Miscellany

OK, you didn't ask. But I'm so far behind in blogging, a few items,

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: I saw it on DVD the other night. While intrigued by the technology that allowed the film to so convincingly reduce Brad Pitt's age, this movie was a crashing bore. It was three hours of both trying to imitate Forrest Gump and to make a case for Pitt having a place equal to Hanks in Hollywood celestial places. Pitt is a good actor. But this was as self-indulgent and meaningless a movie as any I've ever seen.

Obama in Cairo: I thought that it was a balanced speech. He didn't underestimate US values of freedom and rights for minorites. Nor did he excuse the radicalism that spawned September 11, 2001. But he rightly owned those times when our nation has departed from its values--like in the early 50s, when my favorite president of the last half of the 2oth century, Dwight Eisenhower, made the mistake of overthrowing a democratically elected president to install the Shah--and in other instances. This is an important beginning, confirmed by the fact that Osama bin Laden went to such extremes to pan he speech.

Monk's Wipes: I'm a huge fan of Monk. But I approach the upcoming summer season with sadness. It'll be the show's last.

My big question is that with the rise of the Swine Flu and the threat that it may mutate and become deadlier in the fall, I wonder if Monk's obsessive-compulsive reliance on wipes will have been robbed of its farcical quality. Monk seems fairly smart using those wipes right now.

The father of primal scream therapy taught his patients and readers that insanity could be a sane person's reaction to the world's insanity. Adrian doesn't seem very nuts right now.

Prediction: Monk finds Trudy's killer, which brings him amazing peace and stability. Then, he'll marry eiher Natalie or, in a real twist, Sharona, his assistant from the first few seasons.

Big Projects: I've been working on two big projects, one within the congregation and one in the community. The initial responses of people have been great. I suppose I should expect it: I began praying for both regularly almost since arriving at Saint Matthew and in Logan nineteen months ago. I'd appreciate your prayers that God will guide me, as well as church and community leaders in this two big efforts and that both will result in honoring the God Who gives the power to love our neighbors in practical ways!

To see the books I've been reading lately, go to my site on LinkedIn