Bringing back the Fairy Tales

It seems like this is the year of fairy tale re-imaginings.  There's that TV show "Once Upon a Time" which is actually pretty good, the craptastic looking "Mirror, Mirror", and the movie "Snow White and the Huntsman" that caught my eye. 

Some initial thoughts on the 2 Snow White trailers:

"Mirror, Mirror"
- beginning music made me think it was going to be an Indian musical
- their choice for Snow White, while sticking close to the childhood description, did not make me want to go watch the movie.
- Julia Roberts has an accent worse than mine
- it is meant to be a action/ comedy... but the jokes seem to be mostly puns and lame pop culture references... no thanks
- the set and costumes seem blah.  nothing special and very stereotypical fairytale.
- I can see this appealing to people over 40.

"Snow White and the Huntsman"
- if you want to grab the viewer's attention, get some new, epic music.  this did it.
- queen's accent sounded tightttttt.  evil, but not over the top.  I would probably be scared if I met a person who talked like that in real life.
- film looks real and gritty from the opening scenery pan and battle.
- it's cool to see a movie that seems to put the focus on the character development of the queen instead of Snow White.
- Charlize Theron seems to be an awesome choice based on the trailer.
- graphics are so cool!
- Ugh.  Kristen Stewart.  A possible reason why this movie might fail.  Pretty face.  that's it.
- Thor's accent might be the only reason I give him a chance.  Haven't seen Thor, but doubtful about Chris Hemsworth's acting ability.
- Based on a cool villain, awesome looking setting and cool story concept (never heard of the story of the Huntsman before), I would definitely watch this.

Losing Touch

Originally I had looked forward to the summer because I thought it would mean I had more time to write and blog, but I had failed to take into account my laziness. I had read an article months ago about how the internet was causing us (society) to become stupid. My first impression was disdain; how could the internet be considered stupid when there are so many advantages to having it?

However, as I started noticing my own deficiencies in memory and attention span, I think the article starting ringing true for me. Case in point, I had started a blog about why guys are so attracted to war movies in December, but the moment it required planning, I immediately got distracted and just saved it in my "Drafts" to rot.

I'm not blaming the internet for my own personal jump in ADD, but I do notice a loosening in my own resolve to never lose touch with those people I really value in my life. You know the feeling of "I-don't-know-what-to-talk-about" with an old friend you hadn't seen in years? It's not because you guys don't have any interesting things, it's just hard to bring up things that you think they would be able to appreciate/care about. If you haven't, then maybe I just suck and it's just me. But whatever.

For me, I could care less about how many friends I make. Instead, I really believe in having those trusted few: the inner circle, if you will. I've always envisioned that when I was an "adult" and working, we would live in the same city and after work we would hang out like on Friends, doing stupid things together. Life definitely does not work out like that. People move. People change. Sometimes, people just plain forget.

I think I'm at the point I was at a couple years ago, when I was really struggling with figuring how what true "friendship" was. Emo and stupid? Yeah, maybe, but I think it's something everyone needs to wrestle through. It's funny to think back at how upset I was at people back then, and seeing how I'm starting to do some of the same things as them.

I think this line from Mat Kearney's "On & On" sums it up perfectly.

"Nothing worth anything ever goes down easy."

Sleepless Night

Lots on my mind tonight. Rain all day and night. Flooded sidewalks. Can't sleep. When I close my eyes I feel like my brain is whirling around at 100 mph. Nights like this I truly appreciate being able to give up all my burdens to God. It's been a long time since I've been so overwhelmed and unable to help. I keep seeing myself on a ship with giant gaping holes and cold, dark water rushing in and I'm trying in vain to plug up the holes with anything I can find. No matter how hard I try and whatever progress I make in one area, another hole opens up somewhere else. As the water rises, it gets so cold, and I get more numb and frustrated at my inability to fix the situation. Seems like God is trying to drill home this lesson to me this year. Let go of control. Let go. Let go. Trust in My plans. Your attempts at helping are noble, but I am the Healer, the Redeemer, not you.

Sometimes it takes nights where you just throw up your hands in frustration to gain the right perspective.

And I’m amazed by You. Cause You’re never far away
And all that I’ve been through, Your love has never changed

Chorus:
You make oceans from the rain
Breathing life into this place
And I will drown inside your love
Until I see your perfect face
And nothing I’ve acquired means anything at all
Cause you’re everything I needed
You’re so much more than I deserve
(Chorus)
And I thank you Lord (repeat 4 times)
(Chorus)
The blood of Jesus can wash your pain away
Seventh Day Slumber- Oceans from the Rain

Much respect to Colt

I heard that Matt Wertz was performing for free at Bass Auditorium, so naturally I wanted to go. Jorgy and I ended going together, not really knowing what to expect. Apparently the night was meant to be this Christian call-out, where Christian organizations met together for good music and a gospel presentation by Joe White (An ex-coach at Texas A&M).

I never really followed Matt Wertz that closely, I had a couple of songs from when he first came onto the scene 6 years ago, so I wasn't expecting much. I was pleasantly surprised when he came out w/ his first set b/c his voice was really clear and smooth, kinda like a mix of John Mayer and Jason Mraz. He was a bit awkward at times, but his stage presence was very chill and the songs he chose were light and upbeat. Unfortunately, we were sitting in front of 8 guys who spent the entire time making snide comments, so I was too chicken to record pictures.

After 4-5 songs, who stepped onto stage, except freakin Colt McCoy. His faith was something I had always read about, and I thought it was really cool how he was not just an athlete that just says he's christian, but he actually lives it out. Anyways, he gave a testimony about rededicating to Christ in his sophomore year, and encouraged the audience to be active in living for God.

Now, most big-name athletes could just peace out after their responsibilities end, but Colt stayed the entire time (even through the presentation by Joe White). During the response time, he helped with nailing the "sins" to the cross and holding it up with a bunch of other guys. That really spoke to me that such a "big-time" guy was willing to do such bizzle work because he really wanted to help. Much respect, Colt.

Anyways, the presentation itself was actually pretty cool. One thing that stood out was the analogy of us being bond-servants, CHAINED to our master because we want to serve Him. That imagery never really made sense to me, but it's such a powerful picture of how our hearts should be.

Anyways, I've posted a couple clips of some of Matt Wertz below, so check it.

Matt Wertz singing "You Said" Video
Matt Wertz singing "Carolina" Video

Old People can be Cool Too

Today our church had signed up to spend the morning helping a couple elderly women w/ various errands and tasks around their house. When I visited Austin a couple months ago with Kavin, I was able to get to meet Ms. King as we spent time helping with yard work. As we were pruning bushes, cutting down branches, etc, it was cool just learning about her story. At first, she was a bit wary of us (we were three Asian people and one White man) and didn't really talk much, but seeing us working hard for so long, she slowly opened up.

Side story: when we mentioned that we were part of a local church, she asked if Jorgy was our pastor. hahaha!

Anyways, when I heard we got to help out at her house again, I was really excited to see her again. Our group was definitely a lot larger than last time, but when she saw us coming up, it was great to see how excited she was to see us. Even though it was really difficult for her to walk around and maneuver, she wanted to help us as much as she could. Her demeanor towards us was so open and warm; it was such a beautiful sight to see her getting to know the other people in the group.

After a couple hours, we had finished all the jobs she laid out for us, and some of us were just chilling w/ her on the porch. As we were talking, I had asked her about the local churches she was a part of, and then she went around asking us about our personal faith. At first it was a bit off-putting being asked all these questions which I had always considered so elementary. During our conversation, she asked me when I was "born again". As I started answering, I mentioned that, "I was born into a Christian family..." I was promptly interrupted by her mini-sermon about the importance of being able to consciously dedicate our life to Christ. (hahah!) It was pretty funny, but still really cool to see someone at her age so passionate about living for God.

I've always been wary of spending a lot of time around elderly people, probably because I don't like the idea of getting attached to them and having to deal with their eventual death, but I realize how much can be learned from just spending time with them. Hmm... maybe there is something to be said about the whole mentorship thing.

Take a Stand Already

As I was perusing my Google Reader, I came across a link that led to this article on annoying airplane travelers in the NY Times. Even though it was a simple enough article explaining the inner debate on how to deal with the situation, it really got me thinking about times in my life where I really wanted to say/do something to alleviate the situation, but ultimately chickened out and ended up squirming in discomfort.

It's actually pretty interesting to see how especially in large crowds of strangers, we justify inaction by "passing the buck" under the assumption that someone else will do something. Unfortunately, if everyone has that same mentality, absolutely nothing will happen. This is by no means a novel revelation, but it is something that I always have to fight for in my own heart. It's not enough to have a bleeding heart for causes and people; actions speak loud and get things done.

DPS

It's confirmed. DPS is universally lame across all states. Spent the entire day getting a TX drivers license.



Overheard on the TV:

"The key to a woman's heart is an unexpected gift, in an unexpected time"
- Finding Forrester