Art Show

My oldest put on his first art show. He picked out his 'artist clothes' and showed everyone his work and told us about it. It was a small, but intimate gathering: me, his mother, and his little brother (who decided to take on the role of 'the elephant in the room'--which we were careful not to talk about).

White grape juice and crackers were served, while acoustic music played in the background. (A little Jack Johnson, oh yeah.) The pieces displayed were from his acclaimed "Fall and Halloween" phase. Anyway, without further ado, here is the artist and some of his work:

The artist




Watercolor Jack-o-Spiders




The artist talks about his influences, you know... Maurice Sendak, Eric Carle, Charles Shultz.




Welcoming the guests

The juxtaposition of the smiley face and the ghost's expression can be interpreted many ways, of course. What does it say to you?

An art patron is simply awed as the artist describes the scope of his vision.

There you have it folks. His first successful art show. I'll let you know when the tour begins.

Martian Child

Go rent this movie. Here's a brief synopsis from the official site (paraphrased):

A recently widowed science fiction writer (John Cusack) adopts a young boy that claims to be from Mars. The new father ignores some sage parenting advice from his sister (Joan Cusack) and gets more than he bargained for when a series of strange occurrences leaves him wondering if the child’s claim may be true. Based on an award-winning short story by sci-fi luminary David Gerrold.

Gerrold is the writer of the classic Star Trek episode "The trouble with tribbles". The short story this movie grew from is based on some experiences with his adopted son.

What really struck me about this movie is how it reminded me in certain places of my own child. Our oldest has an autism diagnosis. He is highly functional, and unless someone told you, you probably would not guess it. He learns a little differently, and at times you have to be creative in how you relate to him. He is certainly imaginative and has a little trouble sometimes understanding the difference between 'real' and 'pretend'.

More than that, though, this movie also reminded me of my own childhood. To a degree I was that little boy in a box. Much more inward than my own son, in fact. I can remember the solitude and difficulty relating to my own peers, and how I would escape into my own imagination and later into books. Had there been more awareness then, I'm pretty sure I would've been diagnosed as being somewhere on the autism spectrum. And probably in a more classical sense than my boy. Educating myself about my son's condition resulted in a lot of 'lightbulb' moments about my own past. A lot of, 'so that's what that was about', kind of things.

There is one very telling scene in the movie, when John Cusack's character is at an event to promote an upcoming book. When he doesn't deliver the expected manuscript to his publisher, giving her something quite different instead, she erupts saying "Why can't you just be what we want you to be?"

I think a lot of people can relate to that. In fact, anyone with a creative bent, or a slightly skewed way of looking at the world will really 'get' this movie, and realize, like I did, that you're not as alone as you think. There's a lot of us 'out of the box' people out there. (Somewhat ironic, I thought, that the 'out of the box' kid, was hiding inside a box.) And even people who are 'normal' (I prefer the more accurate term neurotypical), will find a whole heap of reasons to enjoy this movie.

All my asides aside, this is probably one of the most underrated films out on DVD right now. Do yourself a huge favor and go rent it.

What I'm reading.

Philip Yancey is always a good read. "Where is God when it hurts" was the first book of his that I read. Right now I am reading this one:




In 'The Jesus I Never Knew', Yancey explores the life of Jesus, putting everything into historical and cultural context to gain a better picture of what it must have been like to observe the extraordinary events unfolding as Jesus traveled and taught.


So far it's the best book I've read in a long time. It came out over ten years ago, and I'm just now getting around to it. As amazon says: [Yancey examines three fundamental questions: who Jesus was, why he came, and what he left behind. Step by step, scene by scene, Yancey probes the culture into which Jesus was born and grew to adulthood; his character and mission; his teachings and miracles.]


This book really gives me a sense of how my concept of Jesus (and Christianity) has been distorted by my culture and, hence, the lens through which I've viewed Him. One thing I do know: I want to see Him more clearly, understand what He was really saying, and have a faith that reflects Him accurately.


One day when we get to heaven, I'm going to ask Him to fire up that big old 'Holodeck in the sky'. (They do have one up there, you know.) And then I'm going to walk the dusty streets of first century Israel and see it all for myself.

How many times can you watch the A&E version of 'Pride and Prejudice'?

Every time that Georgia Public Television puts it on, of course. My wife and I love this version of the story. It has somehow become the definitive one and, whether he likes it or not, has assured that Colin Firth will forever be 'Mr. Darcy'.

There's worse things in life than that I guess.

Chick Flicks: subgenre - the Romantic Comedy

Sure they're formulaic, but most genres are. If you are looking for a good movie to sit down and watch with your wife, then check this one out. One ingredient of a believable story is having well drawn characters, by which I mean the good guys are not all good and the bad guys are not all bad. Such is the case here.

Katherine Heigl is one of those actresses who doesn't look like a carbon copy of all the magazine models. She has that girl-next-door appeal and can flat out act. James Marsden's character lays on the cynicism so heavily that you know it's nothing but an attempt to hide the fact that he really has a heart of gold. And the tension as they both pull each other toward a center that they both need is perfect.

My only nits about romantic comedies (or I guess most secular movies) is that I find their worldview a bit bothersome. Premarital sex bothers me. You can relieve some of the sexual tension without putting your leads in bed together. Which is what I loved about 'Once'; the leads there never even kiss (but that was an indie film and not a romantic comedy). Even so, this movie is pretty tame by most standards. Sure there is some profanity, but not gratuitously so. And the movie ends on a really, really uplifting note.

Which is what I love about this genre's formula.

William Cullen Bryant

"So live, that when thy summons comes to join
The innumerable caravan which moves
To that mysterious realm, where each shall take
His chamber in the silent halls of death,
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams."

That's the last stanza of the poem Thanatopsis by William Cullen Bryant. (My daddy will quote it for you from memory thanks to one of his high school English teachers.)

I've mentioned before that I like good poetry. Bryant is one of those who wrote a few gems that have stuck around, but most people have never heard of him. I remember my daddy quoting the above portion once and just impressing the heck out of me.

Later I stumbled across his poem A Forest Hymn. With an opening line like "The groves were God's first temples" you know it's going to be good. But here is my favorite part:

"Lo! all grow old and die—but see again,
How on the faltering footsteps of decay
Youth presses,—ever-gay and beautiful youth
In all its beautiful forms. These lofty trees
Wave not less proudly that their ancestors
Moulder beneath them."

I liked it so much I quoted it in a short story that I wrote. (Which I'm now expanding into a novel, in case you cared.)

Anyway, go check out some of his poetry. Here's a link:

http://www.nagasaki-gaigo.ac.jp/ishikawa/amlit/b/bryant19ro.htm

An unbiased critique

Here is some amazing artwork by a child prodigy that just so happens to live in my house.



My 5 year old son drew this. Pretty amazing! This is a self portrait, by the way. We had been watching The Incredibles shortly before he did this. Notice the red suit and the unmistakable 'i' in the center of his chest. He also does things like drawing the hands and feet and then drawing gloves and boots right on top of them. I'm not sure what the little character to his right is supposed to be. Have to ask him about that. I am impressed by the fact that he actually draws ears, hair, eyes with pupils and colored irises, and even nostrils in the nose.

Here's another one:



Wow! Another masterpiece. Notice the minimalist approach to the architecture. Monochrome with simple lines and soft, almost amorphous geometric shapes. And then right there, suspended on a thin web between two of the buildings...bang! A splash of trademark red and blue! It's like he instinctively knows how to strategically place and draw attention to a focal point. As with the previous drawing, he actually draws his subject (this time Peter Parker) and then layers the costume over him.

Even at such a young age, it is apparent that the boy is a budding artistic genius.

Indie films

Yet one more aspect in which I am oh so cultured. (I mentioned poetry in an earlier post and was immediately persecuted by my one loyal reader.) I like a good independent film. Notice I said a 'good' one. I'll define that word someday.

There are plenty of pretentious, artsy-fartsy, films out there, and you stumble across plenty of them when you take a chance on an indie film. But every once in a while you find one that really shines. Here I'll talk about a few of these:

Smoke Signals. I liked this one so much that I bought a copy for myself. It is based upon the short story 'This is what it means to say Phoenix, Arizona' by Sherman Alexie, from his collection "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven".

There is a scene toward the end that is probably one of the most powerful visual expressions of forgiveness that I have ever seen on film. It is of the main character, Victor, dumping his father's ashes into a river, after travelling across the state to get them and take them to this place. It is so powerful, because all along the film we see where his father failed him and how it affected Victor. We also catch glimpses into his father's struggles and why he abandoned the son. The scene also contains a voice-over of another main character, Thomas, reciting the poem "How do we forgive our fathers" by Dick Lourie. (Wunderkraut should love that!) Go look it up on YouTube. I'd post it here, but I haven't figured out how to yet.

Another really good indie that is out now is "Once". It is more or less a musical. Irish musician Glen Hansard plays the male lead, a street musician in Dublin who is pining away for the girl who left him, while another girl enters his life and gives him the motivation he needs to get on with his life. The music is acoustic and melancholy. This is one that is out now, and should be easy to find. A good date film. Warning: the language is a bit rough in places, but not what I would call gratuitously so.

And finally: American Movie. This is so funny. It is about two lovable slackers trying their darndest to make a movie. It is probably the most hilarious documentary ever made. Mark Borchardt is so determined that you can't help but pull for him. I mean, the dude has his mama wearing a black hooded cloak out in the middle of the Wisconsin winter, enacting a scene for his film "Coven". It is at times almost a movie within a movie. If you can still find this one, snatch it up. One caveat: guys will probably dig this one, while women just won't get it.

There you go. Some good films for a cold weekend. Check 'em out.

I dig poetry

I like good poetry. One of my favorite poems is by a guy born right here in Georgia. His name is David Bottoms. Here is a link to "Under the Vulture Tree":

http://www.poetryoutloud.org/poems/poem.html?id=175602

A good book

Disclaimer: As I write this, there are fourteen to twenty kids yelling in the background. Okay, there are only four but it sounds like a lot more. So if this post is kind of rocky, well it's only halfway because of my normal scatterbrainedness.

Anywho. On to the topic at hand. A good book. I love sitting down with a good one, I'm trying in my spare time to write a good one. I've succeeded in writing a very rough draft of a somewhat mediocre one. I love fiction in particular, but every once in a while someone will turn me onto a good non-fiction one.

For Christmas my wife bought me a book by one of my heroes. It's somewhat autobiographical, but the main focus seems to be the empire he built and how he watched it nearly crumble.

It's called "Me, myself, and Bob". It's by Phil Vischer, the creator of VeggieTales. I'm only a third of the way through, but can already whole-heartedly recommend it. It's an easy read, but with a lot of depth, insight, humor, and honesty.

http://www.amazon.com/Me-Myself-Bob-Talking-Vegetables/dp/0785222073/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198956860&sr=8-1