear it? Love is in the air.
We're in a revolution. Don't you know we're right.
Everyone is singing. Yeah! There'll be no one to fight.
People can you feel it? Love is everywhere."
--Dickey Betts, 1970

Cooper then proceeds to make fun of Dickie Betts' name, ironic considering his own.

Another song, in the same vein and amount of repetition, is "Jesus is Just Alright," by the Doobie Brothers:

"Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright with me, Jesus is just alright

I don't care what they may say
I don't care what they may do
I don't care what they may say
Jesus is just alright, oh yeah
Jesus is just alright"

Why were pop rockers from the '70s not afraid to be open about God and love for the world? I don't know, but I hear very little of it now, unless it is labeled Christian rock. It's a shame that all aspects of the human condition are not considered worth singing about anymore.

The Wisdom of C.S. Lewis

Today's church service was one of Bible passages intermixed with hymns -- no sermon. It was a strangely moving, artistic service, despite some weak songs. At least "O Little Town of Bethlehem" was on the list.

So in the same spirit, I read some quotes from C.S. Lewis, one of my favorite modern writers on matters related to God. Here are a few of the best:

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell."

"A man who is eating or lying with his wife or preparing to go to sleep in humility, thankfulness and temperance, is, by Christian standards, in an infinitely higher state than one who is listening to Bach or reading Plato in a state of pride."

"Can a mortal ask questions which God finds unanswerable? Quite easily, I should think. All nonsense questions are unanswerable."

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."

"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it."

"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value to survival."

"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."

Spirit of Mammon Threatens Future

It may be a sign of the End of Days, or it may just be a harbinger of the hard times to come, but the ongoing financial scandals, corruption and culture of greed in this country threaten to bring down the way of life we've enjoyed for many years.

Bernie Madoff is just a poster guy for what's endemic in the financial system of this country. Not only have brokers, traders, bankers and other capitalists taken advantage of loose laws, but they've kept their attitude of making a profit at all costs to such a degree that people continue to lose homes, businesses keep going under because they can't get credit and the jobs market is still poor -- and could worsen before improving. The usurious bank fees and credit card rates remain more oppressive than ever. The banks' actions make Enron's escapades seem like child's play.

I'm reminded of all of this, once again, after reading a New York Times article on Goldman Sachs, one of the worst in-your-face examples of an institution that sneers at the public as it rakes it the cash. Their brokers are among the richest in the world, and their devil-may-care attitude is part and parcel of the lack of compassion and selfish motivations that will be their ultimate undoing as well.

Meanwhile, the government program meant to help people keep their homes is a complete failure, according to a story in The New York Times today. This means the waves of foreclosures will continue and the construction industry will remain dead in the water.

The truth is that unless the $700 trillion in derivatives -- the biggest financial pyramid scheme ever -- is wiped away and the slate is made clean, there will be no economic stability in this country. The cascading collapses will continue, in between period of false profits. The amount of unbacked securities adds up to $2.8 million per person in the United States or $116,000 for every man, woman and child in the world.

The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil, and so the financial world confirms this, to the nth degree, ad nausem.

Resolving to Be Resolute

I heard a discussion of resolutions for the New Year on the radio recently, focusing on ones that people could keep. One was to start smoking, another was to gain 15 pounds, and yet another was to keep drinking.

Obviously, that's negative thinking, but it was funny in the moment. Somehow I think it would be extremely easy to achieve such poor goals, but it should be just as easy to achieve the good ones.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and listened to a meditation tape. It was the first time I had heard the entire tape, since I usually fall asleep or go into a meditational state part of the way through. At the end of the tape, in which the female speaker leads the listener through a series of images to imagine, the last one was in a field of golden light. In the light I imagined my year as a series of triumphs. Health, happiness and success were constant. I imagined it in the light of the spirit, which naturally brings a blessed year.

My goals are simple, actually. They include reading a passage from the Bible once a day, working out three times a week, getting a specific children's book I've written published, reading a book a week and finishing the novel I started.

Most of all, though, I plan to believe that I can do them -- and I hope that will lead to achieving many, if not all, of those resolutions.

Also, I could strive to follow the words of wisdom I read recently on a Celestial Seasonings tea box, some of which I can say I already have:

1. Watch a sunrise at least once a year.
2. Plant flowers every spring.
3. Look people in the eye.
4. Compliment three people every day.
5. Live beneath your means.
6. Choose your life's mate carefully. From this one decision will come ninety percent of all your happiness or misery.
7. Live so that when your children think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.
8. Don't postpone joy.
--H. Jackson Brown, Jr., Life's Little Instruction Book

A Dog's Life Remembered

We lost our beloved golden retriever Lucky last night to terminal cancer after a month-long battle in which he still kept his spirit. He touched our lives and those of many people over the years with his good and loving nature.

In the 10 years we shared with him, we enjoyed his company in a hotel in Manhattan, on the beach in Miami, going cross-country in the car, in the wildness of the Arizona mountains and even on his first flight in a plane this year, back to New York. His companionship was constant and heartfelt, and his facial expressions, as many people have said over the years, were quite human.

I've had a minister and others tell me that only humans go to heaven, but knowing how much Lucky loved others makes me rather inclined to think that good dogs do go to heaven, too. Why would we lack the animal companionship we cherish on earth in a place that is meant to be the ultimate realization of our souls? It would be a less playful, joyful place without dogs in it.

It seemed that Lucky, who always loved Christmas, held on so that he could share it with us. The night before J.D. went back to New York, he became violently ill and was unable to walk. We hoped, that like other times, he might regain his strength in the morning, but it was not to be. After a day of lying immobile, we took him to the vet to see if there was anything that could be done. We learned he had massive internal bleeding, and would not recover. His kidneys had shut down and he was in pain.

His vet, Dr. Tammy Pouletto, broke the news gently and gave us a room to stay in where we sat with him and had time to talk with him and pet him to prepare him and ourselves for his death. Lucky, who has always seemed preternaturally intelligent, was graceful to the end, lying quietly and waiting for the injection. The catheter in his leg was wrapped in a bandage that had a heart on it.

Although the house seems empty and we are grieving now, we know that Lucky is in a better place. We hope that we will be able to see him again some day in the sweet by-and-by.

The Christmas Gift of Love

With the reminder that Christ's birth was the Word made flesh -- and Grace and Truth made reality -- the church service was the beginning of a day that was as close to ideal as it could be. We celebrated Christmas this year with an unexpected joy in the beauty of the day and the comfort of family gathered around.

I say that it was unexpected because the weeks following Thanksgiving have been challenging, to say the least. Health issues ranging from flu and cold to more serious complications for Andy and then our dog's collapse have all made it a stressful time.

The weekend after Thanksgiving our beloved golden retriever Lucky was so weak he was unable to walk, then spent the night whimpering. Within a few days, after tests, we discovered that he had cancer in his heart and spleen. We took him to a specialist veterinary center in Gilbert, where a cardiologist and oncologist did tests that confirmed the diagnosis. Since then, we've been to a holistic vet, the wonderful Dr. Metcalf, who has revived Lucky to a great degree with Chinese herbs, acupuncture and adjustments to a spine that is pained possibly by the strain to his system. He's also on a special diet, a medicine to ease his pain when he is suffering and a steroid drug to maintain his appetite.

Yes, he is a dog, but he is Andy's loyal companion of 10 years, who has been by his side through his chronic pain. Now Andy is giving him the kind of devotion in care that you would expect toward a child. The only difficulty is that his is like a very large child in an 80-plus pound body. On at least three occasions, Andy has had to carry him back into the house after a walk. We also have to help him into the car and lift him onto the bed, where he sleeps every night. His discomfort has caused him to wake on many occasions, and that has meant many nights of interrupted sleep for us all.

The pain medications have stabilized his sleep somewhat, so now we are getting into a routine. When his "boy," J.D., our son, came for Christmas from New York, he seemed to perk up even more. Lucky has always loved Christmas, and enjoyed having the Christmas tree in the house. When J.D. and I got the tree and decorated it, he laid on the floor next to us. Then when we put on Santa hats, he snatched J.D.'s off of his head and ran off with it, like he once did when he was a puppy. We all laughed as we watched him wag his tail and wait for us to chase him. Although he was more animated then, it tired him out and he was weak the rest of the evening.

At church this morning, it was heartening to see all of the volunteers preparing for the "Don't Spend Christmas Alone," dinner the church holds each year. We were leaving after the service as meals were taken away by the fire department for shut-ins and buses were arriving filled with people who were coming for the dinner. Several hundred people partake in the meal each year.

Back at home, we opened presents, and although he was a bit unsteady, Lucky pulled the wrapping off of several boxes as he usually does at Christmas, before lying down on the floor next to us to watch us finish opening them ourselves. He relished his one Christmas treat that's not on his approved diet -- a gourmet dog peanut butter treat. We all basked in the warmth of the day, admiring our new gifts, talking about Christmases past and walking in the neighborhood on a perfectly sunny day.

Later, I made a dinner as J.D. watched "Night at the Museum" on TV, a fire burned in the fireplace, and Andy sat in his easy chair, Lucky lying nearby. Over dinner, we said a prayer of thanks, remembering that each day is a gift, and that we're grateful most of all for the days when love makes everything seem all right, and even bearable when things are not.

'Columbine' Pursues Elusive Truth of Event

Of all of the books I've read this year, one that I'm certain will stay with me forever is Columbine, written by a former college classmate of mine, Dave Cullen. Initially I wasn't certain why I would want to read a book about the horrifying massacre at a Colorado high school 10 years later, but once I started, it was so compelling that I finished it in two days.

The book is as much about truth as it is about that event, and how truth becomes clouded, distorted, intentionally obscured and even lost in the coverage of a tragic, emotional experience. Although we were taught in journalism school that our stories would be the first draft of history, Columbine demonstrates that it is sometimes nearly impossible to correct an error in that first draft if it captures the imagination of the public. Instead, the corrected truth is rejected in favor of a more appealing tale.

I thought I knew the story of Columbine until I read Dave's book. Now I know just how wrong I had it, and how sometimes the truth takes years to actually see the light of day in spite of what appears to be close scrutiny by all sorts of media reporters.

Dave's book is more relevant than ever now that the massacre at Ft. Hood has demonstrated the exact same scenario, only involving a military officer who exhibited obvious signs of mental instability which were passed off as something far less serious by those who simply did not want to see the truth. In addition, the initial story of how a woman police officer shot and stopped Nidal Hasan from his shooting spree was widely reported, but the later correction that another officer was involved was covered with fewer words and flair. It will be interesting to see if people get that wrong in the future, too, just like in Columbine.

Here are some of the things that I learned from Dave's book that I didn't know:

• There were warning signs for two years of what was to come, and numerous people were given clues of the intentions of the students. No one acted on what they knew. The police never followed up on knowledge of credible threats against other students.
• The story of the Christian girl who was said to have answered one of the shooters that she believed in God and then was shot -- which even inspired her mother to write a book about it -- did not in fact do so. She was shot and killed without saying anything. Another girl was the one who spoke and then was shot. The fundamentalist Christians who liked the story refused to accept the truth.
• A teacher and possibly some students bled to death because of the ineptitude of the SWAT team in reaching them. Since then, the protocol for dealing with active shooters has changed, as demonstrated at Virginia Tech, when security sought to actively stop them instead of treating it as a hostage situation.
• Bullying and Goth culture had nothing to do with the rage of the shooters. Eric Harris was a psychopath with Nihilistic views. Dylan Klebold was suicidal.
• Neither shooter was raised in church. Klebold went with his family to church for four months, then they dropped out. He desperately needed spiritual guidance, but never got it. His parents, however, finally got spiritual counseling after the murders and his suicide. Unfortunately, the minister who supplied it was shunned by members of his own church afterward, and later became a prison chaplain.
• A fight over a monument of crosses for each of the students who died, including the shooters, ensued primarily by one of the parents of a murdered student. Some are still angry and have yet to forgive the shooters.

A lot of lives were destroyed by the event, yet many of the young people were resilient. Some have continued in their faith since those dark days; others may never forgive and find peace.

Dave spent years trying to get at the truth, too, some of which was hidden by the police who were embarrassed by their mistakes before, during and after the shootings. It took his book to set the record straight, since other books still repeated some of the errors of early reporting.

The word "truth" is used at least 192 times in the Bible. The greatest truth of all, of course, is the word of God and the truth of his existence and role in our lives. You could even say that speaking truth is a holy act. Of course, those who open their hearts to God already know the truth of the living spirit. Dave Cullen walked in truth in his book, so may he be blessed by that for opening the eyes of many to what transpired. Only good will come of it.

Back in Time for the Films, Books & Turkey

Usually when I go silent on the page it's for one of two reasons: either life is so unbearable I'm afraid of what will spill out; or life is so good I don't want to jinx it by writing about it. This past month it was neither reason -- I had to let my hand heal after injuring it from moving into our new home.

Weenie, you say? You try it. I dare you. I tried. I kept writing after aggravating my old editing injury, once known as carpal tunnel syndrome, now repetitive strain injury. Repeating the strain of writing on surfaces that were not the right height, along with a hand that was repeatedly swollen, just kept aggravating it. So I stopped.

Now my hand seems completely healed, and I'm ba-a-a-ack, as Jack Nicholson in The Shining would say. For the past month, lots of ideas have been percolating. Sometimes it's good to just think about things, read a lot of books and let the ideas simmer.

Also, I wanted to do NaNoWriMo -- write a novel in a month. The month of November, to be precise. I started out really well, then got the flu last week and was out of commission. Will I make the 75,000 word mark now? Doubtful. Nothing like the flu to kill momentum. I am starting up again today, but I only have 10,000 words, so unless I pull a Jack Kerouac and speed for the rest of the month, it's not likely. I guess I will have to just go at my own pace.

So enough about writing. Here's what I have to say, in brief, about the mostly forgettable films I've seen lately -- two of which have NO GOD whatsoever in their universe, one that barely acknowledges his existence and one of which is full of evil and God is incidental. Books are for another day.

First up is one Andy forced me to see, Law Abiding Citizen. OK, he didn't hold a gun to my head, but it's the kind of movie that you know is going to be bad before you step into the theater. I went along with it because he's seen my chick flicks without complaint. Essentially, this movie is about emotional manipulation of the worst kind. It's a revenge flick dressed up as a moral outrage movie. The only thing outrageous about it, however, is how thin the characters are, how flimsy the plot is and how ridiculous the scenarios are. It's like a video game in which I picture the writers saying, what crazy way to kill people can we think up next? If there is any redeeming quality to the film, it's the explosions. That's it. Jamie Foxx took the money and ran with this one. Stink-o.

On the God subject, the only mention of anything about Him is the appearance of a Bible to swear in Foxx as the new prosecutor. I guess it's supposed to give the scene gravitas. Certainly he's no avenging angel in his new role. His behavior at the end of the movie negates any idea of real justice in the system. Frankly, I hated this movie in just about every way. Next!

Pirate Radio. The depiction of hippie radio broadcasters on a boat after rock is banned in Great Britain is essentially what it's advertised to be, and less. You think you're going to have a rollicking good time, but there's no real center to the film. The writers either didn't want to create real characters in all of their emotional reality, or they wanted to string together a series of vignettes. Either way, it's OK, but only for the music and a couple of laughs. There is no character you can really love or hate. As far as God goes, it's the '60s and the characters are only interested in sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Surprisingly, Paranormal Activity is one of the best films I've seen lately, and I don't usually go for scary films anymore because I don't need those kinds of thrills (or the gore). Its cinema verite style makes is both believable and extremely personal. The characters are natural, funny and identifiable. If anything, they are too human in that they make all of the mistakes young people make in not reaching out for help. The guy has a macho attitude about the nature of evil, and thinks crosses are silly symbols. If you haven't seen the film, I won't spoil it, but it's like a ghost story on film. If you don't pray now, you may after watching it. (Cue scary music.) It will haunt you for life!

We watched it in a theater full of teenagers on Halloween Eve and the screams were so loud people outside of the theater called the police, who came in the theater to make sure no one had been injured. It was that good.

I had to wrack my brain to remember the fourth film, since it was that lame. The Invention of Lying had a good premise, but the film broke down as soon as Ricky Gervais's character began telling about heaven as though it were a fairy tale. This was a world in which God did not exist at all! Not only is this improbable, science tells us it is impossible. We are all wired to believe. So you have to suspend your disbelief on multiple levels to enjoy this film. I found it tiresome, Gervais's character to be a selfish boor and Jennifer Garner's character to be a ninny by the time it was all over. I guess a world without lying, deceit or any shades of gray, for that matter, is a very boring world.

If Andy wants to see The Box, I will refuse. Really. It's like Law Abiding Citizen squared. Put a lid on that Box.

Two Current Pop Films That Deal With The Soul

So many ideas, so little time.

There were several things I wanted to blog about this month, but time just slipped away as I recovered physically from moving into a new home. I dislocated a shoulder carrying too many clothes on hangers at once, and a repetitive strain injury flared up in my hand and wrist, making it difficult to type for two weeks.

Then I wanted to blog about meeting up with my old friend Jon in Tucson, where he was visiting his parents. We knew each other from when we were interns in Washington, D.C. many years ago, but reconnected through Facebook. I had asked him to join me on a trip to Sonoita, the Arizona version of Sonoma wine country in California, an hour south of Tucson. There's much I could write about the trip personally, but I wrote about it for publication instead.

Then I went to Las Vegas for the annual girlfriend trip with my friends Roxanne, Maggie and Susan. Again, much could be written about that trip from a spiritual angle, along the lines of being delivered from evil, but I will save that for another time. Now I'm on a "trip" at home, keeping my father-in-law occupied as he visits our half-furnished home, trying to get some work done here and there, and slipping in this blog out of sheer determination.

During the long, busy month, I did manage to squeeze in a couple of films, too. The blockbusters didn't seem to have any spiritual connections when we chose them, but ultimately any film worth its salt has some scene or climax in which a character shows what he or she is made of deep down.

"District 9," directed by Peter Jackson, the writer/director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, explores what would happen if an alien spaceship landed above Johannesburg, South Africa, and the strange creatures aboard were stranded on earth. What ensues parallels the lives of native black South Africans, who were relegated to shantytown slums for decades and treated as less than second class citizens. Anyone who has ever read "Kaffir Boy" by Mark Mathabane would recognize the similarities.

A freak accident that causes a government official to develop some of the characteristics of the aliens -- and to walk a mile in their shoes, so to speak --changes him from a cold, conformist bureaucrat to a man with compassion for a race of beings that on the whole are murderous and repulsive--but there are a few redeemable members.

In the new Bruce Willis vehicle, "Surrogates," the United States has evolved into a nation of slugs who sit in front of computers all day and virtually operate robot versions of themselves to go out into the world and work and experience life in ways they are afraid to do.

Willis, playing his usual cop role, investigates the murder of two surrogates--leading to the deaths of their operators--and discovers a sinister plot to kill others. The film takes on the notion of the modern obsession with appearance, youthfulness and unnatural perfection versus the granola crunchy embrace of all things organic and acceptance of ourselves and others for who we are, warts and all.

Without giving away too much of the plot, Willis and his wife are more comfortable conversing to each other through their surrogates than they are in person. His wife, in fact, hides from him in her room, which he makes easier since he frequently works an opposite night schedule.

"Surrogates" contains lots of action scenes that seem drawn from a half a dozen other action films, such as "Terminator," "Total Recall," "AI," and "Minority Report." This gives it the derivative feel of many of these films, my greatest disappointment in watching them. It seems as though a bunch of 20ish screenwriter guys get together in a room and argue over which favorite scene to lift out of another film and adapt to the current one.

One Bruce Willis film that had such incredible potential in terms of emotion, "The Fifth Element," was ruined by such childish screenwriting, combined with an intentional "B" movie sensibility and cartoonish bad guy aliens.

Aside from its lack of original action, "Surrogates" does strike a note with its empathy for the imperfect human and our need for connection, spirituality and love.