Win Ben Stein's Money (Please)

I've been a little hesitant to blog about Ben Stein's Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed for a few reasons. First, I generally do not care for documentaries because they're typically biased and very tricky to navigate. I'd rather just read about whatever I'm interested in. Secondly, I'm not much of a scientist. And third, Jameson found the movie to proffer intriguing questions and issues (you should definitely read that post for yourself, which is very interesting aside from its affiliation with the movie), and I will have to disagree with that slightly. It is not that I entirely disagree or agree with Stein's conclusions, I just found his method of argument less than compelling.

I will also add this bit of a disclaimer: I treat most movies the same, regardless of their themes or moral points of view. Generally, I gauge whether the piece tells an intriguing story or uncovers "truths" in interesting ways. With documentaries, that analysis is slightly different in that instead of a plot, per se, there is an argument to sift through. In these cases, I tend to evaluate the argument, the inclusion or exclusion of certain facts, and whether the documentary will serve any good.

As a sample, Michael Moore's films are very biased, rarely offer concrete facts, and do little than try to "shed light" on a so-called injustice. Contrastingly, Morgan Spurlock's documentaries do not propose to come to greater truths like Moore's films claim to do, and instead follow Spurlock on some sort of personal journey. Because Spurlock presents no facade behind which he operates, I generally like his documentaries. Aside from that, they're usually funny and offer shout-outs to West Virginia.

In Stein's case, my assessment is lukewarm. During the first 40 mi
nutes, he does a great job of demonstrating the scientific community's exclusion of Intelligent Design. What came after, seemed to be a little overkill. Stein rightly illustrates Darwinian connections to Nazism and less extreme forms of eugenics, as if to convey that unchecked adherence to any theory can lead to extremism. Of course, the same can be said of most religions, not that Stein is attempting to have an Academia vs. Christianity debate.

Stein's interview with Richard Dawkins, however is the most climactic and illuminating sequence of the film. In this interview, Stein questions Dawkins about the exclusion of any non-Darwinian approaches in the scientific community. The importance of this interview is not so much as what Dawkins says, much of which the film has already established, but its illustratation Dawkin's unquestioning adherence to Darwinian evolution the scientific approach, and Stein's adherence to the idea that there is something wrong with that.

I'm sure that I have a bias against this film simply because it is a documentary, and I fail to see how the film answers any questions or even asks any new ones. That the academic community is traditionally non-Christian is not a new thing, nor is the debate of Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design. Personally, I don't see that Darwinism and Intelligent Design (or even Creationism) are mutually exclusive, and even the film says as much. Ultimately, I don't see how the film was particularly effective or convincing, but I suppose it is good to give voice and credence to a side of the debate that usually remains silent in the mass media, aside from any shout-outs James Dobson or Pat Robertson may give.

As always, feel free to disagree!

What Would You Do With Seven Pounds

Apparently, the blogosphere is full of Christmas musings today, and I find that strangely appropriate. I never put much stock in holidays, including Christmas, so whenever I bump into a celebration, it's always sort of unexpected. I love that Christmas enables my family to be relatively (pun intended) together for a couple of weeks, but I can do without the presents and elaborate dinners. I do love the church services, though.

I don't know why I feel that way about Christmas. I'm never filled with this overwhelming love or mercy that others seem to acquire, nor am I especially cynical or overly stressed. I guess I wish Christmas could just be.

But it's been a good holiday thus far. I've visited with all the people I wanted to, watched all the Christmas specials I love, and eaten tons of sugar-coated and salt-covered snacks. Oh, and I learned to make homemade mocha that's almost as good as the stuff the lady at school concocts.

Let me go a little pop culture and tell you about Will Smith's latest Seven Pounds. I can't really say much without spoiling the movie, though. The narrative structure of the film is slightly disrupted, think Momento or Pulp Fiction, so part of the fun is trying to figure out what's going on. Still, the movie is still really cool, save a rather misplaced love scene that involves Smith's Ben Thomas and Rosario Dawson's Emily Posa, who is on the verge of heart failure, and probably shouldn't be engaging in any sort of strenuous activities.

Without giving too much away, I'll just point out that although the film's ending is expected, Ben's journey is captivating, and maybe a bit inspirational. That journey highlights the struggle one makes in deciding to be a sacrifice for others, literally and figuratively. Of course, that reminds me of Christ and His ultimate sacrifice, which ironically makes me think of The Dark Knight. If Seven Pounds follows Ben's conflicts leading up to a sacrifice, The Dark Knight hints at the staggering benefits of that sacrifice. At the end of the film, soon to be Commissioner, James Gordon, explains to his son the importance of Batman:

SON: Why's he running, Dad?
GORDON: Because we have to chase him
SON: He didn't do anything wrong.
GORDON: ...So we'll hunt him because he can take it.

It's really to read the crucifiction story into many superhero tales, and I think this Batman one is oddly appropriate. Christ didn't do anything, wrong, but He took on all the punishment for all the crap we churn up here on earth. It's comforting to know that we're taken care of, no matter what. And that is what Christmas is all about. Well, that food, and Red Ryder BB guns.

Dude's Got Skilz

I found this on collegehumor.com.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Cubs Watch: Winter Edition

I'll admit it, I'm addicted to baseball. It started when I came to college, and I found that watching MLB on TV was the most relaxing thing to do at the end of a long day. While, that still holds true, I've become a bit of a fanatic of the sport, and even more so of the Chicago Cubs. So, from time to time, I may come here to rant about the sport and/or the best team ev-ah, and today is one of those times.

Recently, the Cubs have tried finalizing a trade for Jake Peavy, a recent Cy Young award winner. One of the conditions of the trade was all-around awesome player Mark DeRosa. Thankfully, albeit unexpectedly and without reason, the Cubs have backed out of the trade.

DeRosa is one of those cool players who knows the game well, is a consistently good batter, and can play almost any position on the field. His loss would leave a major hole in the Cubs starting lineup, and I'm not quite sure why the Cubs would see Peavy worth all that. The Cubs have a great pitching rotation, and aside from a few kinks (mainly from upstart Rich Hill and Ted Lilly), they had a good season. However, the Cubs need to work on their defense otherwise. So I say bring in some southpaw batters if you can, but altogether, get a strong outfield to complement the stellar infield, and you may have another chance at the World Series, which thankfully, doesn't come with an expiration date.

Yay!

My friend Josh bought me this unexpected Christmas gift:





I still have two major papers to finish before Monday, but this DVD will be great company :).

I Still Don't Know What This Song Means

An a capella version of "Bohemian Rhapsody." It's really quite good. I've always thought this would be a great song for a French horn combo to play, but until Dad writes out that arrangement, I'll make do with this one. Enjoy!

Here's the youtube video:



If that doesn't work for you, here's a link to the video elsewhere:

Blessings

I feel strangely connected to everything tonight. Maybe it's the Christmas season, the dusting of snow outside, or just an overwhelming feeling of blessedness.

Most of this year, I've felt very separated from most things, friends, family, and God. While all of those are very scary, feeling estranged from my Father is indescribable. I know that sometimes it feels like God isn't there (when of course he is) and this feeling of "absence" is key to spiritual growth, these absences feel like they occur more often than they used to. Tonight I'm thankful that I feel Him with me again.

I guess I feel a lot of pressure, mostly self-imposed, to get my life started. I see others moving forward, finding their purposes, be it mission work, marriage, whatever. I feel like I need to do more, that I need to go all Thoreau and suck the marrow out of life. But before I begin any sort of life journey, I have to get my spirit in the right place, and I'm working on that.

In times like these, I'm always reminded of Samuel and Ruth. Both of them became followers of God seemingly because other people chose that life for them. In Samuel's case, his mother dedicated him to God before he was even born. Ruth sort of married into the "God family," but even after her husband died, she stuck around. Still, following God was a whole-hearted choice for both of them, for Samuel when he heard God's voice in the night, and for Ruth when Boaz blessed her hard work in the fields.

These two figures stand out because they both turned to God when almost everything else had been ruined for them. For the most part, they were walking alone in the world, then BOOM! God was there. God is there, no matter what, all the time. His presence will outlast any other in my life. I tend to forget that, though, then I spin in metaphorical circles looking for my lost path. If only I would look "up," then maybe I'd stop questioning everything.

Music I Like

Ben Folds, where have you been all my life? It's always amazing when a lot of musicians, or seemingly incompatible musicians make something soul-searching. Check it out, there's even a French horn in there. Rock on!




And because I'm addicted to YouTube for the evening, here's another sample of two very different musicians making beautiful sounds together. Of course, this one has a more intimate sound The first time I heard it I was reminded of all the times I've every played an instrument or sang with others. I miss that. I guess music allows a transcendence I never get from writing, and it's a transcendence that's accessible to everyone, but I think that if you're a musician you're more apt to realize it. And yes, I may have played this video more than 5 times today, if you were wondering.

If I could be best friends

with anyone from M*A*S*H, it would be either Father Mulchahy or Charles Emerson Winchester, III. Maybe both, they kind of complement each other.

What I Wonder About:

• What triggers memories? Sometimes it's fairly obvious, like a song, unexpected email, story, or TV show. Other times they just pop into my head seemingly sourceless. Maybe memories work like life lessons, or those Bible verses we had to remember as children. They come when we need them, offer a light in bleakness, or even remind us of what to do, given a current situation.
• How much of recluse can I be before someone gets mad at me?
• Why is watching TV or reading emails a clear indication that I don't want to be interrupted, but when I'm reading a book, or writing, it's perfectly acceptable to make me break away from my reverie?
• When will I feel comfortable in worship? All my life in church and Sunday services still make me feel like an awkward teenage punk rocker being dragged into the sanctuary by a well-meaning and overly forceful aunt. If I could go to church in an invisibility cloak and sing louder than everyone else, without them actually hearing me, I'd be there 24/7. I think this may be what Heaven will be like. Not really, though. I change for Heaven, it doesn't change for me, right?
  
• Can I purchase a Thought-to-Dialogue-Translator? That would rock, and would make me a much better conversationalist.
• Why does no one in Huntington seem happy in the winter? Do all the citizens fall victim to Seasonal Depression? Eek, maybe it's because the City Council already spent the money for Christmas decorations on their salaries...If that's the case, then I want my "user fee" back. (Yes, I have to pay to work in Huntington, a 2% user fee, a tax really...)
• Could I live in Northern England if I didn't have a car?
• Irish modernists or American Ethnic Postmodernists?

Sorry for the Melodrama

I'll try to do less of that in the future :).

Why Die Hard is the best action movie of all time

1. Alan Rickman as the sympathetic mastermind villain with a voice that is simultaneously terrifying and sexy

2. John McClane is a flawed hero (afraid of heights, smokes, drinks, leaves his wife)

3. John McClane is a noble hero (sacrifices self for others, cunning, witty, kicks butt without wearing shoes).

4. Holly Gennero is a "tough female lead" who shows strength through her mind and her bravery. And just because McClane goes all action hero, doesn't mean she's going to remarry him. This chick can survive on her own.

5. Argyle is the unaware limo driver offering suitable doses of comic relief and acts as a surrogate for the audience to relate to McClane.

6. Creepy eastern Europeans in a movie that comes out right after the end of the Cold War.

7. Reginald VelJohnson plays a great small time cop with big time loyalty. He is the only one who believes McClane and sticks with our hero, without even meeting face to face until the very end.

8. MacGuyver problem solving skills taken to a new level. McClane and Gennero play brilliant mind games against the terrorists, making many other action films appear formulaic and rather idiotic by comparison.

9. Those quriky stress-induced lines:

911 DISPATCH: This channel is reserved for emergency calls only.
MCCLANE: No F***g Sh** lady! Does it sound like I'm ordering a pizza!?

10. The only good movie from the 80s that John Hughes had nothing to do with.

The Gilmore Girls

are completely awesome. I can't stop watching. Somebody help me please, I have a paper to write.

A New Poet - Bridget Gray

String Theory, Take 1

I have some string.
At some point, I cut up this string into smaller strings,
although my amount of string is infinite.

Some of this string turns into twine, it
weaves with other pieces of string and ties itself,
well, ties itself to whatever I tell it too.

Some string is taught, rigid, strong,
unbreakable, and steady. This forest-green string travels
to the forest, to a house, to rooms, to a home. Most of this
string stays tied to the same place, well it used to.
Now, a piece knots in a hollow, another in a valley, a third to
a spa, and a fourth to Arizona. This is my favorite string.

My second favorite string is all blue. Blue is the color of choice.
These choice strings are conscious, tight, and permanent. There
are four of these strings. The oldest, wow,
the oldest mixes with the dark green, but lurches
to Virginia. The most unbreakable string, and though
muddied, has no cuts, frays, nor has it ever needed mending.
My shortest string is pure blue, and lives 10 blocks away in an attic.
A scary math class, music, and pizza created this one.
My longest string stretches to Asia, it too formed with music.
The newest string is tenuous, but strong. It lives in a hardware store with two dogs.

I don't know what to say about my other string.
I envision it daily, its clear, unclaimed structure, and through it,
peruse for paths across which to stretch my string, and
tie a double knot at a new location.
Sometimes, I find a newness, a novelty, but rarely
does its string survive an expiration date. That's ok,
if string were flying everywhere, I couldn't handle it.

But I still have this wavering string. It has the strong
color, like it's already claimed. Green and blue weaving into each other,
but also, also
a hint of blue-violet that is minimal, but prevalent.
I'm not sure what to do with this string, I'm not sure where to tie it,
if it is to be tied, or if it would even hold in place with super glue.
I'm ok with that. String should be dealt with carefully,
because when it unties, something is lost forever.

Sex Ed.

Today some girls and I were at work discussing dating and sex. To summarize objectively, I'll simply say that I admitted to never having a boyfriend. They went on to tell me the ways to attract a man. I said I didn't want just any man, but someone I found intellectually stimulating, someone I could talk with about theology, literature, etc. Looks weren't that important to me. The girls claimed I needed to date some duds to get some practice in. Hmm...they also said that waiting until marriage to have sex could be a silly thing.

But, there is something important about waiting, not just because God says we should, which is reason enough, but because indulging in sex nonchalantly diminishes its importance. If or when that time comes for me, it will be ground breaking because it signals an important connection and involves a heavy level of commitment. I'm not too brash or conservative or naive admitting that.

What Smo wants in her "love story"

• God's blessing
• Comfort
• Physical purity
  

Now, I'm not impatient for this to happen, if it supposed to then it will, whenever I am ready. My question is now, are these unrealistic desires? I am known to lose perspective sometimes, so perhaps I'm doing that now.

Some poetry practice

I miss writing poems,
not rhyming, a little rhythm,
a little nonsense,
a little bit of me.

But my metaphorical muse is absent,
wherever it may have gone.
I still enjoy words, love them as companions, as friends.

***

A HAIKU

A still, cool lake bed
shifts under strain from overhead
sky trees empty air.


*****

A BAND POEM

I've always liked tile over concrete better
than any frayed carpet, either flat or shaggy.
A little bit of clutter surrounding a round empty space
feels like home. Even better if there's monotonous chatter
that I hear but never listen to.
Yeah, that's my new happy place, or my old happy place renewed.
You can't really emulate that out here can you?
I've tried, but it hasn't worked out the way I thought it would.
But that's okay. In the interim, I'll stick to cherry wood
desks, meters, boxes, and alphabetic shelves.
Williams, you keep your red wheel barrow and silly chickens,
and I'll take surrogate parents, aunts and siblings.

I don't know why...

but I'm very happy and motivated today. I guess those prayers are starting to pay off.

I'm going to use this newfound bliss to be productive and thankful.

Yay!

Some Self Affirmation

Whenever I check facebook or myspace, I get cornered by those side margin ads to go on some sort of diet. I don't need to go on a silly diet to feel better about myself. I may not be the thinnest woman in the world, and gosh darn it, I don't want to be.

I like me, inside and out, and you silly ad men are just going to have to deal with that. Not only are your methods of targeting women for fad diets sexist and ethically flawed, but needlessly ubiquitous on the internet. Sure, I could be healthier, many of us could, but appealing to women's insecurities is in bad taste, no matter how profitable.

Your shady tactics don't fool me, and thanks to your superficial appeals, I'm laughing myself through the evening and not feeling a bit guilty for eating those 5 cookies earlier today. After all, it was Friday, and I needed some chocolate. I owe myself that much for putting up with your rubbish.

Pardon me, Mr Darcy, May I have a moment of your time?

I didn't get around to reading Pride and Prejudice until a few years ago. I looked at the task as a scholarly one, trying to broaden my horizons by studying literary periods I wasn't very familiar with. But, as is typical with most endeavors, I learned much more about myself than I did about liteary studies.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story, it is about this 20-ish girl, Lizzy Bennett, in late 18th century England. Lizzy has three younger sisters who are respectively a hermit, a boy crazy fashionista, and an impetuous tween. Lizzy's older sister Jane, however is quiet, reserved and endlessly kind. The novel follows Jane and Lizzy's stories of falling in love. Jane falls for the jovial and equally kind Mr Bingley. Bingley too, cares for Jane, but because Jane has made no indication of her affections, Bingley's BFF, the apparently snobbish and self-righteous Mr Darcy, convinces Bingley to stop pursuing Jane. Lizzy, who is calm, logical, and wittingly sarcastic throughout the novel, discovers Darcy's role in the affair shortly before Darcy admits to being in love wtih Lizzy. She is outraged, and rightly so, and sends him packing (not that he was sleeping over or anything, they didn't do that kind of stuff in Edwardian England). I won't ruin the tale by giving away the ending, but I will tell you that against my better judgement, I love this book.

While I admire Lizzy for her wise actions and continuous analysis of social situations, as well as her laugh out loud wit, I sympathize much more with Darcy. On the outside, he appears to be, well a complete snob, but under that facade, he struggles with protecting his best friend's feelings, feining off advances from Bingley's annoying sister, and logically approaching his love life. Throughout the novel (and the films), Darcy's role is an understated one, yet the writing (and acting) convey his underlying tensions and conflicts.

I guess I partly admire the old school gentlemanly-nesss Darcy projects, but I also know that most of the time I project an unanimated facade while much of my life dances by in my head, me as its only witness. In other words, I totally jive with Darcy's interiority. At the very least, I feel comfort in sympathizing with him because knowing that he thinks more than he says makes me feel a little less alone.

Let me more openly self-reflective for a moment. There's a lot that happens in my head that I never express or convey, a lot that I never share. That way of life has been with me for as long as I can remember, but lately, I've been chalking that up to social anxiety, and therefore deeming it a bad thing, thinking I should share my feelings more. But the more I consider it, I'm ok with living in my head, they like me here.

Still, I want to share me, all of me, with someone. I guess in a trite sort of way I'm ready to share my life with someone, but even more than that, I feel like I have a hole in my life somewhere, and my recognition of that gap has created such a longing in my heart that I can't find solace anywhere. This is not to say that the gap is sprititual, actually, God and I are doing fine, and we talk about this gap a lot. That doesn't make it any less painful, though.

To explain things a little differently, I feel whole as a sister, daughter, friend, worker, student, Christian, and other areas of my life. I don't feel like a whole woman, though. That might be a little anti-feminist of me, but that's how it is. I'm not sure I believe in soul mates or even that there is a perfect person in the world for all of us. I do believe that God has a plan for each of us, that He has one for me, and I take comfort in that. But this gap thing is new to me, it's like I miss something, that I'm mourning some sort of loss, but I don't know what it is.

I don't want you to read this as some sort of "I need a man" malady, but take it seriously. I'm struggling here with it, this sourceless pain I can't seem to shake, no matter how much I try.

Will Farrell for President

I found this today, and it's super funny.

See more Will Ferrell videos at Funny or Die

I've been in a really Ferrell-esque mood lately. In most of his movies, Will operates as an overgrown child, or at best a misdirected frat boy. And I love it. What comes off as simple, trite jokes morphs into crazy hilarious, gut-wrenching humor that's just funny. I'm really looking forward to the release of Step Brothers, but I'll have to wait until I get back from England in order to see it...unless they have a similar release date in the UK. Regardless, here's a great interview with Ferrell, John C. Riley, and Adam McKay (director and co-writer of the film) via NPR. Conducting the interview is Terri Gross, probably the best interviewer since the late great Tim Russert. Enjoy.

England Looming

Wow, my trip to England is a week away. I'm really excited. I could care less about the typical tourist-y sights, I just want to take in the culture. I want to listen to their accents and guess what part of the isles they are from.

I'm keeping a notebook and a camera with me at all times, so as to chronicle my escapades. It's going to be awesome.

In other news, I just found a fantastic cover album of the Footloose soundtrack. You can hear a snippet here. The entire album is available for listening from Doveman (the artist)'s website here. The covers have a dark inception as the artist dedicated the pieces to Jenny, the half sister of his best friend. Very sweet, I know.

The covers feature slow piano piano, an ocassional drum beat, both lead by vocals sounding similar to James Blunt. While the pieces are slow and at times gut-wrenching, the entire project is an illuminating take on 80s pop. Take a listen, you won't be sorry.

Another Take on 'The Dark Knight'

Here, NPR's Bob Mondello says the same thing I just posted yesterday, only Mondello is a much better writer. Check it out.

This is both disturbing and funny...

The Dark Knight Fulfills its Quest

The latest installment in the Batman franchise The Dark Knight is arguably the best action film since 1989's Die Hard. Christopher Nolan's latest super hero story expertly combines tight action sequences, cat and mouse games, ensemble casting, and psychological enthrallment to create a high octane film that's actually pretty smart.



At the heart of the film's brilliance are not the tight, invigorating performances of Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, et al., but rather great writing. Running 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film has no dull moments as gripping action scenes alternate with bone chilling dialogue that is mentally and emotionally captivating.

Of course, the acting is superb, and the ensemble construction of the story allows every character to shine, from Michael Caine's enigmatic and mouthy Alfred to Ledger's creepy face-painted Joker. This movie is a no holds barred excellent film and has quite a few nominations headed its way.

Some Stuff I found in the News

Guantanamo Bay is pretty much an ugly phrase these days, apart from its presence in the latest Harold and Kumar movie, but the place got an upside a while back when due process was granted to its detainees.

In the past, GB has been a sort of dumping ground for war criminals and civilians alike. Until recently, habeas corpus (evidence that a crime has been committed) was optional and torture was the norm. The recent granting of due process wherein detainees will have rights to lawyers and trials will hopefully put an end to torture and the bad rap the US is getting worldwide.

I really don't know what to make of this video release NPR reported on. Omar Khadr, now a 21-year-old detainee at GB was arrested at the age of 15 for supposedly throwing a grenade at an American soldier. He also happens to be the son of a Pakistani member of Al-Queda and has met Osama bin Laden.

Here is a great summation of the facts and implications as reported on by NPR

I reccommend listening/reading this article first, then head over to youtube.com to watch a video released by Khadr's lawyers. While watching the video, however, keep in mind that this is an edited piece that was compiled from about 7.4 hours of video GB officials released to Khadr's lawyers. The video has obviously been spliced together from the hours of tape, but nonetheless the scenes are still compelling. Watch it here.

From POV, I'd like to see some other footage, apart from this, and also would like to know what has happened to Khadr outside the questioning room, you know, in his cell(s) and such. I have long been opposed to the unlawful containment of these detainees and the torture that obviously takes place within the walls of GB. Torture itself is wrong, inhumane, and generally not worth its effort in evidence (just google Irish prisoners of war to see the historical inadequacies of torture). On a more personal note, with a brother in the service and international karma, I'd hate to think that my little buddy would become a POW and be subjected to endless torture by a vengeful and malicious al-Queda guard.

Let me know what you think.

Open Up!

So, my little brother went to basic training today. I said goodbye to him yesterday, right before I came back to school, well work, actually, since it's summer.

Generally, I like a good solitary drive. I'd take them more often if it were for my car's dependence on foreign oil, but what are you gonna do? A long drive is the perfect opportunity to just think. I don't do nearly enough of just thinking, what with television, books, video games, and the internet always around to distract me. Thinking, non-distractedly is a lost art, and if I could harness it correctly, then I would be a more well-developed individual. The key, I think is to go deep, not just think about what clothes I have to wear, what chores I have to do once I get home, or anything like that. Instead, to think about the biggies, the meaning of life, my relationship with God, God Himself, love, angst, the future, you know all that stuff.

Well, you know me, always a sucker, but not willing to admit to it, I love listening to those sappy love songs on those adult contemporary radio stations. It was one of those idiotic, cheesily lyricized songs that made me start crying. Gosh, it was horrible. And you know what I did? Yep, I tried to think logically about why I was crying. Of course it's obvious that I flippin miss my little brother. I don't really need a reason other than that, but I tried to make myself find one. But yeah, I'm sad.

So, not a bit deal, right? I guess not. I'm sad because someone in my family will be out of reach for a long, long while, and I am really busted up about that. I'm going to be a little selfish and say that I'm happy that I'm sad because that means that I am not selfish. Does that make sense? It illustrates that I'm not just an anonymous pod on a solitary walk to an unknown destination. I am connected to someone else, to other people. And for the funk I've been in the past few months, it's just the reassurance I have been waiting for

News Flash!

Los Angeles-In an attempt to sound remotely intelligent, "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul, when asked to comment on last week's results, said "I shall differ to Simon." Apparently, the songstress meant "defer," but did not have a strong enough relation with the English language to use it correctly.

A Solo Lesson from Star Wars

I'm rewatching one of my favorite films Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back on my newly installed Dish Network receiver and dish. Admittedly, some of the special effects make me laugh, while others make me gasp, "Wow, they could do that in the '80s!?" But the SFX aren't the reason I joined up with the Wars crew, nope instead it was the roguish Han Solo.

Now, don't get to thinking that I'm ooh la la Harrison Ford or anything, because I'm not. He's pretty much a....well...a hack. Han Solo, though, is Ford's most stellar performance (yes, even above Indiana and Jack Ryan) because Han is such a brilliant character. In the first two movies he has this push and pull with the audience. He's such a cool bad boy with this awesome ride (you know, the Millennium Falcon and its speedy parceps) that we want him to stick around. But then, he's just so darn unreliable, and a smuggler that we think he could ruin the Rebellion's efforts.

A character like Han is more or less archetypal at this point, but his development in the Star Wars universe is singular. More than any other character, he keeps coming back fight after fight when he has no personal stake in the battle (except maybe Leia).

I guess the reason I personally like Han, aside from his mad blaster skills, is that he keeps his head about him. He's not simply driven by a cause like Leia, nor unrealistically altruistic like Luke. Instead, he's honest and smart. Not to mention, he has great hair.

I think that Han has something to teach us modern collegiates. It's important for us to not get wrapped up in bandwagon movements without considering all the facts ourselves. For Han, sticking with Leia and Luke happened to work out. But in the real world, however, it takes a lot of sly cunning and good judgment to keep us from becoming one of the crowd.