Bryce Moore's Blog, page 295

Quick Mini-Review: Breaker Morant

I don't have a whole lot of time today. Lots going on at work, and this is the first chance I've had all day to even breathe. Still, I didn't want to leave you all empty handed, so I thought I'd take a moment to promote a movie I'd never heard of, and I'm thinking you might not have heard of it, either. Breaker Morant tells the story of a military operation during the Boer War in South Africa, back in the early 1900s. A group of Australian soldiers (fighting for the British) are accused of unlawfully killing several Boers and a German missionary. The story unfolds as the trial progresses. So it's a mix of a war movie and a courtroom drama, with some history thrown in on the side.



What sets it apart from other movies is some fine acting performances. I don't know what it is about foreign movies--they're just different from American movies. It might be the worldview, or it might be the approach to film making, but they feel different, and I like seeing things from different angles. It's not often I get a chance to watch an Australian movie. The story itself (based on historical events) is fascinating. The Boer War was one of the first "dirty wars"--wars where people stopped fighting according to a code of honor and started fighting using any means necessary to win. Contrasting that with the wars of today is an interesting exercise--seeing how they viewed it then, and how strange and unnatural it seemed to the people at the time. The movie also brings up excellent themes of the relative importance of human lives and what does it mean to tell the truth.



In any case, I'm out of time for today, but I highly recommend this movie. 3.5 stars, and well worth your time. Anyone out there already seen it? Speak up!

Movie Review: The Green Hornet

Yes, I realize there's that "other" "Green _____" superhero movie coming out this weekend, and no, this isn't a review for that. But I did finally get around to watching The Green Hornet last night, and I thought this was as good a time as any to review it (especially since Green Lantern is getting pounded on by the press.)



One of the things I love about lowered expectations is that you can enjoy a movie you might not otherwise have liked. I really wanted to like Green Hornet. I wanted to see it in the theaters, but then it did so poorly with the critics, that I decided to save my money. It finally popped up on Netflix, and by the time it got to my house, I was ready to be disappointed, even with lowered expectations.



The thing is, the movie should be good. It's got Seth Rogen in it, and he's been funny in quite a few films. But it's also directed by Michel Gondry, who helmed the wonderful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. It has cool cars, masks, lots of guns and explosions--this should be totally up my alley.



But was it?



I'm happy to say that it was, for the most part. I really liked the blend of action hero and comedy that it had going for it. The hero isn't afraid to look stupid, and that was fun. But at the same time, it also leads to the movie's biggest flaw: the hero doesn't really have anything heroic about him, but he thinks he does. Kato does *everything* cool in the movie. (He's really a great character. I want a Kato in my life.) The Green Hornet's superpower is being conceited and a jerk. It's really hard to root for a guy like that, and so you keep getting kicked out of the movie each time he does another jerky thing--especially when he does those jerky things to Kato. The balance there is off, and it affects the film.



That said, it was a fun way to spend a Thursday late evening, and I recommend it. Is it the best movie ever? No. But it's better than a lot of them, and good for some mindless relaxation, which I needed last night. Three stars.



As for the Green Lantern . . . maybe I'll do the same thing I did with the Green Hornet. Maybe by the time I get it on bluray, I'll be able to enjoy it.

First Grade: My Experience vs. My Son's

I remember First Grade. I remember being that age. It's not like I can remember every single thing that ever happened to me back then, but I've got snippets clear as day. I had a good friend named Benji--he gave me a digital watch that was metal, not plastic. I thought that was pretty darn cool, even if the face had a bit of a crack in it. I remember pretending I was Indiana Jones. I remember looking forward to recess--the jungle gym was awesome, and swinging was pretty darn cool, too. I remember looking forward to afternoon cartoons: Transformers and GI Joe were pretty much as awesome as you could get. (Although I personally preferred Transformers to GI Joe, since the Joes could get kinda preachy with that whole "And knowing is half the battle" thing. Still, I wasn't above a little Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers on the side. Now and then. If I got really lucky, I could catch a bit of the A-Team. Mr. T was as cool as you could get--everybody knew that. I remember looking in awe at the third and fourth graders. They were all so grown up. So mature. One day, I'd be them. Lords of the school. I remember lusting after an Atari. If I could just get one of those, my life would be complete. Playing with He-Man action figures. Life was good.



On one hand, that's forever ago. On the other, I remember being that age. Feeling like that. So I really feel like I can relate to TRC--to what he's going through and experiencing. I mean, substitute cartoon names and video game systems--update them for today--and he's got essentially the same experience. Life doesn't seem to have changed that much in the intervening years. Sure, the video games have better graphics, and he can stream cartoons instead of get them over the air, but as far as a real impact on his life goes, things seem more or less the same.



And yesterday was his last day of First Grade. To celebrate, he decided he wanted root beer floats. He's looking forward to summer vacation: a trip to Europe, four weeks in Slovakia, swim lessons, reading a ton, watching cartoons . . .



I'd like 2.5 months of time off, too.



Anyway--a big hearty congratulations goes out to TRC. He pulled through with all 1s on his report card (well, a 2 in art, but everyone needs a 2 somewhere, just to keep things interesting). He really enjoys school, he just finished a 412 page book yesterday, and he's living the life. Sometimes, when I feel like I'm too busy or have too much to worry about, I look at his life--how few cares he has, when you get right down to it. And then I realize that me working hard is totally worth it. I wish every kid could have a carefree childhood. Where your biggest worries are which Bakugan you're going to take to school today, and your biggest scheduling concern is not sleeping through a cool cartoon in the morning.



Sorry--I'll stop this post short before I complete lose myself in reminiscing. Carry on with your Thursday, everyone.

First Grade: My Experience vs. My Son's

I remember First Grade. I remember being that age. It's not like I can remember every single thing that ever happened to me back then, but I've got snippets clear as day. I had a good friend named Benji--he gave me a digital watch that was metal, not plastic. I thought that was pretty darn cool, even if the face had a bit of a crack in it. I remember pretending I was Indiana Jones. I remember looking forward to recess--the jungle gym was awesome, and swinging was pretty darn cool, too. I remember looking forward to afternoon cartoons: Transformers and GI Joe were pretty much as awesome as you could get. (Although I personally preferred Transformers to GI Joe, since the Joes could get kinda preachy with that whole "And knowing is half the battle" thing. Still, I wasn't above a little Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers on the side. Now and then. If I got really lucky, I could catch a bit of the A-Team. Mr. T was as cool as you could get--everybody knew that. I remember looking in awe at the third and fourth graders. They were all so grown up. So mature. One day, I'd be them. Lords of the school. I remember lusting after an Atari. If I could just get one of those, my life would be complete. Playing with He-Man action figures. Life was good.



On one hand, that's forever ago. On the other, I remember being that age. Feeling like that. So I really feel like I can relate to TRC--to what he's going through and experiencing. I mean, substitute cartoon names and video game systems--update them for today--and he's got essentially the same experience. Life doesn't seem to have changed that much in the intervening years. Sure, the video games have better graphics, and he can stream cartoons instead of get them over the air, but as far as a real impact on his life goes, things seem more or less the same.



And yesterday was his last day of First Grade. To celebrate, he decided he wanted root beer floats. He's looking forward to summer vacation: a trip to Europe, four weeks in Slovakia, swim lessons, reading a ton, watching cartoons . . .



I'd like 2.5 months of time off, too.



Anyway--a big hearty congratulations goes out to TRC. He pulled through with all 1s on his report card (well, a 2 in art, but everyone needs a 2 somewhere, just to keep things interesting). He really enjoys school, he just finished a 412 page book yesterday, and he's living the life. Sometimes, when I feel like I'm too busy or have too much to worry about, I look at his life--how few cares he has, when you get right down to it. And then I realize that me working hard is totally worth it. I wish every kid could have a carefree childhood. Where your biggest worries are which Bakugan you're going to take to school today, and your biggest scheduling concern is not sleeping through a cool cartoon in the morning.



Sorry--I'll stop this post short before I complete lose myself in reminiscing. Carry on with your Thursday, everyone.

Post #1,000: A Look Back at 4.5 Years of Blogging

And here we are. Post #1,000. My first post was back on January 16, 2007. It was really short, and fairly stupid. Why did I get into blogging to begin with? At the time, I was in Brandon Sanderson's writing group, and he encouraged me to start blogging before I got a book published, so that once I had a book published, I'd know what the heck I was doing.



Always one to cave to peer pressure, I thought it seemed like a good idea. If you look back at the first few months of blog posts, you'll see me start to find my feet. The posts were still short, and most of them didn't have much to say when you got right down to it, but I was posting about my writing (Ichabod at the time), I started to throw in some movie reviews (The World of Henry Orient was the first one, it seems), I began opening up about events in my life (applying for library jobs). Bit by bit, the posts got longer--more involved and more specific. It really does take some time to figure out what blogging's all about. I'm certainly by no means one of The Big Bloggers, but I do feel like I have something to offer on a consistent basis. Here's a rundown of some of the highlight posts I've done over the years.



How I Got an Agent/Book Deal--This series of posts (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) has attracted its fair share of viewers. Once my book actually gets published (March 2012!), one could project it will attract more.
The Dialect of Jar-Jar Binks--An oldie but a goodie. It still draws people every day on my website, years after I posted it. Star Wars people hate their Jar-Jar. What else can I say?
Board Games on the iPad--People keep coming back to this one. Because board games are awesome, and so is the iPad, of course. For those of you interested, Boardgamegeek now has a iOS/Android board game section, which makes it ever so much easier to stay up to date on the news in this vital area of my life. :-)
A Look Back at Eloping--Lots of people flocked to this one when it was posted. Of course, it helped that Denisa reposted it on her Facebook page. Amazing what a few reposts will do for the visibility of a blog entry.
What Happens Whey You Go Bankrupt--I have to assume this one was popular more for the people-who-thought-I-was-actually-going-bankrupt title, and not for the content itself. I'm not bankrupt, folks. Hate to disappoint you.
Way of Kings Review--I posted this one before Brandon's Way of Kings officially was published, and for a long time, it was easily the most read blog post I'd done. That is until . . .
The Book of Mormon Musical--Actually, my Mormon/Religion posts have been popular over time (Faith and Metaphor, Tithing, and Elizabeth Smart and the 110% Mentality are a few). But my South Park/Book of Mormon Musical posts have blown everything else out of the water. It helped that for a while it was one of the top results on Google for any combo of "believe" "lyrics" and "Book of Mormon." Nice to see such a good showing for a topic I felt strongly about.
In any case, I'd have to say that my blogging experiment has been a resounding success for me. I really enjoy blogging now, and I feel like I would miss it a lot if I had to give it up. As you look over those popular posts, there's a lot of variety. That's good. I don't really like blogging about just one thing. This is my blog, and I talk about whatever I feel like talking about.

So, there you have it. Post #1,000. After all is said and done, I really just want to thank everyone who reads my blog and comments. It helps to feel like I'm not talking to an empty room. :-) Thanks for a fun first four years. Here's hoping there's many more to come.

Oh Crud. It's Election Season Again. (My Thoughts on the Republican Primary Debate)

Well, last night was the first Republican primary debate. On a bright note, one thing I think we can all thank Obama for is the fact that we won't have to watch any Democrat primary debates. In my book, the fewer debates, the better. There's something just inherently greasy, watching a bunch of people use one type of strong rhetoric to get their party's nomination, and then switch rhetoric to get elected. Both sides do it, and I dislike it.



That said, I still watched the primary debate. Why? Because I'm still trying to get a wedding present from a president. (Long time blog followers will recall that Mitt Romney is a personal friend of the family, and that he gave Denisa and me a very nice punch bowl and platter for our wedding. Since no other presidential candidate yet has given me as nice a gift (well, any gift for that matter), I have a very personal connection to wanting Romney to win. That's right, America. My vote can be bought. You listening, Bachmann? Gingrich? The current bid is a punch bowl and platter. I'm open to a new sofa, or perhaps a nice love seat.)



What did I think about it this time? I thought that some of these candidates are extremely scary. I found Herman Cain particularly repugnant. CNN summed up one of his statements thusly:

Cain repeated that he would be uncomfortable with a Muslim in his Cabinet unless he was sure it wasn't one "trying to kill us,"

That's right, America. You need to figure out what type of Muslim you're dealing with before you just put 'em in your Cabinet. Brings to mind Glinda the Good Witch saying in a pipy voice, "Are you a good Muslim, or a bad Muslim?"



Nauseating. He should be ashamed of himself. That was the low point of the evening for me. Using hate mongering to drum up support is a terrible practice.



In the end, they all seemed like a bunch of crabs, trying to claw their way out of a pot (while saying "Obama is a loser" as much as possible). As much as I think Ron Paul is out there on some issues, I have to admit I admire him for stating his opinion frankly and with no apologies. I wish every candidate would be so forthright. It's refreshing.



I also have to criticize CNN for the way it ran the debate. John King was kind of a jerk the whole time. He kept wanting to cut in to everyone's remarks. Then again, with so many candidates on stage trying to clamor for attention, it was like watching a cat herder at work.



Anyway--got something to say about the debate? Want my take on a particular issue? Fire away.

A Mormon Explanation of the "I Believe" Book of Mormon Musical Number from the Tonys

So I watched the Tony Awards last night, where The Book of Mormon Musical cleaned up. It won eight awards, including best musical. (It also included what's likely the only time Joseph Smith has been thanked from a mainstream awards show.) (For my review of the original cast recording, take a gander at this post.)



The musical number they chose to perform was I Believe, which is the stirring ballad the Mormon missionary sings to inspire himself to recommit to the religion and fulfill his duties. And of course--since it's from the creators of South Park--they decided to pick some of the more "out there" Mormon beliefs for the missionary to sing about. Now, on the nice side of things, they at least didn't choose anything that Mormons don't actually believe. So that's something. On the other hand, by taking some of those beliefs out of context, I recognize that a lot of my friends out there who watched the show (all three of them, most likely) are wondering if I'm not more than a little crazy right now.



To address this, I've decided to give a Mormon commentary on the various lyrics in the song. Because hey--what's the point in having a fairly public blog where I (from time to time) discuss my religion if I let something like this just slide on by? So if you're interested in the Tonys or Mormonism at all, read on. If not . . . catch ya tomorrow.



The Lyrics to "I Believe" (my comments in red)



Ever since I was a child

I tried to be the best

So what happened?



My family and friends

All said I was blessed

So what happened?



It was supposed to be all so exciting

To be teaching of Christ across the sea

But I allowed my faith to be shaken

Oh, what's the matter with me? This is actually a pretty common feeling for a Mormon missionary to have. I know I had it often on my mission. You're halfway around the world, surrounded by strangers, forcing yourself out of your comfort zone on a daily basis. You don't need to be dealing with warlords in Uganda to still be very uncomfortable and unsure of yourself. People mock your religion on a daily basis, to your face. I think it's natural to revisit your beliefs from time to time to check that you really do believe all this stuff. It would be a lot easier if you didn't, after all. Just go home and go back to normal life.



I've always longed to help the needy

To do the things I never dared

This was the time for me to step up

So then why was I so scared? Again, pretty spot on so far. While some Mormon missionaries go on missions mainly because they feel pressured by Mormon families or Mormon society, the bulk of them go because they sincerely believe they will be helping other people.



A warlord who shoots people in the face

What's so scary about that? Um . . . no comment?



I must trust that my Lord is mightier

And always has my back Okay

Now I must be completely devout

I can't have even one shred of doubt Hmm . . . not really seeing eye to eye on this one, personally. That said, I knew missionaries who felt this way--who felt that you either believed something 100%, or you didn't believe it at all. In my personal opinion, if you haven't thought about your beliefs seriously--including the possibility that they're wrong--then those beliefs can't be very strong. Doubt is a part of faith. If you knew something 100%, then there would be no need of faith. Actually, that's something I liked from an earlier part in The Book of Mormon Musical--Joseph Smith points out that God let the golden plates get taken away without letting Joseph to show them to all sorts of people and prove that he was telling the truth. But then he adds something along the lines of, "But I guess that's sort of what you were going for." Exactly. I believe God doesn't actively prove his existence, because a big part of the reason we're here on this earth is to learn how to have faith. But now I'm ranging kind of far afield--back to those lyrics.



I believe that the Lord God created the universe Nothing to comment on here, right?

I believe that He sent His only Son to die for my sins Still good.

And I believe that ancient Jews built boats and sailed to America And . . . here's the first big "huh?" moment for most people, most likely. But this is essentially what all Mormons believe. We believe The Book of Mormon (the book, not the musical) was written by a group of people who left Jerusalem around 600 BC and were led to the Americas (where exactly--North/South/whatever--is a point up for debate.). Joseph Smith translated this record (written on golden plates), and that translation is what we now have as The Book of Mormon. This is a big part of the religion. The Book of Mormon doesn't supplant the Bible. It's another record of God's dealings with his children. As a missionary, I told people about this story all of the time. It isn't something we hide at all--we make a point of openly addressing it. If people are going to join the church, they'll join it because they believe this account is true. Frankly, if you're also ready to believe in the need for a Savior and the existence of a divine being--if you believe Moses led the Children of Israel to the promised land, if you really believe in the Garden of Eden and Noah's Ark and all the rest of it, then believing this doesn't seem like that big of a step to me. But it sounds really odd when you take it out of context.



I am a Mormon

And a Mormon just believes This is probably the line that bugged me the most from the song. (And overall, I actually like the song quite a bit.) It makes us sound like Mormons believe anything they're told. Mormons are encouraged to question--to pray about things on their own. To gain a personal testimony about the truth of Mormon doctrine. Blind faith is a no-no.



You cannot just believe partway

You have to believe in it all

My problem was doubting the Lord's will

Instead of standing tall You know, I don't have much of a beef with this part. Because with Mormonism at least, it would be difficult to just believe pieces of it. I mean, when your religion started with a fourteen year old boy talking to God and Christ in a glade in upstate New York--and then that boy went and translated gold plates--then it's hard to ignore that and focus on the more trendy pieces, like the importance of families. Because either we're a bunch of delusional lemmings, or it's true. Not much of a middle ground there.



I can't allow myself to have any doubt

It's time to set my worries free

Time to show the world what Elder Price is about

And share the power inside of me



I believe that God has a plan for all of us Definite core Mormon belief

I believe that plan involves me getting my own planet And . . . another one that probably throws a lot of people for a loop. Essentially, Mormons believe that, as children of God, we can all "grow up" to one day become like God. Again, I don't personally think this is that big of a leap. For me, it's a logical extension of that whole "child of God" thing. Children grow up to be like their parents.

And I believe that the current President of the Church, Thomas Monson, speaks directly to God Yup. We believe this. It's one of the core foundations of the religion. We believe that for a couple thousand years, God had a certain pattern developed: he spoke to people (called prophets), and gave those people a message. Those prophets then gave that message to God's children. There was an apostasy, where for a space of time there was no prophet on the earth. This went on a long time. People still received inspiration and personal revelation from God, but as far as an organized, led-by-a-prophet church of God, we believe there wasn't one. That organization needed to be restored, and that happened in the 19th Century in the form of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormon church). Believing in a prophet today shouldn't be that big of a stretch, if you believe there were prophets a long time ago (Moses, Noah, Isaiah, etc.)

I am a Mormon

And dangit, a Mormon just believes



I know that I must go and do

The things my God commands

I realize now why He sent me here



If you ask the Lord in faith

He will always answer you

Just believe in Him and have no fear



I believe that Satan has ahold of you Okay.

I believe that the Lord God has sent me here Sure.

And I believe that in 1978 God changed His mind about black people This isn't entirely fair. Did members of the church make racist remarks about non-whites prior to 1978? You betcha. Really not nice remarks. Statements that make me personally very uncomfortable. But at the same time, I recognize that these people were just people. They had problems just like your or me. They had character flaws. They grew up in a time where the beliefs on race were much different than they are today, and I don't think it's entirely fair to judge them by today's standards. Am I trying to defend them? No. I'm not. They said what they said, and I'm overjoyed that Mormonism has moved on from that. That said, I firmly do *not* believe God "changed His mind about black people." Rather, I think we as flawed individuals were finally ready to figure out just how wrong we were. What's interesting is that if you go back to the foundation of the church, Joseph Smith was actually very accepting of races--things went in a different direction upon his martyrdom. Maybe that doesn't make sense to you. It makes sense to me. (But then again, I'm a Mormon, and you're not. So maybe that explains that.) Anyway--I just mean to point out we don't believe God goes around changing His mind on a regular basis.





Again, this is something that fits right in line with that whole "prophets" thing. We believe in continuing revelation. God still speaks to His children and offers them guidance, tailor-made for today--not long ago. (For more about prophets, read a talk by Ezra Taft Benson (a Mormon prophet) focused on the subject: http://speeches.byu.edu/reader/reader.php?id=6751 To me, this makes perfect sense. If God once spoke to His children, why in the world would he stop? If having prophets used to be important, why would they be unimportant now? Did humanity need guidance only in pre-internet, pre-global economy, pre-industrial revolution, pre-everything-in-the-past-2,000-years days?

You can be a Mormon

A Mormon who just believes



And now I can feel the excitement

This is the moment I was born to do

And I feel so incredible

To be sharing my faith with you



The scriptures say that if you ask in faith

If you ask God Himself, you'll know

But you must ask Him without any doubt

And let your spirit grow Fine



I believe that God lives on a planet called Kolob And another loopy things Mormons believe. Well, all I can say to this one is that we believe God has a body of flesh and bone. He looks like us. (Remember that whole thing about being a "child of God"?) So . . . if he has a body, he's gotta live somewhere. Why is the place he lives called Kolob? Why is a chair called a chair? Language is used to let us refer to things that aren't physically present. But remember, I majored in linguistics--and you don't want to get a linguist started talking in signifiers and signified. In any case--this one sounds loopy at first, but with some explanation, I (personally) don't think it's that out there.

I believe that Jesus has His own planet as well Um . . . I guess? Not that I've heard a specific name given to it? But I suppose if we believe we can all become like God, and we believe that Jesus has already done that, then I guess it makes sense Christ has his "own planet." But again, we believe Christ is resurrected. He's got a body. He has to be living somewhere. Is that so nuts?

And I believe that the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri Yup. We believe this, too. Is it a core part of our belief? Like, do we all get together at the beginning of church meetings and recite, "We believe the Garden of Eden was in Jackson County, Missouri"? Nope. Then again, the Garden of Eden had to be somewhere. It wasn't on Mars, right? :-)



If you believe, the Lord will reveal it

And you'll know it's all true, you'll just feel it



You'll be a Mormon

And, by gosh, a Mormon just believes And that's all I've got for you.

So there you have it, folks. A step by step commentary on the lyrics, written by an actual sane Mormon. (Well, mostly sane, at least.) As I take a look at these various beliefs, I feel the need to add two more bits of commentary. First off, some of these beliefs are far from core. What I mean by that is that my religion has central beliefs that receive a lot of focus and attention--in church, in the scriptures, from the prophets. And then it's got some "farther out there" beliefs that don't get much play. For the most part, these farther out there beliefs are pieced together by obscure statements by prophets. Some Mormons like to obsess about these nitty gritty details, debating them endlessly in a never-ending quest to find "the whole truth." In my opinion, this isn't that much different from people who are still trying to understand Lost or The X-Files. (The truth is out there.) As far as I'm concerned, paying attention to the core teachings (faith in Christ, repentance, baptism, etc.) is much more important and worthy of attention.



Second (and last) observation: the elements of church doctrine that seem so crazy to others trace their roots to elements that are often shared by most other religions. The main difference between Mormonism and most other religions is that we can point to specific dates and places where revelations happened. Where God appeared to man on earth. It's a matter of being so darned recent that makes people feel like they can wave us off as loony. This is nothing new. Prophets have never really been trendy, from Moses to Noah to whoever. It's easier to believe in something that happened a long time ago--you can pass it off as metaphor and go on your merry way. (For more on my thoughts on that, check out this post.)



In any case, I'm pretty much written out for now. I suppose I can open this up for questions and comment. All I ask is that we keep things civil. Deal?

Being Cool: Grade School and Popularity

I've written about being cool before (specifically how it relates to being a geek), but I've had some further thoughts on the matter as TRC goes farther into elementary school. It's just surprising to me at times what arbitrary things people (and particularly kids) decide make a person "cool" or not. Case in point: at one time or another in grade school, I remember the following things as being taboo:



Crossing your legs too closely
Wearing a button down shirt
Wearing a button down shirt that has a little loop on the back of it (what are those *for*, anyway?)
Playing an instrument
Playing an instrument well
Playing an instrument poorly
Being in drama
Being too smart
Being too stupid
Being foreign
Not being foreign
Being too fat
Being too thin
Wearing cheap clothes
Wearing home made clothes
Wearing expensive clothes
Not understanding obscure slang
Not recognizing pop songs/movies/tv references
Playing video games
Not playing video games
I could go on, but you get the point. Basically, you could make fun of someone for anything. Pick a reason, and run with it--it would work, every time. And so you start to really worry about the choices you're making and their implications.

TRC came up to me yesterday to ask me about our last name. "Is it true our last name has a bad word in it?" I stared at him for a moment, caught off guard, then brushed the question aside lightly, telling him that some people might make fun of the name, but that people will make fun of anything. He accepted that as an answer, but as I've thought about it some more, I think I need to sit down with him and prepare him a bit more for what's to come. (Heck--I continued to have people make jokes about my last name all the way into my 20s.)

TRC is a really self-confident kid. He's athletic, outgoing and bright. I was . . . bright. I never was athletic, and until high school, I certainly wasn't outgoing. I think/hope TRC will be able to maneuver through the murky waters of grade school, but there's really no telling what will set off other kids. He's already been called the f-word at school, and came home to politely ask what the word meant.

When it comes down to it, you just have to decide not to care what other people think. No--that's not right. It's more "not to care what some people think." You can't go through your life completely ignoring everyone--at least, I don't think you should. Pick your friends, and be friends with them. Ignore people you hardly know. What does it matter what they say?

Of course, I realize it's one thing to say that now as a thirty-something. It was impossible for me to believe it when I was still in grade school. How absurd is it that what an almost complete stranger says about you in lunch can make you feel awful for the rest of the day? That some comments that you hear when you're ten can still be with you twenty years later. (And no, I'm not having a meltdown here. I don't have a secret "List of People I Must Get Revenge On" hiding in a drawer somewhere. I'm just drawing on personal experiences to try and understand what TRC is going to face.)

I know that looking at all these children now, and seeing how some of them clearly think so much of themselves (and how some of them clearly think so little) makes me sad each time. I just want to shake some of them and try to get them to see that it doesn't matter. They don't need to care!

But I'm officially a Grown Up now. I've lost my street cred, even if I still remember so clearly what it was like to be at that age. To go through that. My experiences are out of date, and therefore invalid. I think that's one of the reasons why I write Young Adult fiction. It's a way for me to try and connect to that inner me. To try and help other kids deal with the problems they're going through. No, I didn't get abused as a child or have any of the other horrid things happen to me that happen to some kids these days. But I lived through high school. I lived through middle school (much worse). And you don't have to be abused or stuffed into a locker to still be traumatized by some of that. It's one of the reasons John Hughes movies speak to me. I think he was doing the same thing. Making movies for the normal kids--all the kids who felt insecure and unsure (and frankly, almost *all* kids feel that way, no matter what they might say).

But that's for the faceless masses. When my own son and daughter will be going through it . . . who knows how I can help them?

Peter Sellers, Welfare, and Religion (and a Dash of the Space Program)

How's that for a trifecta of a blog post topic? You'd think it would be another one of my (soon to be patented) Out There rambles, where I draw on all sorts of different ideas and end up with a jumbled mess. You'd be wrong.



In this case, all three of those topics come together in a single movie: Heavens Above! Take your classic movie the old familiar "preacher with a heart of gold saves _______" trope. Make Peter Sellers the preacher, but then twist it. Raise his positive outlook to a borderline delusional level, turn the people of the town into more "real world, milk it for all its worth" sort of folks (instead of your typical "misunderstood, downtrodden souls" sort) and step back and watch the craziness ensue.



In this film, Sellers uses the power of the church to try and change the outlook of an entire city. He lets the poor stay in his house. He starts giving away meals for free. He believes 100% that his efforts will start a wave of renewed faith and happiness. People are just waiting for someone to set a good example. I don't want to spoil it for you, but the results are far from typical.



Denisa and I watched the movie, and we kept waiting for it to come to a conclusion that would enlighten us--we wanted some guidance on how to balance the need for charity and watching out for your fellow man with the inherent desire of some parties to try and get something for nothing. Where should the line be drawn? Because (as this movie admirably illustrates) if you never draw that line, chaos can ensue.



It's a tricky topic, and this movie does a great job of exploring the mess it can cause. (It, unfortunately, doesn't offer any real concrete answers to the subject--in fact it ends up being fairly anti-religious, I'd have to say--but maybe I'm expecting a tad much from a Peter Sellers movie.)



In any case, I recommend the movie. Not necessarily because it's great (although it's not bad), but because it uses absurdity to explore a topic that at times takes up a big chunk of my thought processes.



Any comments?

Bryce's iPad 2 Review

Faithful readers remember my initial thoughts on the iPad 2 when Apple announced it a while ago. In short, I wasn't blown away by the specs, and I decided not to upgrade this round.



Well . . . times change. What can I say? Since Denisa's going to be taking the kids to Europe solo (on the way there), she wanted some hefty backup for the plane rides. Specifically, she had her eyes on my trusty iPad. My Precious. The thing that never leaves my side these days. And after some internal debate, I said I couldn't give up my iPad--unless I had a newer model to fall back on. Long story short, I bought an iPad 2 and bequeathed my old iPad to Denisa. (Which makes me start to wonder if these "bad teeth" of hers aren't really just a way of her getting what she wants: a trip to Slovakia and an iPad. Hmmm . . . )



The good news for you is that I've upgraded, and I can tell you whether it's worth it or not. Ready? Here we go.



The cameras. This was the biggest point against the iPad 2 from the reviews I'd read. It was one of my big hangups in upgrading. The cameras weren't supposed to be very good. Now that I've used them, I'll say this. If you're in poor lighting conditions, the cameras are pretty bad. If you can up the light, the cameras are completely fine. I haven't printed pics taken with my iPad, but I've posted them to Facebook (along with video), and it works like a charm. Yes, I feel like a bit of an idiot, using something so big to take a picture or film something, but at the same time, it's kind of bizarre to have that much screen to frame the shot. It really feels like doing something other than taking a picture. The cameras are great for posting things online, and I love not having to get cables out to transfer pics from my camera to my iPad. If you want a camera--and don't need a super deluxe camera--then don't listen to the naysayers on the iPad 2. It works fine.
The speed. I didn't think I'd notice that big of a bump. Yes, it's supposed to be faster--but it's *faster* and more reliable to boot. A lot of programs that took a while to load on my old iPad now breeze through things with nary a bump. (I'm looking at you, Friendly.) The games work better, Pages is great, browsing is faster--I notice it all the time, even now--after having used the new iPad for a few weeks--I still see speed increases. It feels faster, and that's a very good thing.
The feel. The case is pretty darn cool. The iPad itself is significantly lighter. Now that I'm freed from the bulkier Apple case, the whole thing is much smaller. It easily fits places the old iPad had to squeeze into before (pockets in my laptop case, for example). Again, the overall effect feels like a significant upgrade.
The battery. Honestly, I'd say it feels like the battery isn't quite as much of a trooper as the first iPad. It still lasts a long time, but seems to dip faster. That could be just because the battery life of the first one was such a surprise, however. No complaints about the battery--it just *feels* a bit shorter.
Summation. If you don't have an iPad, you really ought to get one. Just so we can be Gamecenter Friends (seriously--add me. My name is M34NDR. I want to see how many games you have, and if I have more achievements than you. It's all about proving my virtual worth.) If you DO have an iPad 2, I'd have to say upgrading is probably not worth it, with one exception. Are all the improvements worth another $500 of your money? Even if you sell your old iPad, it'll still probably set you back $200-$300, easy. And I don't think it's worth that.

On the other hand, if you have someone in your family clamoring for an iPad, then there's certainly no reason to wait for the iPad 3. AND--if you can count your iPad purchase as a business expense, then it's a no brainer. Totally worth it. (I'm looking at you, Joshua.)

In any case--those are my thoughts. Any questions? Need any clarification? Ask away.