apology or apology?

I'm sitting here for a moment letting the steam blow out of my ears before I start writing what I really want to write. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1.............

Okay.

Everyone has heard about the signs. Love...Hate...
As much as I don't want to be a pawn in the "let's get everyone stirred up" campaign, I feel that there is something I need to get out.

As sad as it makes me to be a part of what is going on, I am a part of the body of Christ. Therefore I will refer to the people in charge of this campaign as "we".

Let's just picture it, okay. The signs go down, the comments are read, and a huge banner is hung with an apology letter written in huge letters on the side of Howard Auditorium. We're sorry for being mean to you at church...we're sorry that we shoved christianity down your throat...we're sorry we got drunk in front of you and then showed up to church on sunday morning pretending nothing happened. We're sorry, We're sorry, We're sorry....

a.pol.o.gy n.
1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense.
2. a. A formal justification or defense.
b. An explanation or excuse: "The consequence of those measures will be the best apology for my conduct: (Daniel Defoe).
3. An inferior substitute: The sagging cot was a poor apology for a bed.

This is what I'm asking...Is this production an apology(1) or an apology(3)?

We come up with these ideas, or come up with these ways to copy other people's ideas and think..."Surely this will make a difference". But, will it?

I don't even know what to say...Can we just love people? Can we build relationships and listen to people and just love people? Is that not enough?

Eulogy

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with a saddened heart that I write this... it is confirmed that Dre's first television (a dear gift from friend James Garborino) died early this morning at 3:10AM. The cause of death is still unknown, though Dre claims there is no foul play involved.

Dre being the ever optimist, rescued this television from the garbage, and took it into his home, and reared it as one of his own. Dre remembers fondly "One time we had a big group over to watch Say Anything, every one had a good time and no one cried..." he went on to say "That TV really tied the room together, man."

Probably the two least favorable qualities about the television were it's propensity to bounce from side to side at random and the coax cable knob was very loose so cable could be lost at any moment. Besides these setbacks, owner Andrei Constantinescu said "it was a good tv. I will miss its size and its and its uncanny ability to comfort me, always able to anticipate my needs before I even asked."

Despite his grief it's reported that Dre has already replaced his deceased counterpart. His sister brought a television from Dallas (it used to belong to Dre's grandparents) and Dre has already hooked it up and I hear will watch a Scrubs Episode
to crisen the new television set. When asked the question "which tv do you like better?" Dre responded, with "this tv isn't as big, but the positives outweigh the negatives..." supposedly Dre is able to get all the channels in the cable package he pays for, the former tv didn't allow him to do that...

Reporting Live from Ruston, LA this is Trey Amigo signing off

Digging it up again

a response to Dre's "Running it into the ground (Part 1)" - posted on 03.09.06


So, I have to ask myself, "Shonnie, do you want to use this post and your valuable time to defend yourself against being taken as probably the most boring person in the world?".

My answer is, "No".

But, I'm going to do it a little anyway. It's inevitable. There are just a couple of things that I want to make clear for the sake of truth.

1. "...and allow the Lord to place you in a group that will best highlight that which you are naturally good at like HAVING FUN!!!!"

Is there anyone that doesn't like to have fun? I mean, fun as a ministry "style"...come on. I think that's stretching your point a little, right? Everyone likes to have fun (with a few exceptions, I'm sure). I do agree with you that there is a time for everything.

2."...first of all, why watch Hotel Rwanda every day!?!? If you'd choose to watch a meaningful, social-statement movie, over a comedy I could understand, but if literally you'd watch HR over ANY Adam Sandler movie that would be whack!"

Indeed. First of all I didn't say that I would, I said that I hope that I would. Second, I was putting myself in the position of ONLY being offered those two options...HR or any adam sandler flick.

3."I take your statement above as this 'I'd be perfectly happy, never to watch another mindless comedy for the rest of my life' ".

I think you took a lot of liberty in taking my statement that way. I love mindless comedy, granted different mindless comedy than you, but mindless comedy none the less. Billy Madison has to be one of my favorites.

Over all, the statements I've made have been made in order to question if what I want and what is best are the same things. I like to have fun, a lot. I meant this is me we're talking about. I stay up until all hours of the night hanging out and love to sing karioke. I'm just trying to find the medium.

Running it into the Ground (Part 1)

I started posting a comment to your post Shonnie, and it became so long, that I decided I'd initiate the "running the topic into the ground" portion of this blog, and respond to your post.

"I Love fun"

"Something about this phrase in Dre's post disturbs me a little and I can't put my finger on it.... I think fun is great, but isn't there so much more to life then just this."

Thank you for saying this. You're absolutely right, there IS more to life than fun! This is a tough lesson to learn, but it's one that must be learned by all of us, "fun lovers" out there. As the bible says there's "a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance," just because it (the non-fun thing) is unpleasant it doesn't mean that it's not valuable or necessary. So, I do agree with you on this point, however, for me fun can be mindless and meaningless, but it CAN be used for a higher purpose as well. It can help break the ice with a non-believer; it can further a friendship, or even make an unpleasant conversation a little more bearable. (To continue to beat the horse to death) There is a personality style that (A) responds best to this style of friendship or even ministry, and (B) because we are the body of Christ, the most effective way to facilitate ministry is by doing ministry with people that are different yet complimentary to us. If we (our whole group of friends) were similar we'd be MUCH less effective in ministry because we don't compliment each other as well. God knows us, he knows and created our personality, and he wants to use us as individuals and as a group to further His glory and will upon the earth, so it's important to know your personality and be true to it, and allow the Lord to place you in a group that will best highlight that which you are naturally good at like HAVING FUN!!!!

"If I had a chance to choose between any adam sandler movie and hotel rwanda, I would hope that I would be strong enough to choose hotel rwanda every day over any adam sandler flick."

I don't know if I can express to you, exactly how impressed by this statement I am... I could absolutely NOT do this, or even want to... I don't even hope that I'd want to do this... first off all, why watch Hotel Rwanda every day!?! If you'd choose to watch a meaningful, social-statement-making movie, over a comedy I could understand, but if literally you'd watch Hotel Rwanda over ANY Adam Sandler movie that would be whack! (First of all, he did make the movie Punch-Drunk Love, (which isn't exactly an "Adam Sandler Flick" but still he's in it, (as is Academy Award winning actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman... but I digress...) and it's a movie that IS a good example of a movie that can be used to "educate and entertain". So why not watch that one? I understand that you and I are different in our views of films within the comedy genre. I take your statement above as this "I'd be perfectly happy, never to watch another mindless comedy for the rest of my life." Again I say, wow, a very noble mission. But please don't give up on the entire genre, because watching a comedy can be a transcending experience. Laughter is a beautiful thing, that God created, so please don't limit the experiences you could have to express your laughter to the world, because your laughter could profoundly effect someone around you, and you might never know it.

"Laughter and things that make me feel good almost blind me to those things (hurt and sadness). it's like I'm putting a veil over my eyes just to be comfortable when it's only when I let the light in that I can see."

Knowing, that there is hurt and sadness in the world, indeed even within my (and others) own life, it makes laughter more precious. It (laughter) IS the light that allows me to see what's ahead of me, it is (or at least can be) the driving force that allows me to draw nearer to the Lord and serve Him. It lifts the veil it doesn't cinch it tighter around my eyes. (I think it can, so I agree with you to an extent... but it doesn't have to.) My prayer is that it never will...

Dre :)

ps- My boss called and asked me to stop putting smiley faces on my time sheets at work, he said "I know you're happy, you don't need to keep drawing it on your time card."

Conditioner is better! I make the hair silky and smooth...

a response to Dre's "Stop looking at me swan!" -posted on 03.07.06

fun n. 1. A source of enjoyment, amusement, or plaeasure.
2. Enjoyment; amusement: have fun at the beach.
3. Playful, often noisy, activity.

[Possibly from fon, to make a fool of, from Middle English fonnen, to fool , possibly from fonne, fool.]

Usage Note: The use of fun as an attributive adjective, as in a fun time, a fun place, probably originated in a playful reanalysis of the use of the word in sentences such as it is fun to ski, where fun has the syntactic function of adjectives such as amusing or enjoyable. The usage became popular in the 1950s and 1960s, though there is some evidence to suggest that it has 19th-century antecedents, but it can still raise eyebrows among traditionalists. The day may come when this usage is entirely unremarkable, but writers may want to avoid it in more formal contexts.

fun adj. providing enjoyment; pleasantly entertaining; "an amusing speaker"; "a diverting story"; "a fun thing to do" [syn: amusing, amusive, diverting, fun(a)] n. 1: activities that are enjoyable or amusing; "I do it for the fun of it"; "he is fun to have around" [syn: merriment, playfulness] 2: verbal wit (often at another's expense but not to be taken seriously); "he became a figure of fun" [syn: play, sport] 3: violent and excited activity; "she asked for money an then the fun began"; "they began to fight like fun" 4: a disposition to find (or make) causes for amusement; "her playfulness surprised me"; "he was fun to be with" [syn: playfulness]

-taken from here.

Fun, I want to have your baby. You are so free and exciting and full of wonder and amazement. You comfort me when no one else is around and help me make friends when I know no one. You make me smile.

"I Love fun"
Something about this phrase in Dre's post disturbs me a little and I can't put my finger on it. Perhaps it is because I too love fun and am a little disturbed by that characteristic about myself. I think fun is great, but isn't there so much more to life then just this. If I had a chance to choose between any adam sandler movie and hotel rwanda, I would hope that I would be strong enough to choose hotel rwanda every day over any adam sandler flick. I don't really know why I would hope this for myself. I think laughing and smiling are very healing to the soul and are needed. I just hope that I would choose to educate myself over desiring a laugh. Hurt and Sadness are what make me want to change the world and be a better person. Laughter and things that make me feel good almost blind me to those things. it's like I'm putting a veil over my eyes just to be comfortable when it's only when I let the light in that I can see.

shonnie

This I ask...

Who can bottle my wild, obsidian flames and harness my powers for warmth but not destruction? Who, when I have scaled great shiver-peaks and quested the crystal deserts?

Worn staves, with I, have dawned this corridor. I am ascended. Armor, adorned, are now tattooed to my very soul. I have been infused. I too have been there, yes, beyond Hell’s precipice and back again.

Who, then, could don my fleeting shadow and my sinuous footpaths? Who, now, may liberate my dreams and forerun my passion?

…you, Trey. I yield but to you, amigo.


Speaking of something fun; I just saved the world AGAIN! No. Enough, now… I need no thanks.

"Stop looking at me swan!"

Last night when I came home from watching 24 (which were 2 excellent episodes I might add) I tried to go immediately to bed. I knew that I had to wake up at 7AM to run track with the Ruston High Track Team, (of which I'm currently interim head coach). After that I volunteer at Christian Community Action, every Tuesday is sorting and distributing cans day, and you all know that organization and attention to detail is my strong suit, so I like to help in anyway I can.

The point is, when my head hit the pillow at like 11:33 PM, I couldn't sleep. I didn't actually get to sleep until like 5AM! (Needless to say I skipped my track practice, and I called Kyle to take my place at the CCA today... (But I'll get 'em next week...). I kept tossing and turning, wondering and pondering, drinking and peeing, you know the drill. I kept thinking about what I consider entertaining, and what others consider entertaining. It's not something that's easy to pin down. But I think I might have a lead.

I don't consider myself a complex person, with intricate or even specific tastes. I really like a wide variety of movies, TV shows, foods, books, music, what have you... I'm chill, I'm easy, I'm easily amused (and easily chill, whatever that means). But I like one thing above others and it's generic but it's vital to my personhood, it's fun! I love fun! I love having fun, bringing fun, planning fun, spontaneous fun, all types of fun. When I was a kid, I used to think, "If it's not fun I wouldn't do it..." (This philosophy might have screwed me up for life by the way...). So I guess the greatly sought after, (fun) is an intangible quality that I love in movies. I guess I'm looking to have at least a slight degree of fun, when I watch movies. Because, I know that movies aren't only supposed to be fun, and sometimes the movies that are purely for fun, are the ones that do not satisfy long term. (There's no lasting presence, there's not resonance besides a "relaxing" hour and a half.) Though, I love fun, I rarely love movies only because they're fun, that's not reason enough for me. However, I think fun is one of the intangible qualities that draws me into a movie; it's the quality that keeps me coming back for more, IE- rewatching the movie. (I know that there are OTHER factors that make me want to re-watch, movies. A compelling story, great acting, stunning visuals, or even wanting to share a powerful film with others, or wanting to watch a movie you know to be "good" but don't remember why because it's been so long.) But there are haunting movies, like Schindler's List, Hotel Rwanda, Mississippi Burning (which I saw at a young age, and if I didn't see it again I'd be okay. (Though if we netfilxed it I'd be glad to do it too...) Titanic, The Last Unicorn and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III have scared me for life. :)

The bottom line is this. I love movies, pretty much more than 99% of other stuff in this world, (and on another note, I feel like watching movies (and this too might be a sad, pathetic, statement of my life thus far,) is something I do well. I like to watch movies and discuss them, it's fun, intellectually stimulating, and beneficial (IE: Makes the movie you just watched worthier of your time). So every movie (aside from the pornographic type) is worth my time, but if they don't posses some modicum of fun, I'm less likely to want to rewatch.

I guess that's what I meant by entertaining... FUN!

It Isn't...

A silly-slapstick movie may raise the spirit of someone living in depression. An action-adventure movie may be a two-hour escape for that someone who just absolutely needs a vacation. A martial-arts or fantasy movie may be the perfect thing for those dreamers with unrealized/unrecognized potentials. In other words, different movies serve different purposes.

It’s safe to say that people prefer, want, and need different types of movies due to different reasons. As such, there can not be a perfect movie. It’s similar to asking 2 people, one who generally listens to country music and the other prefers rap, what is the best song in the world.

Even if the movie is solely designed to uplift the viewer’s mood for that moment, it may be a “better movie” for that viewer than one that will alter their views of the Spanish Inquisition. Likewise, a movie that is unpleasant could be just what the viewer needs to endure.

I also don’t think that just any movie can be great. I think most people have a level where bad acting just gets in the way of movie. To some, there are only so many foul words that a movie can contain before they are mentally/emotionally shut off from the movie all together. We all have these boundaries that as long as they are not breached, the movie is tolerable.

A good movie, however, is subjective to the viewer’s short and long-term needs, expectations, etc. Or course there is preference. A specific person may prefer a movie over another and that is perfectly normal. Denigrating a movie for its lack of something as subjective as initial entertainment value, however, may be a tad short sighted.

This can be experience when people get together and discuss a movie. A lot of the time, at least one person learns to appreciate a movie more after having heard another explain/defend their reasons for liking it. The movie just got “better” even though the movie itself actually has not changed; just the person’s view of it has altered do to external information or a different vantage point.

To me, a good movie brings personal change whether that will be immediate or gradual, momentary or enduring. A wee little man can make a wheel for entertainment, but when it sparked something in the ironsmith it became much more. Essentially, it changed a specific few who came in contact with it. And some acted upon those changes. The change may affect how a person views themself or how they look at their surroundings. It is also totally up to them, the one experiencing, as to whether the quialities are recognized, accepted, and action is taken.

Therefore, I don’t believe that anyone should be quick to tell someone that they should like a movie or dislike a movie… unless it becomes a question of character and morale. If I tell you that I enjoyed American History X solely for the violence and prejudice contents, then you should be worried. If I said that I enjoyed Hotel Rwanda because it ultimately made me care a little more for those around me, and that the movie reminded me that I must protect that which is important to me, then it could be considered a good movie… even though it is not a pleasure to watch and I may not watch it again.

In less eloquent words I agree with you, Shonnie, that a movie doesn’t have to be fun or entertaining to watch. I would still like to read your definition of the word entertaining to fully understand your view, Dre.

I do agree with you, Dre, on the monotony of some movie trends. A topic can only be driven into the ground so much and still remain palatable. I won’t be so ready to pick up another movie about the holocaust… but I will watch Fateless someday.

I didn’t enjoy Munich as much as I thought I would. There’s the problem. My expectation for the movie got in the way. I won’t make any judgments on the movie until I see it again though.

I did enjoy Million Dollar Baby, however. I actually enjoyed it more than the rest of the group I watch the movie with.


Two Last things:

1. What is the deal with Three 6 Mafia winning with that song.
2. Drinking anything while on the toilet is a bit weird, Dre.

Or is it?....

a response to Dre's "A good movie is hard to find" -posted on 03.05.06

"I remember my first movie."
I was interviewing a woman who had recently celebrated her 60th wedding anniversary.
"We drove up to Little Rock, Arkansas. That was the closest theater, you know. They were playing Gone with the Wind."
As I listened to her describe the experience of her inaugural visit to the silver screen, I couldn't help but get wrapped up in her seemingly vivid memories. She didn't speak of the lessons she had learned or the history of the United States. She enthusiastically painted a picture for me of what it was like to see actual events that weren't actually "actual events". I think these days we call that visual effects.
I remember my first movie.
My family and I drove all of 2 miles to the theater on main street to see Song of the South. I have no clue what that movie is about. I don't think that I have seen it since then. I remember a rabbit and a little guy covered in tar and an old man whistling zippedee-doo-da. Granted I was young- young, but impressed. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where that world was...the one with cartoon animals. I wanted to go there -wherever it was. The one thing that I remember vividly about the movie...visual effects.

Please let me paint for you a fable of sorts so that you will see how this fits with my opinion.

One day a man entered into a small village. Inside the village he saw a wee little man, slouched over and hard of seeing. He was holding a chisle and in front of him stood a sculpture. A strange sculpture, not square like other sculptures that that the visitor had seen in the past. It was smooth with no lines.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it," the visitor asked with hesitation hoping he would not startle the wee little man.
"I call it The Wheel."
The wee little man touched it slightly letting the visitor know that it was his proudest work.
"I see."
After staring for a good ten minutes the visitor walked past. Still amazed at what he had just seen, the visitor glances back over his shoulder for one last look. The wee little man, tired from his day starts to head home. Curious as to how the wee little man will carry his magnificent sculpture, the visitor stops and stares.
"I will go and help him," the visitor decides. But just before he turns around to head back, he sees what could be described as none other than a miracle. The sculpture was moving with only the slightest help from the wee little man. He didn't need any help at all. "Do you know what you've done!!" The visitor yells out to the wee little man, running to his side.
You see, the visitor was the head ironsmith in the town to the east. Everyday he made rods and sold them to the gate salesman on the other end of town. After a long day of welding he would pack up the large pile of rods and throw them over his shoulder for the long trek across town.
"How long will it take you to make another?" The excited ironsmith blurted out.
"Well....two days, I suppose, if I work hard."
Two days passed and the ironsmith set out on his journey with four rods he had made to fit the wheels.
On his way back home, everyone stared.
"Pardon me sir, but what is it?" the stable keeper asked.
"I call it the Wheelbarrow," the ironsmith said touching it slightly, letting the stable keeper know that it was his proudest work.

Here's the point... The Wheel is a sculpture to the man who made it, but the ironsmith saw something amazing that could be done with it. And who knows...the stable keeper could have something in store.

When I was a child I enjoyed movies for their entertainment qualities...which is a good thing. I still enjoy some movies for their entertainment qualities. The same as when the chariot is built by the stable keeper the people will still have a use for the wheel barrow. But, I think that if we stay stagnant (only view movies for their entertainment qualities) we will never get the chariot (The movies that can be used for a greater good like making people think about whether or not they are racist).

-shonnie

A Good Movie is Hard to Find....

I was sitting in my hot tub the other day contemplating life as I sipped from my 1962 Pinot Noir, a rare trinket that I picked up in Tuscany on a recent business trip. (TRANSLATION: I was on the toilet drinking, Sam's Choice soda from Wal-Mart, that had been sitting out for 2 days.) And this age old question popped into my head.

What is the purpose of cinema? If you asked the Average Joe, he'd say "I just wanna relax while; I watch something blow up or laugh at some dumb Tom Green movie". So there's something valid with the "Average Joe's" line of thought, its entertainment. Some would argue (I'd be one of them) that a film should strive for something greater than entertainment; it should educate, challenge, or reveal something to the audience. In short, you should leave the theatre different, (not necessarily profoundly different) than when you came in. A movie should challenge you to be a better human, or to call a friend you've lost touch with, or even make you cry. I'd even go as far as to say, that if a movie can make you think of it hours/days/weeks after you've finished watching it, it's done its job... Thus, the logical conclusion can be made; a good movie should be both educational (moving) and entertaining.

That being said, I do not like the current trend of films that try so hard to make their point about social injustice or whatever, that they take the entertainment factor out of the movie. I have three examples of this right off the top of my head; A) Hotel Rwanda- a very good, well acted, well made movie, which was not pleasurable at all to watch. I didn't enjoy watching this movie in any way. It leaves you gut wrenchingly sad, to the point that you question why you even watched the movie in the first place. (Though Don Cheadel's performance is worth the price of admission) However, Hotel Rwanda did not go overboard in trying to preach a certain "gospel"; it was merely historical in scope. Its purpose was historical education, and it accomplished its goal, however it didn't do it through entertainment, it was successful because of its brutality and lack of entertainment. I can appreciate that mindset, to some degree, "let’s make a movie so historically compelling (like Schindler's List) that it still holds up as a movie with no entertainment value whatsoever." It's a worthy attempt, but I can't call it successful because it the movie made me want to smash my head into a wall, not because I felt sad for the Rwandan people but because I was watching the movie in horror, it's like a train wreck, there's nothing entertaining about it, just the fact that it happened that makes people watch it or the aftermath. But what's fun about watchin a train wreck?

B) Munich- was much the same way, except I feel it was a bit more intentional in its lack of entertainment, the movie flirted with being entertaining, it got perilously close, and then rejected the entertaining path, and it was a tease the whole time. The other thing that bothered me was it had an agenda and every single scene was written and directed with that in mind, so I felt preached at during every scene of the whole movie. Again, it was a worthy project, just not one that I loved watching (though it might be my favorite of the three.)

C) Crash- actually was the best example of trying to make a socio-political statement while giving the audience more to grasp hold of than plot driven characters. (That is characters that exist primarily to drive the plot (with its socio-political statements) home. So these last two movies are my examples of movies that are good, but clearly trying to make a point, and bashing you over the head is THE tactic they use to make their point. (Hotel Rwanda does the same thing but from a purely historical standpoint.)

Million Dollar Baby is the perfect balance of an entertaining and "educational" movie. It's a beautiful movie, it's well acted and well written, plus, it's just a brilliantly shot and put together film (as were the other three). This movie though, doesn't beat you over the head; it lets the story unfold naturally. It lets you into the hearts and minds of the characters, but for a deeper purpose than moving the plot forward. The characters ARE the purpose; they are more than tools used to push some agenda or social dilemma. I think that's what draws me to this type of movie a little more than the other three, I can relate to a drama involving vulnerable, weak, frail, humans, I cannot relate as easily to an Israeli spy murdering other terrorists.

Now all we need to do is figure out how to make a movie like Million Dollar Baby with Tom Green. Then we'd watch with glea as Hollywood became a train wreck.

Dre :)

What's the meaning of it all?

It all starts over coffee...or water, or coke, or whatever else drei is drinking. There are questions and then answers and then more questions, then more answers...so forth and so on UNTIL the said questions or said answers are questioned or asked out. Hence...a blog is spawned. We post, we elaborate, we run the topic into the ground and you comment. Simple. Hope it makes you think.