Welcome to Netflix

Thanks to my good friend, Sarah Dollar, I now have a free month of Netflix. So, I thought I would share what I'm watching. First, I watched "Neverwhere," which is a six part TV series written by Neil Gaiman. The show was okay, the book is much, much better. Anyways, "Neverwhere" is set in London Below, which is a realm where magic holds sway and wonder and danger lurk around every corner. Definitely read the book though, because it is filled with Gaiman's touches of wry humor and horrifying imagination; film cannot capture the terror of Croup and Vandemar that the mind creates.

Next, I watched "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and was blown away by Johnny Depp's performance. This was Depp as I'd never seen him before: gawky, strung-out, muttering his lines around the perpetual presence of a filtered cigarette, and moving about like a paranoid monkey. The movie itself was an education on the various types of drugs and their effects on the human mind and body: hilarious and very sad. In the midst of the crazed drug binge is a poignant eulogy for the brief and hopeful era of 1965 in which the youth of America rebelled and indulged in the movement of free love, psychedelic music, drugs, and a belief that they could change the world. Johnny Depp's character, Raoul Duke, talks about San Francisco in 1965 with longing and regret because it did not last or solve any problems. It is 1971, and all that is left is the drugs and the fading memories.

On a somewhat lighter note, I watched the pilot for "Firefly." It wasn't a bag of giggles, but I really enjoyed it. The future never looked so futuristic or so backwards.

Speaking of the future, tonight's movie of choice was "Blade Runner," set in LA in 2019. Dystopia reigns and Harrison Ford is looking good. The film is described as literate science fiction and neo noir, and that's exactly right. I guess that in the future all the genres will continue on, complete with the cigarettes, the rain, dark shadows, beautiful dames (even when they're not human), trench coats, guns, and grim narrators who tell it like it is. All hail, Ridley Scott. I guess my favorite part is the futuristic LA: dark and rainy, you have to wonder what happened to the climate that brought about such a drastic change.

Well, that's all folks. By the by, I am reading and doing a bit of work. What I'm reading is Nocturnes by John Connolly and The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton.

Two by Two

Tonight marks my second night in a row of drawing pages. After Easter I decided that I would have to draw at least two pages a day to meet my deadline for my SIP (Senior Integration Project). Obviously, that's not going to happen because life is unpredictable. Take yesterday for instance. I was going to do all of my homework and go to Art Criticism, but then Courbet went into labor and everything else stopped. (By the way, she had four lovely kittens: Alan Rickman, Kat Von D, Coraline/Morpheus, and Anton/Svetlana.) Right now I am working on my first page and I have three panels complete and five more to go. Fun times.

Now, for the sharing of the day. I finished Diana Wynne Jones's Eight Days of Luke today. I liked it, though it's not my favorite. My favorite Jones book might be Fire and Hemlock or House of Many Ways or Howl's Moving Castle. Speaking of, one of my favorite movies is Hayao Miyazaki's adaptation of Howl's Moving Castle--beautiful, funny, moving, plus Christian Bale is one of the voices. :D Anyways. That's all for today. FYI: I'm listening to "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters--I forgot how much I like this song.

The Good Prince

I firmly believe that there are no coincidences. Take today for example. Today is Good Friday, a day that commemorates Jesus's death and sacrifice. Good Friday looks towards Easter, the resurrection, the Gospel truth that we can be freed from death and sin. It's a beautiful story, a true story.
Most people know about Jesus, but you might not have heard of Ambrose, also know as Flycatcher or the Frog Prince. Now, this may be an English major thing, but when I read I am constantly on the lookout for archetypes, and it is no surprise that the fairy tales or fables that surround us are full of archetypes. One famous archetype that gets brought up a lot in my Covenant literature classes is the Christ figure. Well, in my opinion, Ambrose the King of Haven (in the graphic novel Fables: The Good Prince by Bill Willingham) is a Christ Figure. He is pure, in body and heart, and he forms his peaceful kingdom on this purity. Ambrose's kingdom is in the heart of the evil Adversary's territory, but Ambrose is determined to wage a bloodless war against the Adversary--and he succeeds. So, this pure king sets out with his message of love and forgiveness and faces evil head on. Sound like someone? But it gets better. Ambrose goes forward, surrenders himself to death in order to preserve his kingdom. He does not die, but he is willing to, and in the end, salvation begins to work its way into the Adversary's lands as more people hear the good news about Ambrose's kingdom (Haven) and set out to join him.
Sounds like a Christ figure to me. I don't know if Willingham wrote the story with any intention of such a parallel, but there you go. Even if you're not a Christian, The Good Prince is still a good read (as is the rest of the Fables series) and Mark Buckingham continues in his excellence as an illustrator.
Good Friday and The Good Prince equals a Good Day.

New Apartment

Hello one and all,

After a very lazy summer of reading, sleeping in, and goofing off, I am now back on Lookout Mountain for my last year at Covenant College. I moved into my apartment on Saturday and have spent the last four days decorating, organizing, shopping, and visiting with friends. My roommate, Sarah Dollar, and I really love the apartment. We each have our own bedrooms with a shared bath, and there is the big room out front that serves as our sitting room, dining area, kitchen, and laundry room. All in all, we both feel like a couple of little homemakers and are enjoying the independence of off-campus housing. Our apartment is one of five in a big house located at 97 Arvle York Circle. The house is rustic looking and has a big front porch with rocking chairs and swings. To sweeten the deal, the view down the road is incredible, and we're only a mile and a half from campus.

Now that I'm no longer in England (Alas, alack!), the focus of this blog is to keep friends and family updated on what I'm doing, plus adding in any stories from my time in England that I neglected to blog about. Stay tuned for more!

One More Week...

Dear Friends,
I must apologize for once again being an inconstant blogger. To tell the truth, I have been very busy with school, but sometimes, when I'm not so busy, it's easier for me to do something mindless (like watching movie trailers online) instead of blogging. There, confession is over. Speaking of confession, it is the season of Lent, which I am trying to participate in. However, I'm struggling with adding contemplation into my hectic life. I guess the point of Lent is to give up something and use that time to contemplate your faith and specifically Christ's sacrifice. I find that to be very difficult. I keep myself busy with work, hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc. In fact, this Tuesday, I had almost a whole day free and I planned on doing research for an upcoming research paper, but instead I read The Watchmen in anticipation of its movie debut next week. I don't regret this decision, but I regret the ways I waste time or lose focus on my work. Since I'm still confessing, I may as well admit that I have a serious complaining problem.
On a more cheerful note, Wednesday night I went to Greyfriars, a really cool coffee shop downtown, and tried a London Fog. I'm not sure what exactly this drink is, but I think it's a type of latte with Earl Grey tea. But I could be wrong. At any rate it was delicious! I got it because the weather that day reminded me a lot of Oxford, foggy and mysterious, so I thought that London Fog was appropriate. I miss Oxford a lot today. I was even online trying to find a poster of the Radcliffe Camera, but no luck. In my Christ and Culture class today, the professor was discussing Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, which is set in an alternate Oxford in a parallel world, and she showed a video clip with the Radcliffe Camera!!! I immediately felt "homesick". In a way, that whole time in Oxford feels like a dream now. I know that it happened, but it seems so ethereal. I guess life is just like that, things happen and we move on and even though they make a lasting impression, they never seem as real as they did at the time. I remember walking down Pullens Lane one afternoon, carrying my groceries and looking out over the city and thinking, "Someday this won't seem real, so I need to cram as much of it in as possible."
Wow, sorry for the ramble. In other news I had a quiz (mini-test) in Renaissance this week and I think I did really well. This evening I went to reading by Leslie Leyland Fields, who is teaching the Creative Writing: Nonfiction class here. She has a nice way of capturing simple images in a profound way. She seems to have a strong grasp on her identity as a Christian, a woman, and a mother. If you're interested, she has several books out: Surviving the Island of Grace and Parenting is Your Highest Calling and Eight Other Myths. (I may not have those titles exactly right). All in all I am very excited about the weekend and having a chance to get some work done and relax. I'm even more excited about Spring Break, which is only one week away!!! I'm going to be going to West Palm Beach with my mom and my dad to visit my Aunt May, and it makes me so happy every time I think about it! :)

New City Fellowship

I guess confession is good for the soul. Last night, after writing that I wasn't planning on going to church, I started feeling really bad and decided to stay up late and do my laundry so I could have clean clothes for the Sabbath. I also decided to make blueberry muffins so I could eat them on the go the next morning. So I got up today at ten and started getting ready for church, and boy am I glad I did! New City is a very welcoming church, and no matter whether I sit with strangers or not I always feel like I am with the Body of Christ. Today was extra special because it was communion. Pastor Nabors spoke from Matthew 15:10-20, and emphasized our need to surrender our hearts to the power of the Holy Spirit to be cleansed and healed. It was a very worshipful service and as I left, I felt that it was truly good to be in the house of the Lord. Now, unfortunately, I need to buckle down and get some work done. I have a book review and lots of reading to do.

Valentine's Day

Hello all! I just want to wish you all a very happy, though belated Valentine's Day. I spent the majority of today with my roommate Sarah Dollar. I slept in until after noon, which was wonderful! Then Sarah and I went to Greyfriar's, which is a really cool independent coffee house in downtown Chattanooga. We went down there to research and read, since we both have book reviews for our Renaissance class due on Monday. Of course, we didn't get much work done. While we were there we got a chance to hang out with Jonathan and Kristin, which was really fun. I haven't seen Kristin much since we've returned from Oxford, so everytime I see her is very special. Speaking of Oxford, I saw Joy today! Joy was one of my housemates at Oxford. I didn't get to know her all that well, but she had come to Covenant to visit Thomas, Ross, and Colby. It was good/bizarre seeing someone from that time.
This evening Sarah and I destressed and watched "Lars and the Real Girl" and the new "Pride and Prejudice". I have TONS of homework to do, but it was so nice to just relax. The downside is that I did not get a chance to do my laundry and thus do not have clean clothes for church. :( So, that is my confession for today. But please continue to pray for me. Pray that I will be more disciplined in the future. I really want to have Sundays be work-free, but that won't happen unless I work really hard on Friday and Saturday.