Building Bears
So two of the boys on the Forensics team decided they needed to bring their girlfriends back something from Chicago. Instead of asking one of the girls on the team what would be an appropriate gift, they thought that I would know what was best. They thought it would be good if they bought gifts from a souvenir shop because it was called “Feelings.” It didn’t matter that there was just junk in the shop.
I convinced the boys to wait and find something more authentic when we went to Navy Pier later that evening. Upon our arrival at NP, the perfect gift opportunity presented itself: Build a Bear. I mean, what self-respecting teenage girly-girl wouldn’t want a bear that her boyfriend made her? So we drag the two boys to the Build a Bear Store.
Unfortunately, the older of the two guys has been told by one of the girls on the team, that maybe his girlfriend wouldn’t like a bear. Apparently, she’s not a real girly-girl, so the two of them go to look for her a piece of jewelry or something. That leaves the other 12 of us to keep the guy, who we’ll call TJ, in the store so that he can build his girlfriend a bear.
I’d never seen anybody build a bear before, but it was a fascinating process. TJ first had to select the outer shell for the bear he wanted, the whole time muttering how emasculating the entire process was. He then took the raggedy shell to an attendant whose job it was to stuff the bear. The attendant loo
ked at TJ, asked “hard or soft?” and we all burst into laughter. TJ looked even more humiliated, now muttering about how gay the entire process was. Well, it only got “gayer” because after the bear was stuffed, they gave TJ a heart, which he had to kiss before the bear would “accept it.” I’ve never seen someone turn as red as this teen did when he stared at the heart, debating whether to kiss it or not. Instead of kissing it, he almost bolted out of the store, but thankfully, one of the group blocked his path. Finally, after much hesitation, TJ kissed the bear’s heart and shoved it into its stuffing.
Then came what I think might be the most humiliating part. He had to hold the bear up and turn around in a circle. No explanation was ever given to the reason for this. I think the Build a Bear people probably know that by this time in the process, they’ve got you so beat down, that they could ask you to roll over and whine like a bear and you would, cause TJ sure did. This kid, who two years ago objected to the idea of pretending to dance in a duo, held a stuffed bear over his head and twirled around in the middle of a store in Chicago. Mother Earth smiled.
After twirling around, he was then instructed to go give the bear an air bath. For some reason, here, TJ tried to put up some resistance. Why, I’m not sure, but this portion of the process seemed excessively unreasonable to him. This is actually the part in the procedure that I thought made the most sense, but that’s just me I guess. I wouldn’t want lint and dust covering the bear I just kissed and held up as an offering to the bear gods of Olympus. So I had to intervene and help TJ scrub down the bear.
We ensured the bear was clean and TJ proceeded to put all the bear’s information into the computer so that he could generate a birth certificate for the bear. There ended up being a technical problem with the name, so he had to reprint the certificate a couple of times, but as of Sunday, May 28, 2006, the bear has been born.
And I do agree with TJ, his girlfriend better be impressed. Cause otherwise, he needs to dump her.
Forensics Finale
So I think I took my final Forensics trip this past weekend. I flew to Chicago to meet the students for the National Catholic Forensics League Tournament.
The tournament was very poorly run to the point of having to ship the Extempers off to the middle of nowhere Chicago. They also made judges judge the same thing all day long on the first day of prelims, so I got on the bus with the Extempers, trudged over the river and through the ghetto to listen to students answer questions about “current events.”
The rounds were horrible. Not only because the students weren’t very good, but also because the questions were even worse. The first round was about contemporary culture. Literally, one girl was given the question, “To what extent, if any, should actors use their celebrity to advocate for a cause?” We had taken a Senior who hadn’t qualified for Nationals with us and she decided to join me as my timekeeper for the morning. As soon as the competitor read that question, our student turned and looked at me and tried not to break out into laughter. I tried not to completely tell the competitor she was the stupidest thing in the world, but I don’t think I succeeded. But in my defense, she did say that
Brokeback Mountain was a controversial movie—lie—and that Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger took those parts because they were advocating for gay rights. I had to set her straight and I didn’t have a lot of time to focus on being “nice” to do it. Frankly, a comment as stupid as that doesn’t deserve “nice” behavior.
Thankfully, I had the second round off, though the tab staff got upset with the judges in the judges’ lounge who started eating the food they brought in. Apparently, even though it was in the judges’ lounge, it wasn’t for the judges. Go figure! But be sure and do so without any signage.
Third round, the questions were about legal cases. These weren’t as sucky. Sure, they were outdated. I mean, they asked a question about Rehnquist’s lasting legacy. Um….hasn’t he been dead for a few months? What’s the point of the event? To cover anything that’s happened in the last year? Who knows. Anyway, the first student comes in, gives us his question about whether justice was done for Moussaui. He then starts talking about Rehnquist in his intro. I have to say, I was really intrigued. I wanted to see how he was going to pull these two things together. But in a second, it becomes clear that this kid is talking about a question other than what he’s given us. So, I already mentally start ranking the kid last in the round. Not that he was that bad, but they made a HUGE deal during the judges’ meeting that the students HAD to speak to the question they were given. And if the kid couldn’t get his act together enough to get everything in order, why am I gonna help him?
Because the two other judges in the room are pansies! That’s why. The female judges starts looking around at me, wondering what in the world is going on. I just ignore her, instead, focusing on the competitor. She starts looking at the other judge. He looks at her. Their eyes meet. They assume their destiny. Then, they run to the kid, hold his hand, give him a pacifier to suck on, telling the little one that it will be okay. Mommy and daddy will let him start all over. Meanwhile, I’m sitting in the back, rolling my eyes—waiting for the whole thing to get over with. So the child take the question back to the Extemp prep room, comes back, and starts all over! And the other judges thought that was fair! Clearly, somebody thinks that because most of these kids go to private school means they shouldn’t be introduced to the degree of hard knocks.
Then, the last speaker comes in. Starts talking about the military recruiting lawsuit, admits he doesn’t know enough to really do a speech on it, but he does know why military recruiting is down: because the army doesn’t want to give anybody cool guns. He then proceeds to talk for three minutes about guns—in great detail. I’ll admit, I quickly tuned him out, but I did see the timekeeper’s eyes go big more than once because of the amount of detailed information he shared.
Finally, I got to the final round of prelims and had to listen to questions about religion. I’d dreaded this round all day. I judged this religion round last year at Nationals and remember it being painful. I wasn’t wrong. Kids talked about condoms in Africa (by far the best speech), how Evangelicals agree with
The DaVinci Code (um, what evangelicals are you talking about?), the Gospel of Judas (you don’t even want to see what I wrote on that ballot) and some other crap that I’ve tried to purge from my mind.
Thankfully, I only had to judge one out-round: Prose quarter-finals. There were a couple of really bad pieces, one piece that I lodged a protest against in an effort to get it disqualified (sorry, but
700 Sundays is a DI, not prose), and then there was one amazing piece about being the “ugly friend.” After the round, our students that went with me to observe all commented that it was very obvious I thought the ugly piece was the best since I was laughing the entire time. Well, duh! And it was far better than the most racist presentation of
The Wiz in DI finals I could ever imagine. If I were a black man, I would have stood up during the middle of that round, walked up to the front, taken that competitor over my knee, and spanked him for selling out our people like that. But since I’m not black, I just sat in awe at the most spectacular and blatant presentation of stereotypes I’ve seen in years.
Unfortunately, only one of our kids made it to out-rounds, but the rest of the students had a great time. In fact one of them learned to “Build a bear.” (That’s a whole different story for a different blog.)
Formulas
While there’s something always comforting about a formula, and knowing how it works, there’s also something energizing and invigorating about abandoning that formula. Much of television drama follows a very close formula. These shows, often called “procedurals” follow the same basic format every episode. (i.e., patient comes in, Dr. House doesn’t want to look at him, flunkies try and guess what’s going on, get it wrong, get it wrong again, House starts to get interested, still can’t figure out what it is, and at the moment of last hope, the brilliant doctor figures out what it is, thus saving the day.)
Most procedurals find their signature and never abandon it. Think of the “dunk-dunk” with
Law & Order, the music montage of
Cold Case, or the slow fade-away of
Without a Trace.
However, abandoning that familiar structure sometimes gives an episode energy it might not otherwise find. Of the current procedurals on television, CBS’s
Without a Trace is the most eager to break the mold. And in doing so, it always continues to rise to ranks of excellence when it does.
Three times this season, the show blatantly broke the mold and in doing so, it demonstrated why this is the best of producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s television programs. Last fall, the series did an entire episode from the perspective of an abducted teenager’s parents. The episode was compelling, gripping, and incredibly well-acted.
Then, for May sweeps, the show again broke the mold twice. Once was for an episode that dealt with the disappearance of two teenagers—one black, one white. While the FBI team did go through the process of trying to track down the whereabouts of the teens, the focus of the episode was really about the latent racism currently found in the media regarding what stories are promoted, and which aren’t.
Finally, for the season finale, the show abandoned the most basic signature—the slow fade-away. It used a bookend to frame the show, which though not changing the very nature of the show did help to provide more suspense than a typical episode. The audience couldn’t help but watch in anticipation, waiting for the other shoe to drop from what we saw at the beginning. It was a top-notch hour.
Sometimes, there’s something to be said for breaking the rules.
Country Music
I had the ACM awards on while I was packing tonight and just had random thoughts.
First, country music may never be hip or cool. It’s the equivalent of the PC. It might not be as sexy as a Mac, but it’s not really interested in being edgy or trendy. It just wants to do what it’s always done—make people happy. I was reminded of this last night when I started crying watching all the vets come out during the trite Big and Rich song. It was a moment you’d never get at any other awards show. Every other show would be too interested in being cool to recognize the values that serve as the backbone of America. There’s a reason why there’s a disconnect between the “red” states and “blue” states. While I disagree with the “state” rhetoric, all you have to do is watch a country music awards show in comparison to any other awards program to see how blatant it is.
And just how awesome is Brad Paisley? He just seems like a very normal kind of guy. Granted, the whole “inflatable globe” thing he had going on during the number was a huge bust, but he’s just too fun to care.
Love her a lot, but did Sara Evans hit a single note right during her performance last night on the ACM awards? If that’s how that song goes, I think I’d have found another one to perform. Ouch.
A member of Blink 182 playing on a country music show? Well, I didn’t see that one coming.
And while we’re talking about unlikely combinations, how in the world did Pete Yorn end up co-writing a song with the Dixie Chicks for their new album? I mean, I love the guy, but he doesn’t strike me as a country music kind of guy. But then, if John Mayer is going to play on your album, why not have Pete Yorn work on it too?
Winding Down
Chloe has an ex-husband? Is it wrong that this particular nugget is what got me the most excited last night? It was the only truly un-expected thing I didn't see coming. So I think I got a goodly amount of exercise just jumping around my apartment the last thirty minutes of the 24 finale. This was tight, exciting, and just what I'd expect from 24. Sure, there wasn't a whole lot I didn't see coming, other than the fact that they ended in a cliff-hanger. I'm not surprised how they ended in a cliff-hanger (because they hadn't touched that huge dangling plot thread all year long), but still, it was great to see Martha and President Logan's showdown. (By the way, anybody have any idea where Mrs. Logan's assistant is?) Sure, like in all episodes of this show, there were things that stretched believability, but it was such fun. The fun didn't really bleed over to the Alias finale. Sure, there were enjoyable moments--lots of them, but by and large, this was just a little too much double-crossing. I needed more of the bravura emotional moments like Syd dealing with the loss of her dad. I also did love the flashbacks to Sydney being recruited. It was so great to see Francie and learn that she was the one who'd originally introduced Danny and Syd. (Though it would've been great to see him, but I understand if the show didn't want to confuse our loyalties with Danny and Vaughan.) And how cool was it to finally see the name "Sydney" come up as a location. What a great way to begin the finale.On the flip side, I just don't think that I bought Irina's ultimate demise. The writers and producers had done such a credible job of rehabilitating her, while making her still evil, for her to just announce that like Sloane, she no longer cared about what she'd purported to, but instead was more interested in Rimabldi and destroying the world? I didn't buy it. That really lessened the impact of the show for me. But at least we got the fabulous self-sacrifice of Jack. His actions were exactly in character with who he was. He even got to bring down the man who'd caused him a world of pain and agony, but in a way that felt honest, noble, and necessary. (Unlike Jack Bauer's assassination of Henderson.)Still, I will greatly miss Sydney, Vaughan, and Marshall.But not the Applewhites. Could that story have been more of a non-starter from the moment it began last year on Desperate Housewives? It's as bad an idea as somebody deciding that Tom had a child from a one-night stand 12 years ago and suddenly the mom wants him to be in their lives. I mean, who's stupid enough to think...Oh wait. Somebody is. The Housewives finale was disappointing, particularly since the show had improved in the back half of the season in comparison to the beginning, but it looks like the downward spiral is about to start again. Sure, it was great to see how Mary Alice got to know everybody on Wisteria Lane. As always, Marcia Cross had stuff to work with and made the most of her storyline. (Though somebody needs to tell Charlotte that Trey has moved out of New York City and gone loco.) Still, Bree does not need another crazy falling in love with her. And I don't want Mike to die, but I just don't know that I still care about most of these people. We'll see.
Freaked Out
Feeling sluggish today (it's been raining) and a little disappointed (maybe it was the lackluster Housewives' finale last night or I'm still in mourning for the passing of Everwood), but I didn't feel like blogging. Then I saw the following information that really got me freaked out."National Insurance Crime Bureau's (NICB) latest report that says California is home to six of the top 10 auto theft locations in the nation." Great. Just what I need to hear. But did they bother to say where they were in the state, cause it's kind of big? No. It at least explains the exorbant car insurance prices everybody in this state pays. So what to do? Thankfully, GEICO has some suggestions. (There's a reason why I have my insurance with this company.)- Keep your vehicle locked at all times, even while driving. Close all windows and sunroofs, no matter how hot it is. Check.
- Never leave your keys in the car. Check.
- If possible, park in busy, well-lit areas. Thieves prefer to work in the dark. Leave your car in park or in gear with the wheels turned toward the curb or some other obstruction, so thieves won't be able to tow it easily. I park wherever I can find a space--busy or not.
- Avoid leaving valuables inside your vehicle where passersby can see them. Does a box of Goldfish count as valuables? Cause otherwise, it's a check.
- Install an anti-theft system in your vehicle if it doesn't have one. I think one came standard. Maybe not. I'll have to look in on this one.
- Beware of the "bump-and-rob" technique. Carjackers bump your car from the rear, then steal it when you get out to look for damage. When stopped at a traffic light, leave room to maneuver around the vehicle ahead if you need to. If another car bumps yours and you feel threatened, drive to a populated area. If you have a cell phone, call the police for assistance. Cell phone--check.
- Do not leave registration or title in the car. Look into this. Make sure you have registration and title period.
- Look around. Be aware of your surroundings, especially in garages, parking lots and gas stations. Duh! You're driving! Shouldn't you know where you are. Check.
- Know where you're going. Check. Thank you Thomas Guide and Mapquest!
- If confronted by a carjacker, do not resist. Cars can be replaced; you can't. Um, I'd really be more worried about my CDs than my car. I guess I should work on that one.
- Have your car's vehicle identification number (VIN) etched on each of the windows. Yeah, totally not.
No Blog No Cry
Sorry for the lack of blogging.
I’m still coming to grips with the impending death of
Everwood.
Finale Time Continues
Last night, two series bowed off the air. For better or worse, both shows once set the standard for the sitcom and drama, but their Neilsen ratings have dwindled in recent years, thereby pushing them into the far recesses of media buzz. Yet, both programs managed to go off the air last night gracefully, and with dignity.
Malcolm in the Middle was a hilarious show about a seemingly dysfunctional nuclear family that was so chaotic in its functionality that it looked like anarchy. Instead, it was a family that thrived on its own rules, the most important of which were: Father and Mother know best; and Hell hath no fury as a member of this family when another family member has been wronged.
Last night's finale revolved around Malcolm's graduation/valedictorian speech, Hal and Lois worrying about how to pay for Malcolm's Harvard tuition, and Reese being overjoyed at getting a job as the school's new assistant janitor. Just as in typical Malcolm fashion, everything goes chaotically awry, which causes Lois and Malcolm to have it out. He wanted to take a computer job that would start him with an immediate six-figure salary. She forced him to turn it down, telling him that's not in his future. Then, in every bit of "I'm your mother and I know what's best for you" righteous fire she can summon, she tells Malcolm that he is going to go to Harvard, work multiple jobs, be looked down upon by every student there because of his poverty, but he will succeed. He will continue to excel, surpassing all of them until he becomes President of the United States. Then, he will be one of the best Presidents because he will have understood suffering, pain, and the difficulties that a working-class family goes through. Standing there, looking at her incredulously, he realizes that every other family member not only believes that he can do it, but that it is his destiny.
So he goes to give his valedictorian speech, telling his classmates that even as they prepare to leave, they'll never get away from their families because that's who they are. Cue the tears. Beautiful moments.
The West Wing (a grossly over-praised program) has actually had a renaissance this year by splitting its focus between a campaign and the Oval Office. More importantly, it toned down its self-righteous attitude and despite missteps has been absorbing television.
The finale episode saw President-Elect Santos preparing to take the Oath of Office, as President Bartlett was closing up shop. Sure, there were the traditional touches of "I'm expected to believe that?" (like the fact didn't Mrs. Santos didn't know there were nine balls to attend, nor did she know that she was expected to wear different gowns to each of them.). Overall however, the episode was sentimental and sweet without becoming cloying. Not much happened in terms of plot, but it was a fitting send-off for a show that many people held closely to their hearts.
Need a Laugh?
I can't figure out how to embed
this video in the post, but you've gotta see this. It's great.
(So if anybody can provide me technical support on how to put the video in here, please do so! Thanks.)
TV for the week
As finales start popping up and shows are winding down, good TV comes on fast and furious. At least in theory. Unfortunately, in a rush to get everything tied up for a show and sent off in a different direction, some shows put too much on their plates.
Here's highlights of the week's most memorable episodes:
Veronica Mars--Do I really buy that Beaver was capable of doing all those things and there was nothing in his past that even hinted at it? And when does being a mousy, molested child result in being a mass murderer? It doesn't really all make sense. This season, the show just become overly difficult and complex. So much so that when the final denouement started, there was so much exposition, my head started to swirl. And not for a second did I think Keith was on the plane that blew up. Killing him off would be as impossible as killing off Veronica. Everybody else is dispensable. Not these two. That's part of why the cliffhanger felt so--underwhelming.
On the flip side, the hour was a tour-de-force for Kristin Bell. If by some miracle she were to get the Emmy nomination she deserves, this would be the episode to submit. Getting Logan and Veronica back together--under these circumstances--was a stroke of genius. The stuff between Jackie and Wallace was nice. She's run her arc, but it was great to give them a moment together. "A pony?!"--perfect dialogue. The CW joke was so great, I literally had to pause the TIVO and laugh for a minute. Best inside joke of the year. Charisma Carpenter just continued to show during this episode why she's so good on this program.
Gilmore Girls--I didn't object to the ending like a lot of people did. I mean, granted, I personally don't want to think Lorelai would do that, but the show's proven she's flawed--and the bookends were great to see her depressed, facing the camera, just in different beds. Overall though, this episode lacked. The troubadour bit got old once Chloe (Mary-Lyn Rasjkub) finished her bit in the first act. Mitch made complete sense about why Logan needs to go, though he's grown on me to the point where I think he's a good fit for Rory. Unlike Luke is for Lorelai. I think this is a great stroke to break the two of them up, since they have zero chemistry to begin with. Not the best season finale they've ever done, but still worth watching for Lauren Graham's performance.
The Office--A really well done episode with some big forward momentum. At times Carrell's performance went just a tad too over the top for me, but still, the levitation thing was worth the entire bit.
What About Brian?--Great proactive stuff going on here. Just not from Brian. (I told you that the friends are the stars of this show.) It was also great to hear all their varied reactions to the news that Deena was having an open marriage. Or as Brian's sister nailed it--"an affair." But the final shot of Marjorie and Brian having it out as Adam watched outside--a perfect callback to earlier in the episode and a beautiful cliffhanger that wasn't out to try and be overly dramatic. Just natural.
I'm still not sure whether I think this show should get a second season or not. I like it. It's actually better structured than
Love Monkey which didn't get very far this year, but it still doesn't completely work. However, I do think that if
Grey's Anatomy gets moved to Monday nights, this could be a nice companion piece to go with it. Unfortunately, I don't think that's very likely. But we'll see.
Even though it wasn't a season finale, I have to give a shout out to Viola Davis and Marin Mazzie's performances on last night's
Without a Trace. Davis is one of those great African-American actresses that's too good for so many roles, but Hollywood doesn't have a real place for her. Mazzie's primarily a stage actress (
Kiss Me, Kate
,
Ragtime
,
Passion
). They both did a really nice job and are deserving of Emmy nominations. (By the way, if you want to feel some power, check out Mazzie's cover of "
Not a Day Goes By" she does on the
album she recently released with her husband, Jason Danieley. Really good stuff.
Lost
--Maybe the most disappointing episode of the season. Did anything happen? Did we learn something about any of the characters and I missed it?
Alias
--If the show could get nominated for daytime Emmys, this would be a great episode for Garner to submit. She got to play good and bad versions of herself. Such fun! And she was so hot doing it too!
And though I haven't bought all the twists and turns, this week's episode of
Prison Break
was really energetic. And it leaves me actually wanting to watch the season finale.
(Is it horrible that this isn't a comprehensive list of everything I watched this week?)
Your Mission
Dear Sally:
As you probably know by now, I’m not a doctor or an artist. After leaving Ben and Noel behind, I was recruited by an organization known as IMF. I have a new identity, Lindsey Ferris. My IMF handler, John Musgrave, has me undercover searching for a terrorist named Owen Davian. One of the many aliases he uses is Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Sally, thanks to the work of my training agent, Ethan Hunt, also known as Tom Cruise, there exists a filmic record of this impossible mission. Go see it, just so that you can see what I’ve been doing with my life. I know that the presentation is intense. There are lots of explosions and moments where you may fear for my safety, as well as the safety of others. Just be sure and breathe the first time you see me. You might not remember breathing until it’s finished, but the one thing I did learn in my bio classes is that the body will take care of this on its own. It’s ok.
No matter what press you have heard about Ethan’s life, nor no matter how overexposed he might be at the moment, that should not factor into your willingness to see the film. Sure, he might look a little silly when he runs, but he put everything into this mission and his efforts are remarkable. Despite how the press (and many in the public) tries to smear him, Ethan is committed to his fiancé, his family, and to us at the IMF. He will take any precaution necessary to protect us, as well as our country. Davian might seem scary, but I promise you, Ethan wins. He’s the good guy. In fact, he’s a star at the agency. He never loses. I wish I could say that about the rest of us.
I hope everything is okay with you. I miss you.
Love,
Felicity
Submerged
What would the Alliance of Magicians think of
David Blaine's latest stunt?
I'll be the first to admit, I don't get Blaine's antics. They've never really appealled to me, but there's something about seeing a human snow globe that I do find intriguing.
Wonder why that is.
Never Thought It'd Happen
And the "I never Thought I'd See It Happen on Network TV" Award goes to
Desperate Housewives
after last night's episode. I thought Frances McDormand's character coming onto her son's fiancee (Kate Beckinsale) in
Laurel Canyon
was shocking enough, but seeing Andrew sleep with his mom's sex addict boyfriend was a jaw-dropper. Kudos to the writing staff with thinking outside the box. And it completely made her subsequent actions make complete sense. Now if only the rest of the episode had been half that strong.
But at least Meredith finally told McDreamy off and they might be moving on. Thankfully, it looks like he's no longer hung up on his mistress, and will finally focus on saving his marriage.
And it's not much longer till
Rescue Me
comes back! YEA!
My Favorite Moment of the Bee
Sometimes a movie does exactly what you think it will, but the journey is so charming and encouraging that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Unfortunately, because of perceived “target audiences”, most of American doesn’t seem eager to fall in love with
Akeelah and the Bee which is too bad.
Akeelah is about a little girl from South Central LA with a real talent for spelling. With the help of a UCLA professor (Laurence Fishburne), she starts to fulfill her destiny, and in the process of doing so, she inspires her entire community.
Part of what makes Akeelah feel better than a simple-inspiring retread of a story is partially its primarily African-American cast, toplined by Ike and Tina Turner, I mean Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. The new setting for the film gives the film a fresh feeling, full of energy, vitality, and spunk. More over, Keke Palmer’s interpretation of Akeelah imbues her with such conviction and vigor that she is bound to win you over, just like she wins everybody else in the movie over—just through the charm and wit of her personality.
The film contains a couple of mild expletives, but for sure this is the kind of family film that everyone with kids should relish. It promotes academics, family, community, and self-reliance over sports, peer pressure, and economic disparity. Sure, it’s a bit of a fantasy, particularly the way the movie all ends, but the tears you’ll cry in the end will make it all worth it.
If You Say So...
You're Watership Down!
by Richard Adams
Though many think of you as a bit young, even childish, you're
actually incredibly deep and complex. You show people the need to rethink their
assumptions, and confront them on everything from how they think to where they
build their houses. You might be one of the greatest people of all time. You'd
be recognized as such if you weren't always talking about talking rabbits.
Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.
Don't You
I have great friends. Most of them are the people who read this blog, so they know they're great and that I appreciate them. Not that I've ever taken them for granted, but I just assumed everybody had close friendships. I've realized--not so.
At the beginning of this week, I got into a potential snafu with a friend from college. Things turned out to be fairly un-snaffuey, but in relating this to one of my friends out here this week, the comment was made--"You're still close to that many of your college friends? That's weird."
It's weird? How so? Granted, many of them I sort of left after graduating. They were doing their thing while I was doing graduate school. Even after graduate school, I had limited contact with many of them until I moved to DC, which is where many of them were based or were close to.
But still, now, even though I'm on the opposite side of the country, I still keep in touch. In fact, just today, I've already heard from five or six of them today and might still hear from another. Why? Because I care about them.
Sure, there are friends I had when in college that I don't care as much about and I'm not going to keep up with them, but at the same time, I discovered the moment that I really got to know my Freshman roommate, I was blessed with extraordinary people in my life. I spent years sharing in their triumphs, excitements, falls, nude study sessions and scheming. Why would I not want to continue to hear about their kids, spouses, jobs, etc.? I still feel incredibly guilty about the fact that I was unable to fly back across the country last month to the wedding of one of my college friends.
So what's my point? I think my point is that friendships are blessings that God gives us. But like any other blessing, it's not meant to just sit there. If we don't nurture them and care for them, then they wither. But as a steward, I want to see my blessings grow, multiply, and enrich my life.
When it comes to my friendships, they most assuredly do.
ked at TJ, asked “hard or soft?” and we all burst into laughter. TJ looked even more humiliated, now muttering about how gay the entire process was. Well, it only got “gayer” because after the bear was stuffed, they gave TJ a heart, which he had to kiss before the bear would “accept it.” I’ve never seen someone turn as red as this teen did when he stared at the heart, debating whether to kiss it or not. Instead of kissing it, he almost bolted out of the store, but thankfully, one of the group blocked his path. Finally, after much hesitation, TJ kissed the bear’s heart and shoved it into its stuffing.
