I have a complex relationship with our annual Christmas decorating. That first night once all the lights and ornaments are on the tree and the decorations in place I am in Christmas euphoria. Within days, however, things start coming out of my mouth like, “Put that down!”, “Leave that on the tree!”, “Who opened this Christmas present!”, and “Quit chewing on that power cord!” and before I know it I’m left with no presents under a top half decorated tree that we refuse to plug in the lights because it attracts the proverbial moths to the Christmas flame. By the end of the first day the “days ’til Christmas” santa is holding numbers that represent my Christmas sentence. 14 days left ’til I’m up for parole, maybe I can get some time off for good behavior.
Let’s roll.
TV
You probably know by now that I am a sucker for a good reality show, especially when it brings something new to the table. As long as it doesn’t involve celebrities or dating I’m usually on board. Well, this new show on Sci Fi looks like it may be a pretty cool endeavor. It sounds like some sort of weird combination of “The Amazing Race” and “The Fugitive” and could be extremely engaging if done well.
Movies
With the TV shows going dark left and right it’s been giving me some time to catch up on some movies I’ve been holding on my DVR. So far I’ve gotten through “Invincible”, “Rocky”, “Rocky II” and started into “Rocky III”. The strange thing is I feel like I’m watching the same movie over and over again. It blows my mind how much Invincible is like the original Rocky movies,
right down to the location, love interest, long odds, and overdone running sequences (Seriously is the scene in Rocky II where the entire city joins him on his run not the most ridiculous thing ever filmed in sports cinema?) This isn’t to say that I didn’t like these movies, quite the opposite in fact. Invincible is truly inspiring, and Rocky is a phenomenon I never quite understood until I actually saw it. I get it now. The first Rocky is moving, well acted, and tells an amazing story. The second is a fairly pale comparison to the first (though the fight is incredible) and the third (though I’ve just started it) seems to start descending into the camp and flamboyance that comes to complete fruition in Rocky IV (the only Rocky movie I had previously seen until this year). Having seen the newest “Rocky Balboa” earlier this year I now understand fully what Stallone was doing with that film. He basically just remade the original Rocky so he could pretend the other sequels never existed. Rocky IV will always have a place in my heart because it is is so completely over the top and fun to watch, but the first and last in the series show the true heart of what Rocky was meant to be.
Music
Great idea from some of the biggest faith-based song writers of all time. MWS, SCC, Tomlin, Martin from Delirious and several others are getting together to write a bunch of songs for charity, but instead of donate the proceeds to the different charities they are giving them the copywrite to the songs. I’m anxious to see if they can put their heads together and come up with some good stuff. Artists aren’t generally known for playing well together and “Too many cooks”, well, you know. Whatever the case, I think it’s a great idea and if anyone can make it work it’s these guys.
Game/Tech
You have to check out this auction on Ebay that ended yesterday. It’s for Guitar Hero 3 but it’s the story behind it that is a wonderful example of creative parenting. The game was originally bought by a father for his 15 year old son but when he caught him smoking some weed with his “delinquent friends” he put it up on Ebay and sent the link to his son to teach him a lesson. All of the details are on the actual auction page, including the son’s response and how this has brought them closer. As for me I’m just glad disciplining children is still something that goes on occasionally.
Faith/Culture
As if the spiritual benefits weren’t enough, fasting has now been proven to be physically healthy as well. I can just see the Christian bumper sticker people hard at work today, “Fasting, it’s good for your heart.”
Randomness
Looking for the perfect Christmas gift for someone who has everything? How about some rare Rhino excrement?
I understand that overall your comments on the Rocky movies were positive, however you were teetering on a dangerous edge for a while there. Frankly, some of the adjectives you chose were offensive and unnecessary.
I think you’ll feel differently about all things Rocky (including the very believable running through town scene) after finishing Rocky III, a personal favorite.
“Go for it!”
–Andy