in this lucid and damning presentation, jean kilbourne examines the portrayal of women in advertising. pretty much everything which needs to be said on the subject is said here. watch this and risk having your views on advertising irrevocably altered.
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- everything you need to know about gender roles in advertising in 34 minutes
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Walter Wink: Naming the Powers: Language of Power in the New Testament (The Powers : Volume One)
i like wink a lot. anyone who can write an essay entitled "how i got snagged by the seat of my pants while reading the bible" is an instant hit in my book. couple this with an astute academic mind and a sincere desire to discover what it means to follow god in this generation and the man rises to virtual sainthood! this is the first in wink's series on the principalities and "powers" mentioned throughout the bible. it is necessarily the most academic of the three as it sets the groundwork for the subsequent conclusions he pulls out on the other two books. but he writes well and covers the technical ground well. this is an important book (particularly for the evangelical church i feel). wink's central thesis is that both the evangelical tradition (in believing the 'powers' to be wholly other-worldly, AND the liberation theology tradition (in locating the powers solely in this present world) are mistaken. both are challenged here - though his writing will raise the heckles of conservative evangelicals moreso than the liberationists i think. this is a welcome surefire antidote to the inane and socially irresponsible teaching that spiritual warfare is conducted solely (or even mostly) on one's knees, rather than on the picket line, in the workplace, in the voting booth, in the day-to-day of normal living. read it and buy an extra copy for your pastor! (***)David Bodanis: E=mc2: A Biography of the World's Most Famous Equation
an immensely readable account of the equation most people are likely to be able to quote but few can explain. bodanis takes each element in the equation and tells the tale of the people responsible for the major discoveries in that area to show upon whose shoulders einstein stood and what the consequences for the 20th and 21st centuries and beyond have been and are. don't be put off by the scientific nature of the subject matter, it really is written with the non-expert in mind. neat appendices tucked away at the back of the book and a web-site are where those wanting more detail are directed so as not to intimidate or overwhelm the masses. it really does read more like a social commentary/biography than a science book. enlightening and light. a rare combination. nice. (****)Peter Rollins: How (Not) to Speak of God
How_not_to_speak_of_god_cover how (not) to speak of god is an important and beautiful book. we are living in a fractured time. we do not yet know what we are let alone where we are going other than (in rollins’ words) “away-from-here.” we are defined by what we are not (postmodern) and by the fact that we are moving, or emerging, but not yet by what we are or by any final destination. it’s easy to lose hope in this generation. all the enlightenment promises of certainty, provability and universal Truth now look jaded in the cold and often terrifying light of postmodern philosophical thought. into this arena steps my good friend, peter rollins and he is like a breath of fresh air. rollins is uniquely positioned to write this book of popular philosophical a/theology. he hails from the evangelical/charismatic tradition, so he is perfectly placed to offer a sensitive critique to that community; he has a doctorate in philosophy, so he is well-versed in nietzsche, jaques derrida, meister eckhart, jean-luc marion, hans-georg gadamer and so on and is able to appropritate their insights and criticisms into his and our theology; he has been a youth-worker and a conference speaker, so he has well-honed gifts in communication and is adept at making the profound intelligible to ordinary plebs like you and me; and he is actively involved in leadership of a christian community, so these issues are not theoretical to him, but deeply personal and practical. if you’ve heard pete speak you’ll know how passionate he is about these issues. if you have heard him on more than one occasion, then to be honest there will be little new here for you. but that is a long way from saying that the book is not worth buying and reading. i read my copy in one sitting and will no doubt return to it again and again. as i do with every book i read this with a pen and a yellow highlighter in hand so as to be able to remember the important bits and note where i disagreed or was provoked to think about something. it’s now with some sense of dismay that i flick through a book where practically every page has a radioactive glow to it! one of pete's chief gifts is in analogy and parable. how sad it is that jesus’ parables no longer take our breath away. truly great parables always have the audience nodding their heads as the story starts, thinking they know the ending right from the get-go only to be slapped in the face and completely offended by the shocking twist-in-the-tale. rollins stories are clever, poignant, offensive and often very moving. this is not a book of dull theology. this is a book of poetry. rollins’ concern is that people often ask him what he believes but never how he believes. in his view belief should always be transformative “the reversal from ‘right belief’ to ‘believing in the right way’ is in no way a move to some binary opposite of the first (for the opposite of right belief is simply wrong belief); rather, it is a way of transcending the binary altogether. thus orthodoxy is no longer (mis)understood as the opposite of heresy but rather is understood as a term that signals a way of being in the world rather than a means of believing things about the world… it is an approach which emphasises the priority of love: not as something which stands opposed to the knowledge of god, but, more radically still, as knowledge of god… orthodoxy, as believing in the right way, as bringing love to the world around us and within us … that will cost us everything. for to live by that sword, as we all know, is to die by it.” (pg 3.) if you find yourself agreeing with everything rollins says here, he’d probably say himself that you’re not reading carefully enough. this is a book to rock our comfortable boat, to provoke thought, to engage and begin a conversation with the reader. don’t read this if your theology is rock-solid and water-tight, this book will either shatter that faith completely or make you want to crucify the author as a heretic! i guess my only criticism of this book is that it’s left me hungry for more. i wish it had been two books rather than one. the first half of the book is the argument/discussion/theory; the second a series of ten liturgies, used by the ikon community in belfast to attempt to outwork the implications of living for christ today. liturgy needs to be experienced/said/shared to be truly effective. i want more of the thought-provoking insight contained in the first half. roll on book number two. i’m concerned that this review doesn’t do justice to the book. rollins is a much better communicator than i am. his words are much more poetic than mine. if i’ve made it sound dull, philosophical and high-brow i’ve misled you. if you think this is another book of wishy-washy new-age theology again that’s probably my fault, for nothing could be further from the truth. read this book and if you ever get the opportunity, go and listen to this humble pilgrim. it sounds like i’m on his payroll. to be honest i struggle with much of rollin’s insight and thought. as paul tillich points out, “most human beings of course are not able to stand the message of the shaking of the foundations. they reject and attack the prophetic minds, not because they really disagree with them, but because they sense the truth of their words and cannot receive it.” i may disagree with his thinking at times (though I fear he is right more than i like to admit) but his commitment to and love for god are never in question. this book is a call to love god and love people. sit up church. the voice of one calling “in the desert prepare the way of the lord.” there is a transformative message here for those who have ears to hear. (*****)Bruce Ellis Benson: Graven Ideologies: Nietzche, Derrida & Marion on Modern Idolatry
ah what a welcome book! at last an evangelical who actually understands and takes seriously what nietzsche, derrida and marion (as well as many others such as husserl, heidegger, leotard, gadamer...) say. i'm so tired of reading christians, who really ought to know better, wailing a lament for a non-existent time past when everyone 'knew' the Truth, God could be proved and placed in a little rational box, and everyone knew right from wrong. these writers herald deconstructionism and phenomenology as simple relativism leading to inevitable nihilism; they set postmodern philosophy up as a straw man, astonishing (and sedating) us with their intellectual prowess, as they proceed to scare the big, bad, postmodern bogeyman away. benson points out that not only is this bogeyman not going anywhere fast, but he should be welcomed as a friend.
foundationalism is dead and gone - everyone (with the possible exception of the christian writers referred to above) knows this. the enlightenment deceived us. rather than nietzsche being the nihilist, benson points out that he simply pointed out the inevitable nihilism which results from modernism, and the christian morality which ties itself too closely with it.
now that we know that there is no foundation for knowledge (and never has been) which cannot be undermined somehow, benson forces the evangelical church to sit up and ask, 'what now?' here we find help in surprising places (at least for some). benson shows how the three thinkers in his title offer us some possible paths through this crisis.
his writing is clear and engaging and one quickly realises that this is somone who has read beyond the flycover of these authors - he has grappled with their thought at length. this would be a great first introduction to these philosophical greats, and really ought to be read by every thinking christian to see how we in the church ought to 'be' in our time.
brilliant. go. read.
now.
that is all. (*****)Stanley J. Grenz: Renewing the Center: Evangelical Theology in a Post-Theological Era
stan grenz died in march 2005. his voice will be much missed in the contemporary debate within evangelicalism. although holding on to (too?) much traditional evangelical orthodoxy, grenz argues that evangelicals harken back to enlightenment principles (such as decartes' foundational view of epistemology) rather than facing up to the realities of the current thinking and new philosophical discoveries. this book is useful again as it addresses evangelicals in their own terms. no evangelical will be alienated by this book, but will find themselves gently nudged leftwards. therein lies my only criticism: the evangelical church needs dragged kicking and screaming and i wonder if this nudge is too subtle to really do the job. (***)carl raschke: the next reformation: why evangelicals must embrace postmodernity
raschke writes from within the evangelical community. he writes with academic acumen and passion - a rare combination. this book is a really great introduction to the genuine postmodern debate, rather than the characature or straw man often presented in evangelical circles. raschke neither demonises nor lionises postmodernity, but simply shows the opportunities now facing church as a result of this new zeitgeist. rather than ignoring or rejecting culture outright, the church must realise that culture is amoral - available for appropriation and shaping - NOT immoral. that being the case, raschke is unrelenting in revealing just how completely the church has bought in to (or sold out to) modernity. the new challanges postmodernity presents us with as christians cannot be disregarded any longer. fore-warned is fore-armed. this book is apposite counsel. agree or disagree with raschke, he will not be easily dismissed. he is too briefly dismissive of the radical orthodoxy movement and his last couple of chapters are less rigorous and academic than the rest - he seems to come close to suggesting that the charismatic movement is the ideal representation of postmodern church. this could have been remedied by more rigorous editing as it is obvious they would be better suited to a more testimonial-type book. the rest, however, is excellent. (****)E.P. Sanders: Paul: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introduction S.)
this is a lovely series of books - beautifully simple presentation. this one is a reprint of sanders earlier "paul" (1971). he single-handedly changed the way the apostle paul is studied in theology - reponsible for the so-called "new perspective on paul". this is a very readable and enjoyable introduction to the most important christian theologian of all time. whether you've studied theology or not this tiny little book will whet your appetite for more! while you're at it buy a copy for your pastor/minister/priest. easy to fit in your pocket and read in a couple of hours on the train. (****)John Caputo: On Religion (Thinking in Action S.)
ok so jack caputo's a total heretic. tell him something he doesn't know! this book is beautiful. caputo is an inspirational writer. his most mundane prose still rings with a poetry that puts most authors (never mind theologians!) to shame. his thoughts are always challenging (especially to those of an evangelical persuasion) but this is postmodern theology at its best. you don't have to believe everything he says to appreciate the beauty of his thinking. highly recommended. (****)James D. G. Dunn: A New Perspective on Jesus: What the Quest for the Historical Jesus Missed (Acadia Studies in Bible and Theology)
a genuinely fresh insight. james dunn's book attempts to do for jesus what he has previously attempted to do for paul - get back to the original. traditionally trying to get back to the 'real' jesus results in 'the jesus seminar' type approach - religating anything which smacks of the supernatural to get back to 'the historical jesus.' dunn argues tis approach is doomed to fail; that the ONLY record we have of jesus is that written through the eyes of faith. jesus' disciples talked about him, wrote about him, followed him BECAUSE they believed he was the messiah. the 'historical' jesus is therefore synonymous with the christ of faith. wonderful insight. easy to read and thoroughly engaging. a great counter to post-liberal scholarship. a valuable voice in the continuing debate over the nature and identity of jesus. (****)Alain Badiou: Saint Paul: The Foundation of Universalism (Cultural Memory in the Present)
an interesting find this one: an atheist writing on paul! now before you turn away in disdain, he's got some really interesting and profound insight. it's only 128 pages so it's not going to suck up your entire life to take some time looking it over. he argues that paul sees the world in terms of jews and greeks who look to prophets and philosophers respectively as sources of authority. badiou argues that paul is able to appeal for universal acceptance of the truths he proclaims by appealing to apostolic authority in opposition to jewish and greek authority figures. interesting, challenging and insightful. (****)- ed. Merold Westphal: Postmodern Philosophy and Christian Thought
i liike westphal. this book is clear and challenging and includes many diverse responses to postmodernist thought. there is no doubt at all that we are moving beyond modernism yet (as with most things) the church has been slow to respond. this reader, although academic, is very approachable and clearly written. Contributors include: Steven Bouma-Prediger, John D. Caputo, George Connell, Andrew J. Dell'Olio, Garrett Green, Lee Hardy, Brian D. Ingraffia, Walter Lowe, Jean-Luc Marion, Gary Percesepe, Merold Westphal, W. Jay Wood, Norman Wirzba, and Edith Wyschogrod. if there's not someone in that group who gets under your skin and makes you itchy for more, you're just not trying! (****) Brian D. McLaren: A Generous Orthodoxy: Why I Am a Missional, Evangelical, Post/Protestant, Liberal/Conservative, Mystical/Poetic, Biblical, Charismatic/Contemplative, Fundamentalist/Calvinist, Anabaptist/Anglican, Methodist, Catholic, Green, Incarnational, Depressed-yet-Hopeful, Emergent, Unfinished CHRISTIAN
What a breath of fresh air Brian McLaren is. He's another one like Jimmy Dunn who encourages me to stay within the evangelical church. he's DELIBERATELY provocative and abstruse to encourage and open up discussion rather than close it down (a point many of his detractors seem to forget!) He tries to take the best from the many traditions within Christendom while generously overlooking their weaknesses. of course i don't agree with all he says. but of course i've never found an author with whom i totally agree. How dull if i did! that's what makes them thought-provoking and challenging to me! fresh and inspiring. (*****)D. A. Carson: Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church : Understanding a Movement and Its Implications
ok so it's carson so you prety much know from the outset where he's coming from. I'm fascinated by the emerging church movement (no doubt you'll read more and more about it on this site.) The biggest criticism i have of the it is that often it's a movement in search of a theology. although carson critiques the movement from the right he gives a more sympathetic hearing to emerging church than you might think. it's certainly a good book to introduce mainstream to conservative evangelicals to the opportunities (as well as what carson sees as some pitfalls) presented by living in our times. (***)G.K. Chesterton: Orthodoxy
what do you mean you haven't read this???!!! Stop wasting your time on the internet and GET THIS BOOK!!! I first read this book 15 years ago but i think it's only now that i'm appreciating the sheer genius of the man! If anyone can read chapter 4 'The Ethics of Elfland' without a huge smile on their face i'll eat ... well at least a donut on your behalf!! Truly postmodern apologetics at it's best. Chesterton argues persuasivley that the MOST real and factual things we know do not come through science or mathematics but fairy tales. GENIUS!!! (*****)Leonard Sweet: Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives
Another book that gives me hope. The Church in general and the evangelical church in particular seems hell-bent on ignoring culture at best or, in the scant attention it does pay, seems to be focused soley on denouncing rather than on understanding and assimilating where appropriate. This book is a good popular attempt to support a dialogue within the evangelical church on various options for progress. The foramat of this book is also novel and interesting. Each of the authors writes their owb chapters (coming from very disparate theological stances within evangelicalism) which are interspersed in grayscale with supportive or argumentative responses from the other authors. [Not really sure i'm communicating that well. Take a wee look at the book and you'll instantly understand what i'm talking about.] The overall impression becomes one of an emerging conversation and discussion rather than a univocular polemic. This isn't an academic book (i mean that in a good way!) so definitely pick it up and give it a go. (****)Anthony C. Thiselton: The First Epistle to the Corinthians (New International Greek Testament Commentary Series)
Well it's not exactly a quick read weighing in at an astounding 1480 pages but this commentary is EXCELLENT. What can i say. I've had the privilege of being taught by Anthony. He's a legend. Reading Anthony is like reading EVERYONE who's ever said ANYTHING theological about 1st Corinthians. It's easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer enormity of the research this volume represents, but Anthony's style is always fresh and engaging. He gives his own translation from the Greek and then gives lucid and (IMHO) balanced comment on the various positions that have been taken on this letter while not hesitating to nail his own colours to the mast. This is highly recommended for anyone who has an interest in hermeneutics or Pauline theology in general or 1st Corinthians in particular. (*****)James Dunn: The Theology of Paul the Apostle
jimmy dunn's a bit of a star. he's one of the authors that keeps me calling myself an evangelical. if there's room for the likes of him there's room for me. his writing is easy to read, scholarly and engaging - an unusual mix! add to this dunn's ability to take on board the latest theological discoveries on Paul without losing the wonder of the salvation Paul himself seeks to describe and proclaim and you've got a great theology text. (****)Bible & Culture Collective: The Postmodern Bible
an interesting collection of essays on various approaches adopted by postmodern theologians to biblical criticism - including reader-response, deconstructionalist and a host of others. (***)
sites to see
- atto :: helloatto.com
this is the site of my good friends pete and heather. you've just gotta take a wee look. they're doing some really lovely things in visual communication. their main focus at the moment is on interactive children's books which are really quite delicious. pete worked for me when madministries was a thing. he made me look good. the site's still there (www.madministries.com) if you want to go see though mad* has expired long ago and is no more. everything that looks lovely here, from web design to posters for cheap date all originated in his wee head. how clever! - emergingchurch.info : a touching place for the emerging church
this is a place which intrigues me. you'll be challenged, provoked, infuriated and hopefully enlightened (maybe even altered?!) especially check out pete rollins wee interview at http://www.emergingchurch.info/stories/cafe/peterollins/index.htm. nice. - ikon - belfast
a rare and beautiful thing: an emerging church with thought and theology behind it! the founding guy behind it, pete rollins (philosopher/theologian/prophet/guru/teller of tales) is a good friend of mine. i miss seeing him more regularly now we live over in chester but i don't think there's anyone in my life who challenges my thinking more than pete. he's probably the smartest person i've met but isn't totally arsey with it - another rarity! we disagree frequently and vigorously but pete has an integrity linking his theology to his life which means he is always worth listening to and learning from. he says people ask too often what he believes but rarely want to know 'how' he believes; how his belief alters him, betters him, makes him more like jesus. in this vein i think pete believes well. - madministries.com
well the site may look a little outdated now but back in the day it was way ahead of the field thanks to the genius of pete kerr. what's more important is the content. i founded mad* in 1999 and worked for it for three very happy years before moving over to Chester. read some of the testimonies of people who where impacted by this ministry. it was such a privelege to be involved. hopefully Fake will take things in a new and even more exciting direction. - Third Way Magazine
i've subscribed to Third Way for over a decade now. every issue there'll be at least one article which will cause you to think. the only christian magazine in the uk worth handing over your hard-earned cash for. essential reading! - wee alli's page
this is the page of my beautiful, smart wee wife alli, with all her thoughts and musings on life and stuff. click constantly on it as she's much more faithful at updating than i am! o and she's nice. - Welcome to Emergent Village
it was brian mclaren who first switched me on to this project. come and be.
links
molly and make-believe in a man's world
philip larkin's famous poem haunts me:
this be the verse
they fuck you up, your mum and dad
they may not mean to, but they do.
they fill you with the faults they had
and add some extra, just for you.
but they were fucked up in their turn
by fools in old-style hats and coats,
who half the time were soppy-stern
and half at one another's throats.
man hands on misery to man.
it deepens like a coastal shelf.
get out as early as you can,
and don't have any kids yourself.
they fuck you up, your mum and dad
they may not mean to, but they do.
they fill you with the faults they had
and add some extra, just for you.
but they were fucked up in their turn
by fools in old-style hats and coats,
who half the time were soppy-stern
and half at one another's throats.
man hands on misery to man.
it deepens like a coastal shelf.
get out as early as you can,
and don't have any kids yourself.
but larkin's advice comes too late for me (miraculously, wondrously too late!) and now i'm left wondering how exactly i'm going to mess molly's little life and if i've even done some damage already. i know, i know - all i can do is my best and there's no point in getting into paralysing navel-gazing, but there's also something healthy in my paranoia. in being aware of the potential for harm my hope is that i can mitigate against at least some of it.
alli and i have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about how we will teach molly about the issues surrounding sex and sexuality. from mtv, to billboard advertising, to disney, molly is growing up in a culture that is obsessed with sex and ambivalent about sexuality.
molly is also blessed/cursed with a dad who (over)thinks pretty much everything, pretty much all the time. i love her so much and am determined to do everything within my power to help her actualise her full potential. yet, at the same time, i recognise that there are principalities and powers that are, even right now, waging war against her. molly has not arrived in a world which celebrates equality and justice for all. there is a perfidious patriarchy, a heterosexual hegemony at work in our culture against which, and within which, alli and i are determined to help her fight.
one's sex is biologically determined - we are born male, female or intersex; our gender, however, is a different matter. while some argue that masculine and feminine characteristics are innate, most people accept that culture plays a significant role in their construction. radical feminists believe masculine and feminine are entirely societal constructs and this belief has led to the decision of a swedish couple not to divulge the sex of their child to anyone outside of the small group involved in changing the child's diapers/nappies. they do not use pronouns when referring to the child, known only as "pop", and, while not making any attempt to hide pop's sex from popself, they want to do all they can to ensure their child is seen as a person first and is not limited by cultural expectations as to what is, or is not, appropriate for a particular gender.
many people have been horrified by this decision; some have even said it is abusive, which is ridiculous. i think the parents are courageous. some object to parents pushing their ideological beliefs on their child before that child is able to give informed consent, but doesn't every parent do this anyway? we impose our standards of right and wrong and often our religious sensibilities without pausing to consider whether the child should have the right to opt out of this indoctrination. in this regard, these parents are no different.
even language is against molly. it makes me mad to think that some may hold molly's sex against her. if molly shows a proclivity for acting, some will call her an "actress" - in the 21st century! why would her gender be a factor in her occupation? will she be an engineeress, a teacheress, a directoress, or a politicianess? it's patronising and ridiculous. it's also infuriating that the pay gap between men and women is actually widening in canada, the us and the uk - what's that all about? molly has a struggle ahead of her.
so, how are we to help equip her for the struggle? it can't simply be a matter of one talk when she's older - culture is what we swim in. all the time. we want to give molly some tools and questions and stories she can draw on when she finds herself conflicted in this crazy mixed-up world.
at the moment, our big concern is the stories we tell molly. fairy tales are (as chesterton put it) "the wisest things in the world, at any rate the wisest things of worldly origin." the stories we tell one another are the distilled essence of everything we truly, in our very heart-of-hearts, believe. so, when we actually analyse these tales for their wisdom, what do we learn:
- being rich equals being happy
- girls need to find a man to be complete
- hetrosexual love is the only game in town
- girls are damsels in distress, needing to be rescued (by a guy, of course)
- single women are evil witches
- step-mothers should be feared
much has been written of the gender inequality in disney and pixar. have you ever looked closely at how women are portrayed in these movies? it is shameful! there are some exceptions to the rule: fiona is a pretty strong character in shrek; mulan, pocahontas. however, try finding any accompanying merchandise for these characters and you will, almost certainly, be out of luck. shrek and donkey are two-a-penny; fiona and mulan - rare collectors' pieces. are these the stories which will shape molly?
what about the stories that will come to molly from the church? to be honest, i don't think it is any different from the message she would get from the secular world around her: stories told by men, about men, for men. i've written much about this before, so i will refrain from commenting, other than to say how encouraged i was to read about jimmy carter's recent decision to sever all formal ties with the southern baptist church over its doctrinal stance on the inequality of women. perhaps the story is changing?
there has to be a different way. would it surprise you to hear that in many eastern and third world traditions the stories centre around people who actually give up their wealth in order to achieve wisdom (including, of course, the life story of siddhārtha gautama, the buddha himself)? they recognise at least one central truth: that being wise is more important than being rich. in japanese anime females are often the lead character. in fact, this is so much the case that it is rarely noted by japanese kids when they are watching - it's not a girl, it's a person - a hero! in the west male is always the generic gender; female is always particular.
all these things have led us to examine the stories we are already reading to molly and to think very carefully about which stories which will be the soundtrack to her growing up and how we can tell them to her.
so what do you think? how do you cope living with such inequality, whether expressed and implicit? how do you encourage the next generation to overcome it?
teach, o wise ones, teach!
dear molly - happy four month birthday!
dear molly,
happy four month birthday!
what a month it's been for you my beautiful girl! i've been checking for signs since before you were born and i can now happily report that spring has almost sprung! there are teeny, tiny buds on some of the trees and a huge swathe of blue melt now cuts through the ice on the river. everything is beginning to change and you are no exception! this has been a month of big changes in you and it has been a joy to be there watching you grow into the world.
you discovered your feet this month! it has come as something of a revelation to you that these alien, wriggling things are actually attached to you – both of them! - and you spend long, long minutes just wiggling your toes and staring at them. this has caused your mum and i endless moments of joy (honestly, we're laughing with you!)
by-the-way, what is it with you and your complete inability to have a quiet poo?! we rarely, if ever, have to guess when you're in need of a diaper/nappy change, since you so thoughtfully furbish us with a rich and thunderous soundscape to announce the need every single time you go! there's absolutely nothing subtle or ladylike about the whole thing – you need to understand – walls and windows shudder and eardrums threaten to explode!
what is especially endearing is when you perform this feat in public, before an audience of strangers – say, for example, in a quiet coffee shop. there's no way we could ever convince the stunned onlookers that such a noise ever came from such a tiny person, so all we do is try to avert our eyes from their offended stares and try to become momentarily invisible!
Continue reading "dear molly - happy four month birthday!" »
gran torino is really more of a sad, old loser-cruiser!
so clint eastwood’s latest movie has finally reached us in backwoods new brunswick. i’m a huge eastwood fan. unforgiven, million dollar baby and pale rider rank among my favourite movies. so i was really looking forward to seeing the last movie in which eastwood himself will act.
gran torino was touted as a definite contender for oscar nomination. in the end it was pipped to the post. the movie scores an impressive 8.4 at the moment in the internet movie database and rates at 80% in rotten tomatoes! it is clint eastwood’s biggest grossing movie ever in the us and the uk.
i’d like to take a moment, however, to swim against this excremental tide and state categorically that the shame is not that clint missed out on his nomination, but that the movie was ever considered oscar material in the first place! please understand, i am not saying that gran torino isn’t quite as good as critics have made it out to be, or that the eventual nominees just squeezed this great movie out of a deserved shot at oscar immortality; no, i am saying that this movie is utterly appalling, bereft of artistic merit and should be avoided at all cost! i cannot remember a movie for which i had such high expectations, which, upon viewing, i detested so thoroughly.
Continue reading "gran torino is really more of a sad, old loser-cruiser!" »
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