movies

I just wasted 20 minutes cataloging my favorite movies on facebook. I found the most useful list review for this purpose was the list of nominees for the Academy Award for best original screenplay. I got this idea from my American film professor at Cascadia Community College, Ed Messerly. He said that the original screenplay award actually means something, unlike the important politicized awards. On that note, I'm pretty sure that Sean Penn winning the best actor award had much more to do with prop 8 than good acting. They wanted Sean to get up there and shame everybody who voted for the ban, and sneer at those bigots outside in their American cars. As a columnis for the Economist said, the Oscar ceremonies reveal "an industry talking to itself." I disagree with the main thrust of his article (that the Academy should focus on the movies people like, rather than those they think are good) but I agree with him on that point.

ThefearofhellkeepsmeaChristian

[sorry if this sounds like I'm starting in the middle of something] After quite a bit of wrestling with the idea, I accepted the hell doctrine as a necessary part of orthodox Christianity. The most awful part of it is that eventually someone dies, and you must admit that the doctrine applies to that person as well, either to their benefit or not. Right now, I'll admit that I'm not feeling very sympathetic to the idea. The only ideas I agree with less are all the others. I feel that way about the Christian faith itself sometimes, that its the worst religion going except for all those other damned lousy religions. The one that seems most naturally amenible to my personality, is just plain hedonism. In fact, I practice this religion more than my Christian faith, which is why I believe the observance of accursed Lent to be very important. I know that hedonism is vacuous; the pursuit of pleasure does not lead to more pleasure. No one is more miserable than the trust fund baby who has all the resources that anyone could ever need to sate their desires. Pleasure just visits sometimes, and you can't do anything to make it stay or go or come back. The hell with pleasure, then! Let's pursue something else, uh, vocational success! love!! the praise of others!?! cool clothes? All this stuff is junk. Let's not pursue anything. Let's flee something. Hell. Hell, for me, is one concept that has never its concreteness. It's always been very real to me, even when I've not believed in it. And fleeing hell is the same thing a pursuing virtue. You may be doing any number of other things, thinking you're fleeing hell. If you're not pursuing virtue, you're still dangling by that spider's thread.

The seminary student next to me has a copy of the Authorized Version of the Bible, i.e. the King James version. I wonder if he uses it exclusively. He would be prohibited from doing so by his studies, if he's studying theology, that is. I can't imagine any professor here thinking of the AV, as a translation, as anything but a nice piece of literature. Certainly it's no good for exegesis, having been translated from later documents, among other problems. Virge argues in its favor, however, because King James English is more specific than our current kind. It distinguishes between the singular "you," i.e. "thou," and the plural "you," i.e. "ye." There are other such niceties that I'm just not interested in talking about now.

Joshua is always making fun of those he calls the "King James Only People." These are people who believe that God took special care to ensure that the translators of the authorized version did their job perfectly, so that version and no other is the inerrant word of God. The problem they're sideswiping is the necessary "Original Manuscripts" clause in all doctrines of inerrancy. Inerrantists all make the consolation that the current manuscripts have small errors, but state that these are necessarily copy errors which would not have been found in the original manuscripts, penned by Moses, David, and a handful of other individuals. This is hogwash, and the KVJ-only people know it. They just picked a nice famous translation and decided to stick with it. The real problem is with the doctrine of inerrancy itself, however. It's a heavy-handed way of defending the authority of scripture, one which did nothing at all for me when I struggled with questions about why God seemed so keen on eternal torture or why he never really seemed to exist in the sense that everything else does.

ஆல் தட்'ச கோயன் டு ஷோ இஸ் த lastword

I can't think of anything to say. I choose not to care about that, though, because I have the day off and don't have to think. "There's a time to think and a time to act, and this, gentlemen, is no time to think." On to Virgie and lunch and a nap. Hey, all you frazzled parents out there who are busy hating me right now: I'll get my comeuppance, just as soon as Virgie's done with school, we've settled down at her church, and I've found a decent job. Then you can laugh at my expense, just before your kids are teenagers.

எக்ஸ்கிசெஸ், Excuses

I'm working on my 25 not-so-random things about myself for facebook. Am I allowed to mention facebook here?

I came with some bogus credit advice yesterday that I really want to give to a client on my last day:

"If the foreclosure sale is imminent and you have no other viable options for saving your home, consider filing an emergency chapter 13 bankruptcy. This will stay the sale. Make sure beforehand that you can actually afford payments on your home, or you'll wind up with a foreclosure and a bankruptcy on your credit report. If this happens, and you die soon thereafter, the law permits your mortgage lender to write your eulogy."

Ah, some day.

திஸ் ஂஒவ் இஸ் bothersome

I've now visited the library twice today and am bound by my oath to blog again. And then post it. Here goes.

I'm very embarrassed about that last post. I've always been opposed to mixing work/business with play/pleasure, but they seem to be doing so of their own accord. I actually enjoy my job. Anyway, I can't erase the previous post because I'm determined not backtrack like that anymore. I'm going to try things the George W. way, the Brad Delp way. "Don't Look Back" is one of many Boston songs/covers that doubles as a handy motto (wait, do songs go in quotes?) Here is list of some of the others, none in quotes:

1) Party
2) Don't be Afraid
3) Turn it Off
4) We Can Make It
5) I Need Your Love
6) Two Walk On medleys: Walk On and Get Organized

டிச்புடே ஹோச்பிடல் Bills

Hello all. I'm going to post some financial advice. You should always keep the first one in mind. I pray that none of you ever need the second. It presents a bit of an ethical problem. Please take it with a grain of salt. I've only been a credit counselor since October. Please just think of this as "what's been on my mind."

1) Make sure you know the explanation for every item on a medical bill before you pay it. Hospitals are notorious for overbilling (ever paid $5 for an aspirin pill? Sure?) Having been stuck with an unanticipated $1600 hospital bill last year, this advice is dear to our hearts; I wish we'd known it then. The same goes for phone bills or any other complicated bill.

2) *Warning. Research this yourself before doing it.* If you're negotiating with a creditor or collector about a bill on which you can't reasonably make the full monthly payment, tell the collector that you're considering a bankruptcy. They may automatically change their tune when they face the prospect of being stiffed; a settlement or payment reduction may seem much more reasonable to them. Here's the ethical problem: it's an especially good idea if it's a lie. If you really are considering a bankruptcy, mentioning the fact to a creditor will make it difficult to discharge any debts incurred between the mention of bankruptcy and the filing date. At the hearing, the creditor will tell the judge about the conversation, and the judge will accuse you of wanting a free lunch , which you will not get. If you're not considering bankruptcy, then mention it freely, if your conscience can take it.

ஒன் ஒப் தோஸ் ப்லோக் போஸ்ட்ஸ் இ ரேஅல்லி hate

I'm really going to post this time, in order to fulfill a vow I made to myself because Virgie acts disappointed when I let my blog lie fallow for months on end. So this is one of those "just checking in" posts. Ugh. Awful, awful, awful. Such posts are among the reasons I vowed not to blog ever in my life (in 2001--for some reason I had trouble not splitting the infinitive in that last sentence.)

I work at a fairly low stress job. I am reading straight through the Bible, including such things the specifications for priestly garments, but not geneologies. I picked up a bunch of books on fingerstyle guitar and have found the one on slack key to be the most accessible by far. I think that's because the rhythms are so straighforward. The others all seem to require that you listen to the record that used to come with the book.

Anyway, here's the vow: "I will post whenever I'm in the library and thus force myself to fulfill the narcissistic purpose (porpoise?) of this weblog; i.e. to document my ideas and the events of my life."