28 February 2007

The art of poking fun

I got to do that today. It was fun.

To explain further - if you keep up with current events at all, you will know that a Canadian producer named James Cameron claims to have found the tomb of Jesus hidden in Jerusalem. Also there, Cameron says, are His wife and son. Now aside from this being impossible because Jesus ascends to heaven in Acts chapter 1, there are several key aspects that make this patently ludicrous. Mostly highlighted in an excellent article I read in the National Post today.

1) The name Yeshua bar Yosef (Jesus son of Joseph) is inscribed on the tomb they think to be Jesus'. But according to the article, the names Jesus and Joseph were common enough back then for there to have been roughly EIGHT THOUSAND Jesus, son of Josephs. Not to mention all the names are written in Semitic text, which from that particular era is very difficult to translate.

2) James Cameron says himself: "I'm not a theologist." Ahem. Are we really supposed to take seriously someone who uses the term "theologist'? It's THEOLOGIAN, genius.

3) I'm tempted to think that if it weren't for a certain book and movie, both called The Da Vinci Code, this would mean absolutely nothing. Tell me, how does a book marked 'fiction' in any bookstore you care to name seem to somehow contribute reams to the rants of archaeologists claiming Jesus was not divine? It's a story, not a history.

The last point is really mine, but the article made several other ones including the fact that Jesus was known as Jesus of Nazareth, and if he had been buried it would have been there and not in Jerusalem. Also, the Jewish and Roman authorities were obsessed with finding Jesus' body immediately after his death and resurrection, which they itched to prove was nothing more than the ranting of lunatics and the start of another obscure Jewish cult. If there was a body to find, they would have found it. But there isn't.

Anyway, I quite enjoyed poking holes in this along with Michael Coren, National Post writer and broadcaster. www.michaelcoren.com.

And I have decided to copy Robyn and attempt to end my posts with a quote. Friends say funny things.

~Sil

"Black socks may be boring, but I think if Michael was wearing blue dragonfly socks we'd all be slightly worried."

27 February 2007

One (1) Oscar

As Josh reminded me, that's what Dead Man's Chest won on Sunday evening. It was for Visual Effects, which is basically what I predicted it would win. The others it was nominated for, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Art Direction, were won respectively by Letters from Iwo Jima, Dreamgirls and Pan's Labyrinth. Sort of odd that the third movie ever to gross over 1 billion in the box office (the other two being Return of the King and Titanic, both of which were nominated for and won ELEVEN Oscars) would only get one. I suppose I'll just have to keep hoping it turns out like LotR, where RotK practically swept up every Oscar worth getting. I was, admittedly, rather happy with the fact that none of this year's nominated movies came close to doing what RotK did.

Watched Princess of Thieves yesterday afternoon. I guess it was an okay movie, other than the fact that they expect us to believe Keira Knightley could pass for a boy with nothing but a haircut and different clothes. I mean, please. Again, a mildly entertaining way to spend an hour and a half, but not the best movie ever by far. Now, when I find time to watch Curse of the Black Pearl again (fankoo Josh) before the quiz meet, that will be a movie I'll enjoy.

~Sil

26 February 2007

Bridge to Terbithia

That's what I went to see yesterday with Daniel and Everett and Erin after church. It was an entertaining way to spend an hour and a half, but I wouldn't call it the greatest movie in the world or anything - and for fantasy, definetely not up to the standards of Narnia or Lord of the Rings. Or Pirates of the Caribbean, which I guess technically qualifies as fantasy as well. Anyway, get ready for a movie review, though this won't be as long as Eragon (I hope!). If you don't want to know the end, don't read ahead, spoilers will be making an appearance.

The two main characters are Jesse (played by Josh Hutcherson), a farm kid with two older sisters and two younger sisters whose parents are havign financial difficulties, and Leslie, whose parents are authors and who lives next door. I think they'e both about 12 or 13 in the movie. Leslie, who is played by AnnaSophia Robb (I haven't heard or her either) has a very active imagination, so the two of them start to sort of build a world in the woods behind their houses. You get to it by swinging on an enchanted rope, and it's called Terabithia.

This is where my first big complaint comes in. There wasn't enough Terabithia. You saw a couple weird creatures, hairy vultures and dragonfly warrors and one giant (and a troll counts too, I guess) but there was no plot resolution. Apparently some Dark Master was trying to drive Jesse and Leslie out of Terabithia, but we never see him, we only have her word that he is. Basically all they do is sit in the treehouse talking and climb a couple of trees. And then at the end you saw a whole assembly of weird creatures - but no talk of anyone evil. It just didn't make sense.

Jesse is really quiet and shy and he's not great friends with any of his siblings and his dad seems perpetually mad at him for something or other, so he's sort of working his way out of this during the course of the movie. He also becomes friends with a teacher of his at school, the name of whom I can't remember but who is played by Zooey Deschanel. Anyway, Terabithia is developing and Jesse and Leslie are pretty much best friends and then -

Leslie dies.

Which shocked me practically out of my theater seat because she's an extremely likeable character and you never think that that could have possibly happened. It does eventually result in Jesse inviting one of his sisters into Terabithia and getting closer to his dad, but I still wish she hadn't died.

Altogether - meh. I did see a couple of good previews though, one movie coming out this summer called The Last Mimzy about some toys from the future a couple of kids find. I think it has something to do with Alice in Wonderland. Anyway, it looked like a movie I would like to see. Unfortunately also coming out this summer are Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's Ed, Shrek the Third, Spiderman 3, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and though I will probably not see Harry Potter or Spiderman 3 in theatres I likely will see PotC and possibly Shrek. Maybe even PotC twice. And I don't go to a whole lot of movies so I might end up not seeing this Last Mimzy one.

~Sil

22 February 2007

Keep Holding On

That's what I'm currently listening to. It's the credits song from Eragon, strangely enough by Avril Lavigne. It's actually not a bad song, I just think it's a weird choice to end a fantasy movie with a song by someone like her. I would have flipped if they used her at the end of LotR. Anyway, if anyone hasn't heard it, there's a YouTube video that uses it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgWWw0OH43U

Bus ride yesterday was fairly uneventful, besides the odd weird person that I think sort of comes with riding on the bus. There was one guy with an earpiece in, so he was basically talking on the phone and it looked exactly like he was talking to midair in profile. All in perfectly normal tones, about how everyone seemed to have forgotten his birthday and how he bought himself a new PSP game as a birthday present, and how he liked playing poker on his Xbox 360. There was another guy who insisted on having a loud conversation with me in particular relating to one of the ads on the bus ceiling. Also, bells are extremely awkward to carry on the bus, I hope I don't end up doing it often.

And yay, it's snowing! I really like it when it snows about every two days or so, it makes all the snow nice and clean every time. My brother has to shovel it all off the walks so he's not as thrilled. I don't think we'll get much, though, it looks like stopping soon.

~Sil

21 February 2007

The Month of Banging Head on Desk

That's what I've dubbed February. Or as an alternative, The Month of Utter Lack of Motivation or Creativity. It's true. Christmas was over a long time ago and summer still a long ways away and our last holiday was - Valentine's Day. Be still my beating heart. I swoon over red paper hearts and candy. Heck, we don't even get Valentine's off school.

Taking the bus to band today by myself, which is the first time I've ever taken the bus anywhere by myself, but strangely I'm not that nervous. And I've been panicking all week about the fact that I can't find my copy of Northwest Suite anywhere, only to email my director and find out I left it at rehearsal a couple weeks ago. So THAT's a relief.

What would really improve February, in my mind, is if we could have an election. (Altered quote from VeggieTales) "This is the part of the show where Silmarillia comes out and everyone gives her strange looks!" Yes, I quite enjoy elections. Not to mention Stephen Harper is SO much better than Stephane Dion, they don't even compare.

~Sil

20 February 2007

If I told you I was dead...

...perhaps that would make up for me not posting since January 25? I thought not. It's not entirely my fault, Safari decided it didn't want to work and Internet Explorer balked on me as soon as I tried to sign in on there. But Safari is (tentatively) working again, so I'm back.

And it's 93 days until PotC:AWE. I can't remember if I've posted the new publicity shots yet, I think I have because they've been out for a while. I've stopped hanging around Keep to the Code (www.forums.keeptothecode.com) because of the increasing frequency of spoilers, and since I don't actually want to know what happens before I go to the movie...anyway, I'm getting slightly anxious, because even around Arwen-Undomiel (www.arwen-undomiel.com/forum) rumors seem to be surfacing that somehow Will becomes the Captain of the Flying Dutchman. I have a very hard time accepting this unless Elizabeth goes fish-faced with him. Will Turner is NOT the next Davy Jones.

What else has happened since I last posted....ah yes, I'm going to Costa Rica this summer for youth missions, which I'm sort of nervous about - I need to get a passport and all that jazz...

~Sil