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Movie Reviews

Life and Jane Austen I

I've just read Sense and Sensibility for the 3rd time. I'm almost ashamed to admit that I've only read it three times. Jane's other books have gotten a fourth, fifth or sixth read. So I'd forgotten the joys of this novel. I tend to see it as the "little sister" to Pride and Prejudice, rather than letting it speak for itself. Sense and Sensibility reminded me of how our society has slipped. Of the two sisters, Elinor (the one with sense) really understands societal niceties and consideration of others. Marianne (the passionate, unrestrained, emotional one-full of sensibility) could care less what people think. Marianne thinks that tact is hypocritical, patience is over-rated, and self-restraint is just a lie. Elinor thinks more highly of others. Marianne, only of herself. Hence, when Elinor's heart is broken, she spends all her time helping her mother and sister deal with their grief, rather than having someone sympathize with her. But the kicker is this...Marianne gets broken (almost literally) by her self-indulgence which leads to illness. And suddenly, rather than a passionate, fun, outgoing girl, Marianne becomes quiet, distant, but compassionate at last. Now, back to my point about our society. We are Mariannes. We are self-indulgent, ruled by our passions, only concerned with our own thoughts and feelings. We have no compassion, no understanding. The feelings of others are only there to be trampled on. Self-restraint is to be mocked and every desire chased after. We are even worse than Marianne. We are Willoughby. He is self-indulgent to the point of being despicable. His selfishness leads to the complete ruin of a young woman as well as the breaking of Marianne's heart. In the end, society itself is partially blamed for his behavior (too much freedom at too young an age). But he himself is blamed for his self-indulgence and the ruin he wreaks on others. And he ends up in a loveless marriage, brought about by his dissipation and greed. So, what happens to us today? Either loveless marriages (or relationships) or complete brokenness and ruin. Maybe we can be Mariannes and learn our lesson. Or maybe we're too far gone already.

A good read

We went and saw "I Am Legend" when it was at the theaters (we haven't gotten the DVD yet) and the movie raised a lot of questions it didn't answer well. So being the good bookworm I am, I got the book and read it. Good book. Of course, it is quite a bit different than the movie. The dog is just a bit part (but important to character development) and, yes, Robert Neville is not the dashing Will Smith character.
The plague victims are called vampires, but their symptoms are from a mixture of physiological and psychological causes. For example, only people raised in a Christian culture are afraid of crosses. It takes the Torah to drive off Jewish vampires. And it's not experimenting with measles that causes the virus. There is also a huge difference (you find out) between the ones who are alive and are infected, and the ones that are dead first. And, (huge spoiler ahead) the woman and little boy are just not in the book at all. In fact, the "cure" is not at all what you think. The ending of the book fits the title better than the movie ending does.
The copy of I Am Legend that I picked up has a bunch of short stories by Richard Matheson as well. And they are generally of the horror variety. Not "splatter punk" or even the semi-sexual style of Stephen King (except for one story). But they are good. They'll give you chills and make you wonder about what is really going on behind closed doors (or inside your walls or in your head).

Eliana's birthday

Immediately following Christmas, we get to celebrate both James' and Eliana's birthdays. We had a wonderful time with two of my brothers (only two...sniff!!), our parents, James' sister and her girls (and son-in-law), and Betsy and her family. Lots of kids and lots of fun! James and Eliana had two cakes and a pie for us all to pig out on. We had a wonderful time! Eliana's favorite gift.. her throne, complete with princess outfit, crown, jewelry and ballerina skirt. A close second (and still being played with a lot) were her Shake and Go cars (Doc Hudson and Lightning McQueen). We had a wonderful time. We are blessed to have family here!

Christmas 2007

Mere mortals??

I'm lifting this quote whole-cloth from my friend, Kris. This is from C.S. Lewis' sermon, The Weight of Glory.

It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory hereafter; it is hardly possible for him to think too often or too deeply about that of his neighbour. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendours. This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play. But our merriment must be of that kind (and it is, in fact, the merriest kind) which exists between people who have, from the outset, taken each other seriously—no flippancy, no superiority, no presumption. And our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins in spite of which we love the sinner—no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat—the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden.

Enough said. --Kari

My Grandmother

In the past couple of weeks since my Grandmother passed away, I've been reflecting often on two things: how amazing she was, and what made her so amazing. Many people credit her success and the love she inspired to some characteristic of her own: her perseverance, her dedication, her compassion. But what made really made her amazing? God. That's it! That's the simple answer. But how he made her amazing...now there's the real story.

Mrs. Black, a.k.a. Grandmother, was a woman of prayer and of the Word. Even at the end of her life when she was having difficulty with memory, with movement, she spent hours reading the Word and praying for those she could remember. This dedication did not come to her in her youth. She was a rebellious, strong-willed and stubborn child. She was a stubborn and strong-willed woman. But as an adult she moved to El Paso to spend time with the family of her then-fiance. Through his family and friends she began attending church and Bible studies. And God brought her to himself. As a baby Christian, she was blessed to have this family to disciple her and teach her what following Christ meant. When her fiance came back from the war, he was a mental and emotional wreck. They agreed to break off the engagement. But then she met Oscar Black. Yaay! They were wed in a very small ceremony (her parents didn't even make it from Nebraska and they had to visit them on their honeymoon) and the Black clan was begun. Papa was a strong Christian, a gentle leader, and the perfect match for Grandmother's passionate, stubborn nature. He led her to an even closer relationship with Christ and they served him with all their hearts, first in El Paso and then here in Las Cruces.
Through the deaths of many loved ones, including Papa, Grandmother only clung tighter to her Lord. As she taught the kids here at the Kindergarten, "Jesus loves me, this I KNOW."

What Grandmother has taught me... pray. Grandmother spent at least an hour in the morning, not to mention lots of time through the day, even at school, in prayer. She prayed desperately for her children, then for her grandchildren (and some of us were in pretty desperate need) and then her great-grandchildren. So I have been challenged... pray. Pray desperately for my husband, my children, my family, my friends, even for those who I'm not in touch with anymore. And pray for myself, for my sin, my hopes, my fears.

Psalm 5:2-3
Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.
(NIV)
-- And I'm praying for you too!