1) I realized earlier today that I am a Marmitist!
2) Furthermore, I made a connection between Marmite and sexual discovery at http://searchforme.wordpress.com/ in the 'Love Revolution' comments
3) Brian Wilson--funny. Nyjer Morgan--not so much. aaaaaaah!
4) Why do I love the Smiths so much, seriously?
5) When Pandora gets it right, they get it so right, then 4 songs later it's terrible again.
6) Sometimes I think I'm just someone's macguffin.
7) Will I obtain vegan dessert today? hmm...
8) You maybe first realize you're aging when you don't get carded anymore.
9) Suspects the church's main role is to encourage man's relationship to God and everything else just gets in the way.
10) I bleed vegan cheese, dude.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Friday's Funky five pairs
1) I dream of vegan green bean fries!
2) Beets and Bok Choy sprouting!
3) People get old fast.
4) Haiku, I love you!
5) Score!
6) A lose lose situation
7) Soon
8) Zebras!
9) Spamboni needs to make me a gadget!
10) Pay pal, no way pal, I'm gonna let you play in my game.
2) Beets and Bok Choy sprouting!
3) People get old fast.
4) Haiku, I love you!
5) Score!
6) A lose lose situation
7) Soon
8) Zebras!
9) Spamboni needs to make me a gadget!
10) Pay pal, no way pal, I'm gonna let you play in my game.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
10 Rainy Thursday Edition
1) Apparently, all you have to do for a free meal is show up to 1st grade.
2) Watched Inglourious Basterds and thought about the parallels between Tarantino and Hitchcock in relation to the Macguffin.
3) Can't go wrong with General Tso's seitan.
4) America, where you at?
5) Marr gets better with each listen.
6) Cherry Lemonade and Pinnacle vodka go together because, well, pinnacle is the apex of vodkas. I don't think she got the joke.
7) Not sleeping again rules.
8) Beets and Bok are now in the box.
9) All this rain should be stored and used after everything dries up.
10)Xiu Xiu is the lyrical extension of Morrissey, taking the suicidal depression joke to new heights and adding graphic sexuality to the mix. Morrissey, it's your move, dude.
2) Watched Inglourious Basterds and thought about the parallels between Tarantino and Hitchcock in relation to the Macguffin.
3) Can't go wrong with General Tso's seitan.
4) America, where you at?
5) Marr gets better with each listen.
6) Cherry Lemonade and Pinnacle vodka go together because, well, pinnacle is the apex of vodkas. I don't think she got the joke.
7) Not sleeping again rules.
8) Beets and Bok are now in the box.
9) All this rain should be stored and used after everything dries up.
10)Xiu Xiu is the lyrical extension of Morrissey, taking the suicidal depression joke to new heights and adding graphic sexuality to the mix. Morrissey, it's your move, dude.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
10 is an arbitrary number
Every day I'm going to start a 10 list. They might be connected, or not.
1) Made vegan potato skins.
2) I'm interested in raw foods, but I suspect there is far too heavy a reliance on gadgets.
3) I am growing wary of animation in live action films. I'm talking to you Super. (btw, ... )
4) I can't decide if I like 'The Queen is Dead' or 'Strangeways, Here we come' more/less/equal
5) I like it when I check out upcoming Criterion titles and see that I have already seen several of them.
6) Finally finishing Judges 5 translation, albeit sloppily, is quite a step in the right direction.
7) He knows I'd love to see him. He better know who he is.
8) The struggle to keep a routine when there is no overt force pushing me one of the finest challenges of my life.
9) Garden ambitions seem to get out of control at times, but with each success it's hard not to become increasingly optimistic.
10) Pandora gets the playlist wrong more often than right.
1) Made vegan potato skins.
2) I'm interested in raw foods, but I suspect there is far too heavy a reliance on gadgets.
3) I am growing wary of animation in live action films. I'm talking to you Super. (btw, ... )
4) I can't decide if I like 'The Queen is Dead' or 'Strangeways, Here we come' more/less/equal
5) I like it when I check out upcoming Criterion titles and see that I have already seen several of them.
6) Finally finishing Judges 5 translation, albeit sloppily, is quite a step in the right direction.
7) He knows I'd love to see him. He better know who he is.
8) The struggle to keep a routine when there is no overt force pushing me one of the finest challenges of my life.
9) Garden ambitions seem to get out of control at times, but with each success it's hard not to become increasingly optimistic.
10) Pandora gets the playlist wrong more often than right.
Friday, August 19, 2011
dork fu
Dork Fu is the dark art of dorkery practiced by clandestine clans in Perry County, Pennsylvania. Thwart practitioners of dork fu at all costs.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Criterion top 10
After reading list after list of top 10 criterion films on their website, I've decided to create my own. In no particular order:
1) Salo: This film made me fall in love with cinema again. It is uncompromising in its view. It reminds us that the sad reality is that if we are forced to eat crap long enough we'll start to enjoy it, even insist upon it.
2) Seventh Seal/Wild Strawberries: Although any Bergman film could easily make this list, these two really strike a chord with me. They're both lamentations on death one fearful, the other wistful.
3) Viridiana: Bunuel really captures the absurd. He begs the question--why do we look at things in a particular way? It is a theme in even his most rudimentary films.
4)The Orphic Trilogy: Cocteau is just a master of the image. Even when he's working with nothing in the first part of the trilogy, he makes a snowball fight seem earth-shatteringly important.
5) Ordet: I had no expectation for this movie, but Dreyer surprised me with a character who comes in and ruins every scene. It makes me wonder if he is insane or the voice of reason.
6) Juliet of the Spirits: There is something about this film, and all of Fellini's works, that touches me in a profound way. It has nothing to do with the words of the characters, but the impression they leave on me. This one in particular is so carnal with its frolicking trysts of desire just feels like I have finally been understood.
7)The Human Condition: This film really does deal with the struggle of ethics in human existence. When is it right to kill? What are our loyalties? Can we ever escape the inevitable suffering that has been dealt to us?
8) Dodes'Ka-den: Kurosawa is the great philosopher of film. Any of his films could have made this list, and Ikiru or Rashomon were probably the strongest competition. This film best combines images with ideas to make a compelling story about the human condition. It's his first color film and for the nothing budget it had, he more than makes up for it. It is the only film that I didn't have to pause for a break. I couldn't.
9)Elevator to the Gallows: This film reminds me of Tarantino to some extent in that it is supposed to be an action suspense film, but then there are moments of pure comedy that remind me to enjoy film for what it is supposed to be--entertainment.
10) The Last Temptation of Christ: This film best depicts Jesus as how I see him. The sermon on the plain is so modest, I suspect this is probably what is was really like. Best of all, is the point that is made--who cares if the story is even partly true, it gives people hope and that is powerful in itself. Anyone who dares to steal another person's hope should be ashamed.
Films I wanted to include but didn't have room
1 Woman in the Dunes
2 Jeanne Dielman
3 Sweet Movie
4 Antichrist
5 If...
6 Head/Last Picture Show
7 By Brakhage
8 Silence of the Lambs
9 The Naked Kiss
10 Three Colors Trilogy
11 Delirious Fictions of William Klein
12 The Red Balloon
13 Brand Upon the Brain
14 Make Way for Tomorrow
15 When a woman ascends the stairs
16 Blood for Dracula
17 Jigoku
18 Onibaba
19 House
20 Good Morning
21 Last Year at Marienbad
22 The Third Man
23 Umberto D.
24 Ornamental Hairpin
25 All that Heaven Allows
Films that have no business in the Criterion Collection
1 Anything by Wes Anderson.
2 Anything by Michael Bay.
3 Anything by Kevin Smith, who I actually really like.
4 Anything by Jane Campion
5 Anything by Pedro Costa
6 A Christmas Tale
7 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
8 Grey Gardens
9 Downhill Racer
10 Cria Cuervos
11 The Mikado
12 The Tin Drum
13 The Killers
14 Traffic
15 Anything by Whit Stillman
16 Solaris
17 Anything with Jacques Tati
18 Everlasting Moments
19 Mala Noche
20 Robocop
21 Senso
22 Yi Yi
23 Cronos
1) Salo: This film made me fall in love with cinema again. It is uncompromising in its view. It reminds us that the sad reality is that if we are forced to eat crap long enough we'll start to enjoy it, even insist upon it.
2) Seventh Seal/Wild Strawberries: Although any Bergman film could easily make this list, these two really strike a chord with me. They're both lamentations on death one fearful, the other wistful.
3) Viridiana: Bunuel really captures the absurd. He begs the question--why do we look at things in a particular way? It is a theme in even his most rudimentary films.
4)The Orphic Trilogy: Cocteau is just a master of the image. Even when he's working with nothing in the first part of the trilogy, he makes a snowball fight seem earth-shatteringly important.
5) Ordet: I had no expectation for this movie, but Dreyer surprised me with a character who comes in and ruins every scene. It makes me wonder if he is insane or the voice of reason.
6) Juliet of the Spirits: There is something about this film, and all of Fellini's works, that touches me in a profound way. It has nothing to do with the words of the characters, but the impression they leave on me. This one in particular is so carnal with its frolicking trysts of desire just feels like I have finally been understood.
7)The Human Condition: This film really does deal with the struggle of ethics in human existence. When is it right to kill? What are our loyalties? Can we ever escape the inevitable suffering that has been dealt to us?
8) Dodes'Ka-den: Kurosawa is the great philosopher of film. Any of his films could have made this list, and Ikiru or Rashomon were probably the strongest competition. This film best combines images with ideas to make a compelling story about the human condition. It's his first color film and for the nothing budget it had, he more than makes up for it. It is the only film that I didn't have to pause for a break. I couldn't.
9)Elevator to the Gallows: This film reminds me of Tarantino to some extent in that it is supposed to be an action suspense film, but then there are moments of pure comedy that remind me to enjoy film for what it is supposed to be--entertainment.
10) The Last Temptation of Christ: This film best depicts Jesus as how I see him. The sermon on the plain is so modest, I suspect this is probably what is was really like. Best of all, is the point that is made--who cares if the story is even partly true, it gives people hope and that is powerful in itself. Anyone who dares to steal another person's hope should be ashamed.
Films I wanted to include but didn't have room
1 Woman in the Dunes
2 Jeanne Dielman
3 Sweet Movie
4 Antichrist
5 If...
6 Head/Last Picture Show
7 By Brakhage
8 Silence of the Lambs
9 The Naked Kiss
10 Three Colors Trilogy
11 Delirious Fictions of William Klein
12 The Red Balloon
13 Brand Upon the Brain
14 Make Way for Tomorrow
15 When a woman ascends the stairs
16 Blood for Dracula
17 Jigoku
18 Onibaba
19 House
20 Good Morning
21 Last Year at Marienbad
22 The Third Man
23 Umberto D.
24 Ornamental Hairpin
25 All that Heaven Allows
Films that have no business in the Criterion Collection
1 Anything by Wes Anderson.
2 Anything by Michael Bay.
3 Anything by Kevin Smith, who I actually really like.
4 Anything by Jane Campion
5 Anything by Pedro Costa
6 A Christmas Tale
7 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
8 Grey Gardens
9 Downhill Racer
10 Cria Cuervos
11 The Mikado
12 The Tin Drum
13 The Killers
14 Traffic
15 Anything by Whit Stillman
16 Solaris
17 Anything with Jacques Tati
18 Everlasting Moments
19 Mala Noche
20 Robocop
21 Senso
22 Yi Yi
23 Cronos
Friday, July 8, 2011
Nature wins again, but lesson learned.
So, we've been working on our garden and so far everything has grown beyond our expectations--until today. We were hit with an extended storm that was too much for our babies. Our stakes and string could not support the 6foot-plus tomato plants, and so most of them fell over. Now, being an optimist let me state:
1) The plants grew way taller than expected.
In this regard we did it right.
2) Since the plants fell over, we harvested an impressive early crop.
We left a lot more on the plants until we decide what to do.
At the same time, all is not well in the garden.
1)I have to figure out what to do with
these nearly crippled tomato plants and fast.
2)Trapped under the tomatoes are a couple pepper plants and some herbs.
Hopefully they will be salvageable.
3)This happened because I underestimated the plants.
If they had been caged or
fenced we'd be in good shape and all the plants
probably would have grown like crazy from the rain.
So, what did we learn from all this?
1)When it comes to gardening--plan plan plan. We actually did a lot of this but we did not
2)Expect big things. Because I was sheepish in this regard, I wasn't prepared. We should always be ready for the best possible scenario.
Now as a theologian, I would be remiss not to connect this garden catastrophe to the spiritual life.
What is true in the garden is true with God. Those who are spiritually inclined know all about planting seeds and tending and waiting for growth. A lot of times, people start out fast and then as soon as the storm comes they wither because the appropriate support isn't in place. This is my first connection. Sounds like thttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5109135718941244358he parable of the sower, eh? (Matt 13:3-23; Mk 4:2-20; Lk 8:4-15 ish)
Secondly, my expectations with the garden were low and then I was taken by surprise and then I wasn't prepared for the abundant growth. As a result, I'll probably lose the bulk of the tomatoes and possibly several other plants. Today, the thought of miracles seems quaint. I've seen so many awful things in my life that the idea of a massive religious encounter seems impossible. It may be that those miracles do exist, but they begin as seeds. We plant them-maybe. We tend them-sometimes. We see our expectations exceeded-rarely. So, miracles may be happening all the time, but we don't let them grow.
So, if you take nothing else, expect and be ready for great things.
1) The plants grew way taller than expected.
In this regard we did it right.
2) Since the plants fell over, we harvested an impressive early crop.
We left a lot more on the plants until we decide what to do.
At the same time, all is not well in the garden.
1)I have to figure out what to do with
these nearly crippled tomato plants and fast.
2)Trapped under the tomatoes are a couple pepper plants and some herbs.
Hopefully they will be salvageable.
3)This happened because I underestimated the plants.
If they had been caged or
fenced we'd be in good shape and all the plants
probably would have grown like crazy from the rain.
So, what did we learn from all this?
1)When it comes to gardening--plan plan plan. We actually did a lot of this but we did not
2)Expect big things. Because I was sheepish in this regard, I wasn't prepared. We should always be ready for the best possible scenario.
Now as a theologian, I would be remiss not to connect this garden catastrophe to the spiritual life.
What is true in the garden is true with God. Those who are spiritually inclined know all about planting seeds and tending and waiting for growth. A lot of times, people start out fast and then as soon as the storm comes they wither because the appropriate support isn't in place. This is my first connection. Sounds like thttp://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=5109135718941244358he parable of the sower, eh? (Matt 13:3-23; Mk 4:2-20; Lk 8:4-15 ish)
Secondly, my expectations with the garden were low and then I was taken by surprise and then I wasn't prepared for the abundant growth. As a result, I'll probably lose the bulk of the tomatoes and possibly several other plants. Today, the thought of miracles seems quaint. I've seen so many awful things in my life that the idea of a massive religious encounter seems impossible. It may be that those miracles do exist, but they begin as seeds. We plant them-maybe. We tend them-sometimes. We see our expectations exceeded-rarely. So, miracles may be happening all the time, but we don't let them grow.
So, if you take nothing else, expect and be ready for great things.
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