Summertime

It's summer! I didn't have to go in to work on Monday and that was the beginning of summer for me. It's been a very weird couple of days. I know that I can rest, but somehow my soul hasn't got the message yet. I sit on the couch and feel guilty that I'm not working. Last night, my body said, "Jill! We must sleep!" My new roommate left at around 6:00 PM and I fell asleep on the couch soon after. At about 6:30 I woke up and decided to take a pre-dinner nap. Eleven hours later -- I woke up. I feel so much better this morning. I think I've been walking around in a tired daze for the past few days. (umm, past few months??)

So -- it's summer. What does that mean? Well - it means two things for me. Rest -- and feeling guilty that I should be doing something when I'm resting! The truth is that I can't make it through the school year if I don't take a serious break during the summer. It's is just too draining. This past year was particularly draining, in more ways than one. I know that if I don't rest this summer, I'm going to pay for it next fall. That still doesn't change the fact that I feel like I should be productive all the time. And sitting on my couch, surfing the web is not productive.

I love to explore the hearts and minds of people. Surfing through people's blogs, websites, and favorite links is so interesting to me. People construct monuments to their passions. They spend hours and hours creating art and video and text that explains their heart to the world. How can this not be fascinating? Sometimes I'm led in a direction I don't want to go, but then I just back out and take a different road. Sometimes I'm led into places I never would have ventured on my own. For example, this morning I read my friend Chris' blog, which led to a blog entry on Hearst Castle and Julia Hunt Morgan, the architect who built it. To quote Spock, "fascinating." I'm thinking about doing a little surfing on famous buildings and the architects who designed them. After all, what goes into designing a building? How does the architect balance the practical, the beautiful, and the needs for the public and/or private space? How do they take the contemporary culture into account? Or do they refuse to be guided by popular opinion? If architects usually work on commission, how do they balance what they know is best with their client's desires? Maybe I should find a good book. . . :-)

It's a bird, it's a plane...

Another Superman Returns trailer... This movie is looking better and better every trailer that I see. I really hope they stop telling us pieces of the story, however. I hate it when I go into a movie and know what is going to happen because the trailer spoiled it for me.

Home

I've been thinking about the idea of "home" a lot lately. I have a deep desire to create and live in a home, not just a house. What makes the place you live a home? Something to come home to... I love the idea that I return home. Not just to my house.

There is something in me that wants to create a home for others. Not just myself. I lose motivation when it's just me. There is almost a, "What's the point?" attitude. And yet, at the same time, I love to live in a beautiful and welcoming space. A space that offers rest to both to myself and to others. I'm excited that my new roommates will soon move in. I think I'll have more motivation to keep up on the tidying up. :-) But more than that -- what are the intangibles of a home? It's more than just a neat living room and having the dishes done. In fact, I would argue that those things are the least of creating a home. For me, the thing I look forward to most in coming home is that it is restful and safe. I can relax and literally let down my hair. (The first things I do when I get in the front door are kick off my shoes and take the clip out of my hair.)

I was watching an episode of Criminal Minds a few weeks ago and Mandy Patinkin quoted a Mexican proverb, "The house does not rest upon the ground, but upon a woman." He was talking about the significant role that women play in the family in Mexican culture, but I haven't been able to get that phrase out of my head. Is creating a home primarily a feminine drive? I don't know. I've had several single male friends who've bought houses, settled in, decorated them, etc. They have tried to create a homey space for themselves. But do they have the drive to do so that women have? Guys? Thoughts?

I was thinking the other day about creating a home in terms of being single. I am expected to be both the homemaker and the breadwinner. It's a little tiring. I must say, I think that guys get a little break in this area. If they live on their own or with other guys, there really isn't an expectation that they will have a home-like space. White walls, ratty couches, a poster, and a TV are perfectly fine. If you walked into a single woman's home and saw the same...it would be strange. We are expected to have a put-together home and keep it up. Sometimes I joke at work that it would be nice to have a wife. While, of course, I'm joking -- there is something there. I am the breadwinner and no one takes care of my space. When we have a pot luck at work, my co-workers ask if I am going to make the homemade dip they love or if I am going to cook some other dish. The single guy who eats with us is expected to bring chips or pop. That's just a small example, but there's a pattern. I'm tired tonight and that is certainly affecting the direction of this post. I don't mean to be whiney; I guess I just wanted to vent a little.

Back to the idea of creating home. One of things that really drove my desire to buy a house was that I was really tired of moving. I wanted to put down roots and have the freedom to create the space I wanted. I certainly did that here! (Everything in my house is different...) This spring I've been working on the outside of my house, but it is all connected. I am so excited about my roses because they are beautiful and welcoming. I hope that they help create an atmosphere that is comfortable at my house. I hope to work on the back yard this summer also. I want to extend my living space out into the back yard. Maybe have a patio, climbing roses, lots of flowers and a table and chairs. I want to plant a butterfly garden and attract beautiful birds and insects. (But hopefully not too many mosquitoes!)

This post is getting long and I really didn't say what I wanted to say. I'm not quite sure where I was going with this, but maybe I'll have thoughts that are more clear later. I think there is something in my heart that responds to the story of Mary and Martha. I am so tempted to be Martha. But I want to create a home where people (myself included) are encouraged and given a space to be Mary. To rest and sit at the feet of Jesus. Hopefully we can put a pot of coffee on and sit there together.

Music speaks to my soul

Pandora.com is definitely the coolest thing I've found on the net in a long time. I love it when a perfect song I've never heard starts playing. Beautiful.

Pandora

I found a great site tonight while doing a little blog surfing. It's called Pandora, but don't let the name fool you. There is no impending doom or loss of hope. Just a really interesting way to listen to music. You type in songs and artists you like and the site creates a radio station for you. It includes both mainstream and obscure/indie music. I've been having fun coming up with crazy suggestions and listening to what pops out of the speakers. You can create different stations based on whatever styles you want. I think this might be my new source for discovering music that's not on the radio!

missed one for June

Here's is another movie for June. I'm sure I've missed more than one, so I might be doing this several times.

The Lake House - I love the concept. Not to sure about Keanu, but then -- I never am. :-) Maybe he can pull it off. Maybe I'll get caught up in the story anyway...

VERY COOL!!!

Can't wait for this one! Check out the latest trailer for Clark, Lois, and Lex.



The 3rd Superman Returns trailer

(you have to have the free Quicktime player installed to see it.)

The Da Vinci Code

I saw the film this afternoon. While I still think I was right in my previous post, there is something else going on here for me. I'm not sure quite what it is, yet. I do think that Christians should read the book and have an informed and compassionate answer for the questions that are raised -- but while watching the movie I had a different emotional response. There were several places in the film where my spirit just rebelled. I wanted to cry out, "Blasphemous!" I know, that seems drastic for me, but heart just cringed at some of what was said.

Jesus is God. This is not trivial. It is the most important fact in the history of the world. Nothing is more important. For if Jesus is not God -- then what is the point? Why are we here? I cannot answer that question outside of Jesus.

Back to my original point, I'm not sure why the movie effected me the way it did. When I read the book, I simply got very irritated at the historical inaccuracies and dismissed it as a novel. As a piece of fiction, I didn't really struggle with the idea that it was blasphemous. It was fiction and therefore untrue. The movie was different. There was something that made my soul deeply uncomfortable. I'm not sure why. If anything, the movie was less inflammatory than the book. As I am thinking over my reaction, I am wondering if there was something in the fact that it was spoken out loud. Perhaps, to hear someone say that Jesus was not divine -- that was the disturbing element. I don't know. I'll be puzzling this out for awhile.

On another note, I went to see the film with one or two of the most adamant atheists that I know. We went out for dinner afterward and had what I hope was a significant conversation. They were, of course, interested in my opinion. I was honest about how uncomfortable I was and how that surprised me. This lead into a talk about the divinity of Christ and what that means for the world (and to me.) What would it mean if he wasn't the Son of God? What does it mean that he is? I'm glad I went to see it, and I'm glad I had some opportunities afterward to share a little truth.

Jesus is God, and he is holy and alive today. Glory to God!

Huh.

Got this one from Blythe...not sure what to make of it. How do I speak 15% Yankee and 20% Dixie when I've never lived outside of Kansas and Oklahoma?! (Except for China, but I don't think I picked up Yankee-speak there...) :-)

Your Linguistic Profile::

60% General American English

20% Dixie

15% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

My garden, the love letter...

This is what I have been spending a lot of my time and energy on this spring. When life was getting crazy and just too much for me, I spent a lot of time planning this garden. It's been an incredible amount of work, but it's finally coming together. There is a little more to do, but it's more along the lines of cleanup.

This is my new mailbox. Mom and Dad gave it to me and Dad helped me install it. We spent a day playing with dirt and cement. :-) It was fun. I decided to plant petunias because I wanted some immediate color. I also added Daisies because I think they are the happiest flower. I love Daisies. I'm not sure when they will bloom, but I'm looking forward to it!






Here are several of my rose bushes. They are in little pots, waiting to be planted. I had them sitting out on the front lawn so they could get plenty of sun. (That weird black smudge is my shadow while I'm taking the picture!) :-) :-)










So, here is what the left side of my house looks like. There are little rose bushes and a larger tree. These bushes are Ambridge Rose, Abraham Darby, two Icebergs, Bonica, Summer Fashion, and Queen Elizabeth.



Here is the right side. :-) Here I planted Quietness, Tamora, Sharifa Asma, Heritage, Lafter, Glamis Castle, Fragrant Cloud, Moonstone, and Veteran's Honor. There is actually a bloom on the Fragrant Cloud bush.


And here is that bloom! My first rose! (Jill does "the Dance of Joy." Both Balki's and Numfar's.) :-) :-) I'm so grateful for the flowers that will be blooming this summer. There is something in my heart that is really crying out for beauty that is made by God. I have a deep need right now to see His tangible love. For some reason, roses speak that to me. Thank you, Jesus, for roses.

June 2006 Movies

Superman Returns - I'm not sure I can express how much I am looking forward to this one! It's by far my most anticipated movie of the summer. Maybe all year. (Remember, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe was last year.) It's Superman -- what else needs to be said? Oh yeah, Bryan Singer is directing. I might forgive him for leaving the X-Men franchise if he knocks this out of the park. Maybe. :-) Kevin Spacey is playing Lex. While I truly do love Michael Rosenbaum's Lex on Smallville, I'm looking forward to Spacey's interpretation. He's one of my favorite actors these days. I'm a little hesitant about the unknown playing Clark, but I'm always like that with unknowns. I love the idea of unknowns playing iconic characters...it's just a little risky. I am hoping that Brandon Routh can carry the film. I'm glad that I don't bring other roles I've seen him in to the film. He can just be Superman. That's the joy of the unknown actor. (On a side note, I hope that Joss casts an unknown for Wonder Woman...or Morena Baccarin.)

A Prairie Home Companion - It's PHC, what else do you need? Garrison Keillor is a storytelling genius. It has Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, Kevin Kline, John C. Reilly (and Lindsay Lohan, but I'm ignoring that.)

The Break-Up - I keep waiting for a really good Jennifer Aniston movie. I think I'm still waiting. If someone tells me that they get together in the end, I might go see it. If it's just two people being mean to each other for two hours -- I'm not interested.

Peaceful Warrior - This one looks very interesting to me. It sounds like a cheesy premise, but I have hopes that it will deliver a solid story. I've heard that it was in development for decades. That might mean that there is something there that a few people refused to give up on.

The Devil Wears Prada - I did not like the book, but sometimes I hate movies made from books I like -- so maybe I'll like this one. I'll wait for a solid rec.

Click - Fascinating premise. I'm not an Adam Sandler fan, but I enjoy Christopher Walken -- and I love quirky movies.

Coming up next... July

May 2006 Movies

Here is what Jill is interested in for the Summer Blockbuster season. I'll split the entries up by month. First up - MAY.

The DaVinci Code -– I know, I know. Everyone is all up in arms about this one. On one hand -- it's fiction people! For pete's sake, how can anyone assume that the truth about the divinity of Christ is going to be found in a novel by Dan Brown is beyond me. That said, there is something happening with this book. Why is it so engaging? Sure, it'’s a fun yarn. But so are many, many other stories and they haven'’t been cemented into the NY Times best sellers list. What questions is the book attempting to answer? I think the answer to that question might be a little more complicated than, "Who is Jesus?"” Why are people so drawn today to exploring the indentity of the real, human Jesus? Did this book touch on something that was already brewing in our culture? If so, what?

I'm a little appalled by Christian columnists who say that Christians should avoid talking about this book with non-believers because they are just looking for an excuse not to believe in Christ. What?? Why would they need an excuse? The world applauds people who reject Christianity. They don'’t need a novel to justify their unbelief. However, they might need a novel to start asking questions about the actual Jesus who lived, died, and then came back to life. I think that Jesus has become a very distant thought to most of America. He is a very vague and ghostly figure who "sort of lived sometime and did some miracles…maybe," but he certainly doesn'’t have an impact on their lives in any concrete way. The idea of Jesus as a man who lived, suffered many pains that we all suffer, had friends and family, etc. etc. – Jesus is fully man and fully divine. Do we know what this really means? No. We can't. We aren't divine. But we could talk about it. I think this Jesus might be a fairly new idea to a lot of marginal or cultural "Christians."” If nothing else, the Da Vinci Code has started an intriguing dialogue. I hope that I can enter into that dialogue with love and an eye on Jesus and not on proving myself right or winning.

This is a pretty strong statement, but I also think that most Christians who interact with unbelievers on a regular basis and refuse to read this book are somewhat foolish. If your own faith would be damaged by reading it, then by all means, stay away. But if you can handle the challenge to your belief system (and honestly, the argument set out by the novel is weaker than a house of cards) then read it. And talk about it those around you who are asking questions. There is truth and if they aren't hearing it from you -- then why shouldn't they believe the book? And why should they listen to you if you haven't read it? After all -- you haven't read it! There are several good resources out there with the historical truth. Josh McDowell might be a good place to start, if you need some facts about early church history and The DaVinci Code.

Mission Impossible III -– already saw it. It was good. Entertaining. Definitely better than the second one. I think what I liked about it was that the danger was personal. The world wasn'’t really in danger (just in a tangential way) the danger was to someone Ethan Hawke loves. It's personal and painful and makes for a much better story.

X-Men 3: The Last Stand - I've talked about this before. Can'’t wait, but I've got some real reservations about how it will turn out. I don'’t really trust the director and it was made far too fast. They pushed the release date up several months and rushed it through pre- and post-production. We'll see...

Poseidon - This is a maybe for me. I like Josh Lucas and I like disaster movies. I'’ll probably wait to hear some reviews.

June coming soon...

Some random media news

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted. Life got a little nuts there for awhile. Today was the last day for senior students, so I can breathe a little. There's been a lot of stuff going on that I'll probably post about in the next several days, but for now -- the frivolous media stuff!!!

Probably the biggest news for geeky sci-fi fans is that George Lucas is releasing the original Star Wars Trilogy on DVD in the original version! Whoo Hoo!!! (Han shoots first, no conversation with Jaba, etc.) It'll be out for a limited time from September to December of this year. Check out the details at StarWars.com.

Here is an absolutely hilarious video that a journalist got of Joss Whedon. You don't know it from this -- but Joss does the entire bit off the cuff. He had no idea what was going on and just played along. The man is brilliant. I always say -- I would watch a show about grocery shopping and doing laundry if it was written by Joss Whedon or Aaron Sorkin.

Speaking of Aaron Sorkin -- here's the trailer for his new show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. It's really the only new show for fall that I'm excited about at this point. It's starring Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, Timothy Busfield, and-oh yeah- some guy named Matthew Perry. It's a drama set backstage at a SNL type show.

That's all for now. More to come...

For Mom

Goin' to the Airport!!

I'm headed out the door to pick up my parents from the airport!! Woo Hoo!!!

In other news, if you are a West Wing fan -- check this out! A Tribute to Gail. It's awesome!