Indianapolis has an annual film festival called The Heartland Film Festival. This year’s winner for Best Dramatic Feature was Bella.

A little over a year ago, Karen and I sat in on a pre-screening of the movie at a FamilyLife staff meeting. I blogged about it back then.

If you get a chance, go see it. It is an excellent movie, very well done independent film.

You can find out more about it and get theater info here:
http://www.bellathemovie.com

Bob Lepine of FamilyLife has started a new podcast titled Ear Reverent(iTunes need for link to work.)

His description of the podcast:
“Some people like to blog, but I often sit behind a microphone and interview people. This podcast is my audio blog so-to-speak about faith, culture, church, the arts… stuff that I like to think about.”

The first episode caught my attention. He talks with Jim Henderson who hired an atheist to visit churches with him in order to write a book, Jim and Casper Go to Church: Frank Conversation about Faith, Churches, and Well-Meaning Christians

Give it a listen…

Cool! The Jim Henson Company is working on a sequel to the 1982 fantasy puppet movie, The Dark Crystal called The Power of the Crystal. Apparently, this has been news for some time but I’m just now hearing about it.

I remember going to see the first movie with my brother when I was a kid. I don’t think it did very well in the intial release but I loved it. I have since bought it on DVD. It has quite a few “new age-ie” elements that I could do without but the story is action/adventure pitting good against evil.

The sequel is scheduled for a Spring 08 release.

It sounds very interesting:

In the late 1970s, with his creative instincts and Hollywood power swelling to their greatest levels up to that point, “Muppets” creator Jim Henson found himself obsessed with the dark, deranged work of English illustrator Brian Froud.

He befriended the children’s-book author and recruited longtime collaborator Frank Oz, and together the three spent the next half-decade developing an ambitious, human-free movie that would mix the world of Froud with equal parts “Lord of the Rings” and Kermit the Frog.

The result was 1982’s “The Dark Crystal,” a fantasy flick that debuted as a commercial and critical failure and has since lived on as a fondly remembered near-classic along the lines of ’80s movies such as “Tron” and “The Last Starfighter.” Frustrated by the limitations of technology, Henson, who died in 1990, took to discussing two different “Dark” visions in interviews: the film his imagination had longed for and the version hindered by fishing line and awkward action sequences.

Now, like a woodland creature called to action by Gelfling heroine Kira, “The Dark Crystal” is preparing to rise up again. And this time it has technology on its side, along with one of the hottest action directors in all of geekdom.

“I did television shows like ‘Dexter’s Laboratory,’ ‘The Powerpuff Girls,’ ‘Samurai Jack’ and ‘Clone Wars,’ and then I decided to go into features,” said highly stylized Russian director Genndy Tartakovsky, offering a preview of his upcoming film debut, “The Power of the Dark Crystal.” “I love the first movie. I saw it [when I was young], and it’s resonated with me throughout my life. Through all the jobs I’ve had, we always referred to it. We would go, ‘You remember that scene in “Dark Crystal”? That was great the way that shape was put in,’ or something like that. [I’m determined] not just to relive it, but also to honor it.”

Such a tribute would be impossible without remembering the man who was a quarter-century ahead of his time. And as the film enters production, it should be quite easy for Tartakovsky to remember Henson daily, since Henson’s daughter Lisa is producing.

“Puppetry has come a long way since ‘The Dark Crystal,’ ” said the amicable co-CEO of the Jim Henson Company. “When ‘The Dark Crystal’ was made, it was the first time that all those techniques were really refined to the degree that they could be put in a feature film. Since then, puppetry has come so far that the puppets we’re going to use are going to be much more emotive than the originals. In addition to that, we can augment them with digital effects, but very subtly.”

The “Power” script continues the tale of elfin heroes Jen and Kira, last seen returning the shard to the evil crystal and seemingly abolishing the vulture-like Skeksis from their land. Set many years after the first flick, “Power” casts Jen and Kira as king and queen, now overseeing a kingdom whose peace is disturbed by a visit from the underground-dwelling U-mun people. After the Gelflings refuse their request for a shard of crystal that could preserve the U-mun race, a desperate visitor takes it anyway, threatening their world with another thousand years of chaos.

‘Dark Crystal’ Sequel Gives Jim Henson’s Puppet Epic A Second Chance MTV.com

Have you noticed over the past few years that car dealers have coined a new phrase for used cars? They are no longer “used,” they are “pre-owned.” I’m guessing that they think it sounds better, like they are trying to distance themselves from the pejorative term “used.”

Think about the term for a second, pre-owned…
Like Inigo Montoya tells Vizzini in The Princess Bride when he keeps using the word inconceivable, “you keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means.”

If a car is “pre-owned” then that means it is before it has an owner. In other words, it is new. A pre-owned car is a new car. The exact opposite of what they are trying to use the term to mean. What they mean is a “previously owned” car. But people really don’t think about these kinds of things and just go along with it, but in the process we are dumbing down our society.

I rented Idiocracy recently. (warning: its got quite a bit of bad language in it, most of it is there to prove a point though) The idea behind the movie is that stupid people have taken over the world 500 years in the future. Its funny but a little scary because a lot of what goes on in the movie is just an exaggeration of today’s society. Sadly, some of the things that are portrayed in the movie don’t seem all that far fetched. I can see our society moving in that direction as we continue to cater to the “lowest common denominator.” People winning lawsuits because their coffee was too hot, stupid “don’t try this at home” disclaimers on every commercial we see, teachers not telling kids they have the wrong answer because it might hurt their self esteem, etc…
Its all ignoring reality to make ourselves feel better.

So next time you are looking for a new car, ask the dealer to show you their selection of pre-owned cars.

Weird Al has a new song out based on my life…

White and Nerdy

I found a pretty cool blog the other day by Doug TenNapel.

If you remember the video game “Earthworm Jim,” he is the artist that did the art work. He’s done album covers for a few Christian musicians (Terry Taylor, Five Iron Frenzy), comic books and tv shows.

He’s a little rough around the edges but writes some entertaining posts that ususally make a point and make you think.

http://www.tennapel.com/

Something I meant to blog on a few weeks ago…

Back in August FamilyLife had a two day staff conference. One of the big surprises during the conference was we all got to see a pre-screening of a Toronto Film Festival move, Bella. They also had the director, executive producer (a guy that worked with Mel Gibson on The Passion and Braveheart) and the star of the movie, Eduardo who is apparently “hot,” just ask Karen next time you see her.

These guys are all Christians that have been in the entertainment industry in one way or another and want to create art that has a message but is also not beating people over the head. They succeeded with Bella.

This movie was literally sprung on me, I had no idea what it was about or who was in it. I wish I could see more movies under those circumstances, I think it made it that much more enjoyable. I don’t want to say too much about the story because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone that might see it. It is a story of sacrifice and redemption, is very well acted with real characters that have depth. And just like real life, things are not tied up in a neat little bow at the end.

Like I said, it was shown at the Toronto Film Festival in the same slot as Brokeback Mountain last year. Bella was well received and won the People’s Choice Award. Apparently several past winners have gone on to win Oscars.

I like seeing this return of Christians to the arts. If you get a chance, see the movie.

The kids and I were looking through videos on YouTube this evening. They got real excited about all the fan made lightsaber duels and wanted to make their own so I got out the digital camera and recorded this:

The Riley Lightsaber Duel

Next, they want me to figure out how to add the special effects…

I had my first fantasy draft of the season last night. Its a 10 team Yahoo! league and I picked last. All the top RBs were long gone by the time it got to me but I got two picks in a row each time. Edge was the only top back left but he is viewed as “damaged goods” since he is with Arizona this year. I’m hoping his skills will win the day there. Reggie Wayne was available when I got to wide receiver, that’s a no brainer. With the Colts running game in limbo, Manning and crew are going to open up an aerial attack. With Harrison double and triple teamed, Wayne is going to get plenty of catches.
Joseph Addai (the Colts first round pick) was available late so I grabbed him too on the off chance that the good things Manning and Dungy have been saying about him are true. There is talk that he could be the starter early in the season.

QB Daunte Culpepper
WR Reggie Wayne
RB Edgerrin James
TE Heath Miller
WR Santana Moss
RB Ronnie Brown
RB Chester Taylor
QB Ben Roethlisberger
RB Joseph Addai
WR Reggie Brown
WR Matt Jones
QB Mark Brunell
K Shane Graham

Tuesday night is the FamilyLife IS Department Fantasy Football draft.

Since we are kid-less, we thought it would be a good idea to go to a movie over the weekend. And… being the loving husband I am… I let Karen pick the movie. She chose The Lake House. Although I don’t care for most of Keanu’s movies and I can’t stand Sandra Bullock, I have to admit that I wasn’t totally opposed to seeing it. It had the whole “time warp” aspect to the story and I like a good chick flick every now and then.

Overall, it wasn’t too bad, I would have rather waited for the DVD. Keanu did a decent job. He still has that flat delivery but he wasn’t distracting. And Sandra was still annoying but didn’t do to bad either. The plot was completely predictable and had several holes. It seems the fact that they could communicate with each other although separated by a two year gap was accepted as an everyday occurrence by several of the characters.
 Just before the start of the third act I leaned over and told Karen how it was going to end, and it did. Exactly.

After the movie, I told Karen that since I took her to a Keanu Reeves chick flick she would have to watch The Matrix with me.
Side Note: Keanu was made to play three roles. 1) The boyfriend in Parenthood 2) Ted 3) Neo.

We got through half of it last night because Karen had to get to bed early. We will finish it tonight. So far, she isn’t impressed. Somewhere in the Kung-Fu training scene she turned to me and asked, “how did we end up together? We don’t have the same tastes in music or movies.” (paraphrase)

That’s a good question. I guess we have the “making fun of people in public” thing going for us.

Why do TV and movie producers think they have to patronize their viewers when it comes to computers? Its so stupid.

Anytime they show a computer screen it has some strange looking interface with huge flashing text, animations, etc. And when text goes across the screen they play goofy sound effects.

I think a majority of the viewing public has enough experience with computers to know that they don't go “beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep” when someone is typing. My 78 year old grandpa has a laptop for crying out loud!

I think we can handle it.]]>

For anyone with access to a child under 6, here is an experiment to try: 

1) Take an object small enough to hide in one hand. Present both closed hands to the child and ask him to pick the hand with the object.

2) If he picks the hand with the object, take both hands behind your back and switch hands. Then bring both closed hands back to the front, then open the empty hand.

3) If the child first picks the empty hand, open it.

4) The child should then pick the closed hand.

5) Make the behind the back switch and then show the empty hand again.

6) The child should pick the closed hand again.

Keep doing this until you or the child tire of it because he will never figure out that you are making the switch behind your back.

I love messing with kids.

I’m not sure what age they figure it out. I think it may be around 5. Everyone try it out and report your results here.

I’m anxious to see what you find.]]>