QUADRIVIUM

Since I’m technically on vacation right now, I’ve taken some time to do a little free writing.  This morning, an idea that had started germinating in my head the other leapt onto the page and started to take shape.  I wanted to tell about someone struggling through college who does stand-up comedy on the side for money.  I used to work with a guy who did stand-up, and we used to talk about his appearances.  I figured that I could fake it well enough for the time being, at least to fulfill the needs of a first draft. 

The problem, however, was in coming up with a routine.  I like to think that I have a decent sense of humor.  I can crack a joke and know a little about timing.  But I wrote something today that sums up the struggle I’m facing… 

Funny is a gift.  Many people are funny by accident, and almost no one is funny by choice.  When you’re funny by choice, and you walk out on stage the first time, you know they’re going to eat you alive. 

Almost no one working in comedy today has the same genius as Robin Williams or Billy Crystal.  Stand-up, like any creative craft, requires knowledge of the form and study of the method.  It requires watching professionals ply their trade and, learning from them, and taking lots of notes. 

In short, I have in one afternoon made a lot of work for myself, because even though the writing I did this morning will not make you laugh, it’s become a dogged effort, like trying to hit all the lights green on the way to work.  And you know you won’t be happy until you do. 

I don’t make it to the theater as much as I’d like, so, we can consider this a kind of unfinished wish list. 

One Missed Call

The Brave One

Elizabeth – The Golden Age

The Spiderwick Chronicles

3:10 to Yuma

I would have posted a link to Stardust, which I will (hopefully) see this weekend, but I could not get the Quicktime trailer to load.  You can see a version of lesser quality here.

More than a year ago, I wrote out a story for a magazine called Standard—a weekly collection of short inspirational stories put out by the Nazarene Publishing House—and submitted it for publication. 

Whenever I mail out a manuscript (which doesn’t happen as often as it should), I am filled with excitement for about a week before I settle into this calm patience.  I didn’t hear anything for six months, so just I chalked it up to rejection.  Publishers are not required to send you a rejection letter when you’re just a freelancer peddling your own work. 

I stepped in the door last night, and my wife pointed to this wrapped parcel on the ottoman.  “Open it,” she said. 

I tore away the paper and saw that, whatever it was, it was framed.  Maybe my wife had blown up a picture of the baby, I wondered.  If so, it was going to be a big portrait.  I turned it over, and saw she had framed a letter. 

The first line delivered the news that the editors of Standard had accepted the piece.  14 months after it was written. I held the frame in my hand like an exited child for probably half an hour before I mustered the courage to put it back down. 

This is the first fictional piece anyone has ever accepted.  The story will appear in print next summer.

Just saw this on The Point…

On Wednesday, Taliban militants released a total of 12 South Korean hostages, part of the group of 19 Christian aid workers who have been held for nearly six weeks [two had been executed and two released prior to this].

The kidnappers freed the 10 women and two men in three separate groups, a day after South Korea announced its team of negotiators in Afghanistan had reached a deal with them.

[…]

Under the terms of an agreement reached on Tuesday. . . Seoul promised to halt all Christian missionary work in Afghanistan.

Somewhere in Seoul, a stone has just learned how to speak. 

I’ve lurked around Triablogue long enough that I figured I ought to just put the link onto the sidebar and move on.  At least now it’ll be three clicks closer to viewing than it was before.  The writers of Triablogue devote themselves to a thorough knowledge of scripture aimed at apologetics.  And while they might not understand the concept of brevity, the material is always worth the read.  Even if some of them are reformed. 

Jeffery Overstreet writes movie reviews for Christianity Today (UPDATE – he’s even written a couple of books; I can’t believe I forgot to mention that).  And he has a blog, The Looking Closer Journal, which I just discovered Monday.  Overstreet writes from the perspective that, secular or no, excellence in film reflects the excellence of the Father of creativity.  I value his perspectives, hence, his placement on the distinguished Quadrivium blogroll.

Remember, earning you place on the distinguished Quadrivium blogroll means earning your way into…yeah, there just isn’t anywhere to go with this. 

Cheerio.

I think that I am done playing with the header now.  When you blog on the cheap, you have to make due with what’s available, and while WordPress does its best to make a good blog, they keep the available themes pretty slim. 

Therefore, you have to go for as many options as possible, and the header can do a lot for the look of a theme.  I still don’t think I really have this one nailed to what I saw in my head.  I’ll probably tweak it here and there.  But for now, it ought to stick. 

This fall, unless critics get their way, CBS will air a new reality show called Kid Nation where 40 kids between the ages of eight and 15 are cordoned away without adult supervision to try and build a society on their own. 

Several have called for CBS to pull the plug and cancel the show due to various ethical and safety concerns. 

While there is a part of me that finds the concept intriguing, I understand and sympathize with the criticism.  Whether it ought to be aired or not, I don’t know.  I wasn’t going to watch it anyway.

Between the ages of eight and 15, there are not a lot of acquired social skills that can even contribute to a society, let alone build one.  Just look at your average middle school. 

I spoke with CalvinDude about this earlier, and he, like many other critics, highlighted the Lord of the Flies comparisons.  William Golding’s novel paints a brutal parable of animal youth that, when looked at through a theological lens, offers profound insights on the concept depravity.  Between the ages of eight and 15, kids are still figuring out their moral compasses.  And their experimentation tends to spiral into disaster without moral and temperate guidance.  Maybe you’re right, CalvinDude…maybe it is a stupid idea. 

My feeling remains, however, that if they pull the plug on this, they ought to pull the plug on half the middle schools in America too. 

There are many times when I sit down at the keyboard to write that I just end up sitting there, staring at the cursor.  I can’t write because I just don’t feel like it.  The words just aren’t there; the familiar rhythm of the narrative is nowhere to be found. 

The same thing, I believe, occurs in other disciplines, whether it’s reading the Bible or exercising your abs.  It’s why so many people drop their resolutions three weeks after New Year’s. 

A friend of mine approached me once, Bible in hand, a smile on his face, and he said, “You know, you can’t hunger for the Bible unless you read it.” 

Good point there.  Especially in light of the attention Mother Teresa’s legacy has received over the recent revelation of her struggles.  The struggle to believe is something every sincere believer faces at some point.  John Wesley suffered for years pondering whether the Gospel he preached every week was even true.  J.K. Rowling has illustrated her own struggle to believe through the final volume of Harry Potter.  I struggled similarly about three years into college.  And the difference, I believe, comes in the exercise of doing.  Just believing.  Just reading.  Just writing.  Usually, you can emerge on the other side free of the struggle, hungering for more. 

Remembering that encourages me.  After all, John Wesley made it to Aldersgate.  Harry made to King’s Cross.  I made it too, though the place doesn’t really have a name.  And I still struggle at times.  But I keep going.  Because when I do, like when I write, I can feel His pleasure. 

***BEGIN RANT***

There isn’t enough variety on the radio. 

I know I am not the first to complain about this.  I won’t be the last, either.  I probably shouldn’t even waste my time writing about such a tired and universal subject, but while the majority of civilization already has an iPod, there is a small pocket of humanity, of whom I am a member, who has yet to plug in.  I depend on my radio to get me through those endless, dreary summer hours of the work day. 

The wisdom that goes into creating a daily playlist eludes me.   Perhaps it is something one picks up earning that degree in broadcasting.  Whatever it is, I can’t see it; not unless it means taking the previous day’s playlist and just shuffling the cuts. 

Decent singles that seem to live in the top 40 forever disappear while cuts from artists long since retired get a spin at least thrice a day.  I once considered purchasing the “Best of Hootie and the Blowfish” until I realized I could hear their music any time I wanted.  I just turn on the radio and wait a few minutes.  And I don’t have to pay $11.50, which is even better.  Writers don’t make a whole lot of money, you know. 

Then there are the more contemporary talents that get played every hour—like Gwen Stefani—while greater, more established talents are ignored.  It with no small measure of shame that I admit I can actually recite some of the lyrics to “The Sweet Escape.”  But to enjoy U2, I have to pop in a CD.  Although Will Smith is still getting some play out here in the Rockies. 

Sheesh. 

***END OF RANT***

When 24 was first announced in early 2001, I remember thinking it would last maybe a year, and if it worked, perhaps the creators could revisit the concept every now and then.  Kiefer Sutherland had already established himself in film, and the career renovating move to television was something film actors had yet to embrace.  Six years later, the show has become a veritable phenomenon. 

Each season of 24, if you don’t already know, follows one day in the life of CTU agent Jack Bauer and his efforts to combat international terrorism.  In real time.  Each hour of television follows an actual hour of the story. 

The constraints required for developing such a show proved challenging at first.  After the first season, executives had toyed with changing the format – like centering each episode on a 24 hour event.  However, the creative minds propelling this series have managed to perfect their efforts, some of which do strain credibility (for instance, in the world of 24, you can get anywhere in Los Angeles in under thirty minutes), but after a while, you stop caring.  The narrative drive is too swift.  It recalls what I imagine the old matinee cliffhanger serials were like. 

In order to maintain the event-like advent of the show every year, Fox does not air re-runs.  Starting with season five, two years ago, Fox began airing episodes in January to allow for 24 unbroken weeks of all-new episodes.  Fortunately, with the advent of boxed-set DVDs, I am able to enjoy each hour back to back. 

After watching four seasons (or days), I have to believe that Jack Bauer is the quintessential post-modern warrior.  Fierce, intelligent, determined, noble, and courageous.  He can make the tough calls. 

The first season of the show began just after 9/11.  Since, 24 has become a kind of fictionalized rendering of the threats posed by those who would exact their evil intent on the United States.  One of Jack’s defining characteristics is his ability to extract information through somewhat brutal means (torture).  This, of course, has drawn its share of criticism, everywhere from members of Congress to even Stephen King.  For me, it’s a bit of a dilemma.  Jack faces moments upon which the very fate of the country depend.  Make no mistake; this is a man you want at your side when you go to war.  Wars are made up of many conflicts, some of which involve only two individuals, and their actions can shape whole continents.  The strength with which noble men meet evil should not fall under such simplistic scrutiny. 

One admirable facet of the show’s development is the tragic nobility in some of the characters, most notably CTU director George Mason.  Mason comes across as a worm when we meet him in season one, and by season two, little has changed.  The events of the second day eventually catapult this man into a mode of sheer courage and fidelity.  However mired his intent may be in light of his circumstances, his sacrifice takes on a kind of heroic martyrdom. 

As I begin season five, I feel a strong sense of anticipation.  I even have the CTU ring tone on my phone at work.  Some have called the latter half of day 5 some of the best television 24 has ever delivered and I am anxious to see what develops.  President Logan inspires anything but confidence.  And I never thought I could hate Sean Astin.  By now, everyone else is comfortable in their roles, and I am quite comfortable watching them play.