Speaking of Wood, Hay and Straw

The Oscars are tomorrow.

And you are invited to come hang out and watch them with me. Bring something to munch on, though.

Red carpet starts at 3 pm; the actual awards ceremony starts at 5 pm. Come & go, as you like.

Due to a rather small pool of resources and friends, I didn't make it to see all the movies I really wanted to this past month. However, here's a list of the nominees I did manage to see, and why they were nominated:

Across the Universe--Costume Design/ Not quite the hallucinogenic trip I thought it would be, and while I enjoyed it, since I really don't know many songs by the Beatles, I was kind of lost most of the movie.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford--Supporting Actor, Casey Affleck; Cinematography/ Casey did an amazing job; also, check out his stunning performance in Gone Baby Gone. The despair in this movie was accurately portrayed by shots of bleak countrysides.

Atonement--Supporting Actress, Saoirse Ronan; Art Direction; Cinematography; Costume Design; Original Score; Best Picture; Adapted Screenplay/ Visually stunning movie--the way they framed shots was beautiful! Also, I'm surprised this movie wasn't nominated for Sound Editing/Mixing; the way they mixed the sound of a typewriter throughout, and highlighted sounds like a bee at the window served to draw you in to an already intriguing story.

Away From Her--Leading Actress, Julie Christie; Adapted Screenplay/ When I read that this was the story of a wife beginning to develop Alzheimer's, I thought it would be depressing, but instead I discovered the beautiful ache of an aging couple discovering that there was something before death that could rip them apart. It made me cry--in a good way!

The Bourne Ultimatum--Film Editing; Sound Editing; Sound Mixing/ The rooftop scene where Bourne then jumps from balcony to balcony was especially memorable.

Eastern Promises--Leading Actor, Viggo Mortensen/ A lot of "escenas fuertes" in this one--that is, very impactful images, and certainly not for the faint of heart. But Viggo pulls off this unlikely member of the Russian mafia, even with a hint of comedic genius.

Enchanted--3 Original Songs/ Fun movie, but I couldn't tell you which songs they should/shouldn't have nominated--they all ran together by the end.

The Golden Compass--Art Direction; Visual Effects/ Here's one for controversy! I'll just say this: interesting story, and yes, visually stunning.

Gone Baby Gone--Supporting Actress, Amy Ryan/ Solid performance by Amy Ryan, but I think Casey Affleck stood out more. VERY well made movie, though. Lots to think about.

Michael Clayton--Leading Actor, George Clooney; Supporting Actor, Tom Wilkinson; Supporting Actress, Tilda Swinton; Directing; Original Score; Best Picture; Original Screenplay/ It was odd to see Clooney as a dad, and definitely not a ladies' man; so believable as this new kind of character! And both Wilkinson (Cornwallis from The Patriot) and Swinton (the icy and intimidating White Witch from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe) swept me away with their lucid, yet somewhat erratic characters.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End--Makeup; Visual Effects/ My favorite makeup/visual effect? Bill Nighy as Davy Jones. Still couldn't disguise the curl of his lip, though. Also, I'd like to know: what kind of eyeliner does Jack Sparrow use? It stays on hell or high water and doesn't even seem to smudge!

Ratatouille--Animated Picture; Original Score; Sound Mixing; Sound Editing; Original Screenplay/ Saw this one in Costa Rica... ;)

3:10 to Yuma--Original Score; Sound Mixing/ For me, the most notable elements of this movie where performances by Christian Bale and Ben Foster; when are they going to get nominated? Bale caught my eye in 1987 with Empire of the Sun, and Foster creeped me out in Hostage. Where's their recognition?

Transformers--Sound Mixing; Sound Editing; Visual Effects/ I grew up watching their cartoon every morning before heading off to kindergarten (at least for the fall semester of 1985, when we were living in the US). I was fascinated then, and I am fascinated now.

Here's the nominated movies I wish I'd seen beforehand, and might still pick up in the near future:

Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett)

I'm Not There (Again, Cate Blanchett!)

Into the Wild

Juno

The Kite Runner

Lars and the Real Girl (Ryan Gosling!)

No Country For Old Men

Sicko

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

There Will Be Blood (Daniel Day Lewis)

[Until just a moment ago, when I finished these lists, I didn't realize how many nominated films I'd seen! Maybe I'm better prepared than I thought for tomorrow's ceremony.]

Perhaps I should be studying for my first History of Architecture test this semester, for Monday morning, instead of watching the Oscars... :)

I'm Not...

...a [ ] secretary.

Get it through your heads!

Save Me From Myself!

Have you ever felt like God's been trying to get your attention for a while, and one day you finally catch on?

I've slowly been making my way through a book (Inside Out by Larry Crabb. One of the most honest books I have read about life as a Christ-follower. Read it.) which talks about the brokenness of us, as humans, and how we try to make up for it by demanding our own way, when what we need is to learn how desperately dependent on God we are.

I'm working through a study on the tabernacle. This morning I opened the book and read about how God took 40 years to engrain in his people their dependency on him.

Yesterday I literally sat and listened at the feet of one of my favorite singer/songwriters. He sang of being wistful, broken, and seemingly bent on his own self-destruction. But he also sang words of hope, of perfect love, of discovering a peaceful dependency on the one who is actually able to suffice.

And it hit me--my own fierce independence is what keeps me from God, from having the kind of relationship with him that I want, from having the quality of life for which I long.

I cannot live in my own strength or trust my own resourcefulness, and it's high time I realize my inability to do so.

Road Trip

Yesterday Paddy and I sat 8 feet from Jon Foreman.

He asked for our help to write the set list, and we happily complied.

Paddy kept trying to get a good picture, but something or someone kept getting in the way, as you can see by the pictures.

We got there three hours early, and it was a good thing, too, because we got front row seats--although "seats" isn't actualy the correct term. We got the front curb, as he was playing in the parking lot of Lou's Records, a music store he grew up going to.

It was just Jon on guitar and his friend Keith on cello. And for those of you who went to the Switchfoot/Relient K concert in Irvine, it was the same guy they brought out to help play the acoustic version of "Only Hope".

After sound check, Jon and Keith put their instruments away and charged us with their care while they went to get some coffee. They must have sensed the presence of a responsible Eagle in their midst.

Afterwards, we stood in line for about an hour, waiting to get autographs and to get to talk to both musicians. What reminded me to be patient was that if they were taking their time with each person, they would take their time with us. And they did! We got to get several pictures and actually talk to them. Both were gracious and appreciative of what we had to say! (Plus, Jon really liked Paddy's shirt.)

So went our short road trip--and one of the best days of my life, because I got to share it with Paddy!

Encinitas

Today

I am going with Paddy

to see

Jon Foreman

live

for free.

WOOHOO!

From jonforeman.com:

Jon Foreman – acoustic instore at Lou’s – Saturday Feb 9th

Please join Jon as he performs songs in support of his Fall/Winter EP at Lou’s in Encinitas on Saturday Feb 9th at 2pm. Jon will also be signing copies of the Fall/Winter EP. Get there early!

Saturday February 9th 2pm

Lou’s Records

434 North Coast Highway 101

Encinitas, CA 92024

Speaking of random thoughts which flit...

Why is it that we have to justify crappy things that happen to us with an equally crappy explanation?
"Everything happens for a reason!" Um, no it doesn't. People make dumb choices because we live in a messed up world. And then we have to live with the consequences of those choices, whether they were ours or not, even though God forgives us--it's called cause and effect.
But even our idiocy doesn't keep our powerful God from redeeming those situations, from creating beauty out of flawed or even horrendous elements.
So does God cause the ugliness and pain? I am thoroughly convinced that he does not. But he loves to take those very circumstances and turn them upside down; just take a look at Mark.

I'm currently working through a study which starts out each day with meditating on a short pericope, while asking God to speak to me through his word.
What?! Ask the author to help me understand what he's trying to say? What a novel idea!

Philip Yancey is speaking at Point Loma this Friday, and since I waited too long to get my ducks in a row, the tickets sold out before I could procure one. But on Saturday I'm going to Encinitas with Paddy to hear Jon Foreman! Woohoo!
Gudymente better memorize everything Yancey says, so he can give me a word-for-word account.

My business class got canceled. But I love my architecture class. We've been looking at how each major civilization pours their time into creating structures which portray what matters most in their culture. Sumerian ziggurats, Egyptian pyramids, Grecian acropolises, US skyscrapers--all with practical uses, yet also symbolic of where the power lies.
And somehow it is odd to my professor that almost all civilizations before the modern era tied that power to some sort of religious practice. More on this in Eclipse of Heaven. (Read it.)