In Which Tigger Goes to the Movies...

So I just got finished watching "The Brothers Bloom" and I must say, I haven't been that thoroughly entertained, bamboozled, made-to-think-I-knew-exactly-what-was-going-to-happen-and-then-having-the-rug-pulled-out-from-under-my-feet from a movie since "The Prestige".

One. Heck. Of. A. Movie.

The execution is not quite as clean as "The Prestige" and the tone is much different. It's a much more learned film and by that I mean that it has many many literary references and many many more layers, but as a consequence it does feel very muddy. I went in expecting something like "Ocean's 11" and I got blown out of the water. I had as much fun on this ride as I did in "Ocean's" but it was also as gripping as "the Prestige" and quirky and myth like as "Big Fish".

It's quirky, hilarious, fun, but also at the end it leaves you with this Agggghhhh feeling like a "What just happened!" Ahhhh!!!

There are so many good lines from the script. And so many unanswered questions.

The story is about two brothers: Stephen and Bloom. Bloom's real name isn't really Bloom, but his first name is so ridiculously embarrassing that he just goes by Bloom. The two of them grew up together bouncing from foster home to foster home and eventually became con men and have been at it for 25 years. (I tell the synopsis horribly, but you'll forgive me, this is Tigger's first review). Stephen writes the story's and Bloom acts them out conning their "marks" out of their money. But after so many years of it all, Bloom becomes disillusioned and quits. Stephen of course convinces him to do one last con and that begins the most fascinating series of situations I've seen in a very long while.

I haven't felt this excited about talking about a film with friends since "Big Fish" at Emmaus Forum!

There are references to Ulysses, The Odyssey, Hermann Melville, and a whole host of other fun stuff. The film wrestles a lot with the stories we tell to others and ourselves (myths I think is the word - maybe? [I say that intending the meanings a Torreyite might attach to that word]) and the line between reality and fiction.

For now, I feel like I need to process it a lot more before I can make a call on whether it is a Good film (Yes, that is a capital "G") but for now I think I can say it is a good film. ("Big Fish", by the way, was a good film, but it was not a Good film)

I was definitely surprised.

"That was the best card trick I've ever seen!"

Anywhoo, go watch it y'all it's worth it - plus, Adrien Brody's in it, and you can't go wrong with that!

If anyone watches it or has watched it, I'd love to discuss!

A-

P.S. I also watched Howl's Moving Castle, Gladiator, The Proposal, and The Blind Side within the past 48 hours...yeah, I went a little crazy =P

Don't worry I won't subject you to my reviews on those films, but I do have to say that I really really really liked Howl's moving Castle and would like to discuss that as well =]

Reflections on the Torah

So, this first semester in Torrey we read through the Pentateuch. And to quickly summarize my thoughts.

1) My whole conception of the first five books of the bible before this trip through the actual books was dominated by the Creation account (2 Chapters) and the ten commandments as stated in Exodus 20. I didn't even know that Balaam was in Numbers! I always thought he was in Kings!

2) I often wondered how people survived on just the OT for so many hundreds and even thousands of years. After reading through the first five books, I guess I could summarized it by saying, "Wow! There's SOOO much stuff in here!"

3) God in the OT is often stereotyped as mean, vindictive, judgmental, and harsh. Reading through the Five, I'm pretty much pat convinced that this stereotype is pretty false. The God of the OT is the same as the one of the NT.

4) Which brings me to my fourth observation, the Israelites are IDIOTS, but I'm sooo much like them. Case in point:

This thanksgiving weekend I was visiting my old elementary school and I passed by a tree. It wasn't any old tree, there was a plaque under it "September 11, 2001 - We will never forget". Flashback to when I was 9, I remember watching my teachers and my principal (at the time) planting that tree. I remember where I was during that day. But to be totally honest, I've forgotten much. The event, though huge and traumatic, has truly been pushed to the back of my mind. Could it not be the same with the parting of the Red Sea, or the Wonders of the Wilderness?

(Cummins is in the room right now and for about 5 minutes he convinced me that his skin was like superman's and he's never bled in his life. Darn. I'm gullible. =P) (We ended up talking till 2:00 am about Loving God rightly, the commandments, the Sabbath, faces, authenticity, personhood in Christ)

All in all, the Scriptures are beautiful, and in them is life. Christ is, after all, the Word.

A Declaration

Something I signed and I hope you will too:

http://manhattandeclaration.org

I don't think anyone likes this wishy-washy, insecure, overly-dramatic(though it doesn't feel like it, but it probably looks like it), worrying, worrying, worrying side of me. (Including me). "Be true to yourself." Bah Humbug.

Meta Torrey's Are Awesome!

It seems like when I enter the dialectical process with people, at the end of it, somehow, someway I come tumbling out loving the people I've gone through it with.

I realized yesterday why my closest and best friends are the by and large those whom I have dialogued deeply with.

It's because we see each other's souls in discussion, no more pretense, no presumption, it's a chance to look deeply at a thing outside ourselves and in so doing come to a greater love for each other.

Not that Philosophy's only merit is in bringing people to love one another, but for me, it is at least that.

Looking for the answer to life's big questions and then seeking to live them out.

When it's done right, people become authentic in a way that I just haven't been able to find anywhere else.

Here's to baring our souls so that Christ might somehow, someway conform us closer to His Image.

Good Day!

A Confession

Self Reflection is often a good thing.

In looking over my past blog posts, I see now how I was able to worry much less back then.

Partly it was because I didn't have as much to worry about.

But mostly it was because I spent an hour daily in communion with God.

I confess, I've slowly and imperceptibly but surely shifted my focus so that even though I'm at Biola, all this time I've been thinking, "It's by my power that I'm here", "this is my education", "this is my time to shine", etc, etc.

I haven't been talking with God as much or spending enough time in His Word as I ought to.

Besides being just downright silly, I've noticed that my personality, my way of being in the world reverts back to what I would be without Christ (It only makes sense that if you don't stay connected to the vine, you start withering!) - a craven, sick, wobbly, anxious, needy, insecure twit.

"Overcome us, Lord, that so overcome, we might be ourselves"

I don't know if it's Athanasius, or Williams, or Lewis, or the Bible, but one or several or all of them have this idea that since God is Being (unqualified), as we are restored by Christ to right relation towards God (i.e. Loving rightly) we are also being restored to our true selves, our true being. In other words, as we journey closer to the Heart of reality, we consequently become more Real, more truly ourselves than we ever could have been if we had tried to stray (See Augustine's conception of Good and Evil).

Evil is literally negative - that is, it negates what is truly real.

But then again, what do we mean by real?

All this is to say,

He truly is the Person in whom we "live, move, and have our being".

Lord God have mercy on me, a sinner.

All that I am and ever will be, I owe to God.

I'm going to start living out that fact again.

Under His Mercy,

Gabriel

The Importance of (Not) Worrying

My goodness! Can you believe the amount of stress and burden and downright ickyiness you can add to yourself just by being worried about things?

Oh, my poor roommate and friends! I pity the people who have to be around me when I'm in my icky moods!

And it's funny how prophetic you can be regarding these things. If you think and dwell upon worry (not even the thing you're worried about but the worry itself) it starts exponentially multiplying because you worry about your worry and how your worry is affecting and harming those around you.

In other news, I took a 1:00 am awesome bike ride to Albertsons last night. Which was fun! It felt like flying. (The Brittons have awesome bikes)

Midrags when splendiferously and I'm quite chipper about that.

And Its sooooo good not to have pressure in regards to romantic relationships and such.

At least for me, I find that this maxim works so so well, "When you play, play, when you pray, pray" And so on for all things.

So here's to NOT worrying about things and driving everyone around me INSANE. ;)

My sincere apologies to Mr. Jonathan Diaz who has had a rough week (mostly probably because of me) =/

I'll do my best not to worry so much anymore. =] HAVE FAITH!