Halloween Humbug

Halloween is not for me.  I have never been that into it, though I am not sure why.  This year I had a minor revelation.  Not only do I not like dressing up in a costume, I also don't like seeing everyone else dressed up either.  I am not sure why I feel that way.  Perhaps it is just because I think other things are more exciting.  The whole "do Christians celebrate Halloween" has confused me somewhat in the past, though now I just don't think it matters that much anymore for most normal people.  I guess the ones who do, do, and the ones who don't, don't, and so what.  I also am completely unable to relate to the appeal of scariness.  To me there is no entertainment value in being truly scared and if you're pretending to be scared/scary it isn't scary.  Then you have the whole over-commercialization factor, but this time with no possible attempt to find positive meaning behind it, unlike Christmas or Valentine's Day.

That leaves only one possible reason to like Halloween, which is candy.  Which I try not to eat too much of in general, but don't mind doing so equally over the whole year.

Does this make me a crotchety old scrooge?  Or a not fun person?  I am probably not a whole lot of fun to some people although it depends on what one's idea of fun is.  But the bottom line is I just don't care.  I'm 32 years old and I have decided life is too short to worry about what other people think of how much fun I am, or am not.

So BAH HUMBUG.  Go away Halloween.  Fortunately we don't get trick-or-treaters where we live.  I'd be the first to give them a trick instead of a treat.

Rango, an entertaining movie defying categorization

So for my first post of a "what's on my mind" nature, I thought I would relate my thoughts about the movie "Rango" I just saw.  It was well produced and quite entertaining overall.  I have a tendency to look at film reviews online before I watch one (I'm not a film junkie; I probably watch one or two a month - I'm a busy man) so I can avoid wasting time on something cinematically unsatisfying.  However I don't always give these reviews as much credence as I used to, since I am increasingly coming to appreciate just how strongly they are based on the expectations of viewers who are unable to think outside of their own little expectations-box.  "This is what a Pixar film should be like," "This is what a horror film should be like," "this is what a parody should be like," etc.  So now I have to try to read "through" the reviews (in the interpretive, not chronological sense) to figure out how well I will like something.  Fortunately, this movie was clever enough to defy most attempts to categorize it.  "Western comedy-drama" is a place to start but that description is only a beginning (based on that alone, you'd never guess the characters were anthropomorphized animals), and it's still difficult to be sure what age group the audience is supposed to be.

So the cheesiest part was the general concept that our little lizard protagonist needs to "find himself" or something like that.  Don't people get tired of that as a major movie theme?  Not that it isn't true, it's just really expected.  But reviewers don't mind certain things being expected, and this theme is one of those things.  Other aspects of a film are not permitted by reviewers to be expected - like, the surface details of the plot.  What's the difference?  I'm not sure.  Anyway, even I admit that the film would have been less satisfying had Rango not found himself and just given up.  Also, a few loose ends were not tied up for me, but it may just be that I need to watch it again. What was the meaning of the surreal dream where the water poured out of the pipe into the desert?  (Or is this an instance of me asking too many questions about what was meant to be open-ended?)  Why did lizard-chick think she had seen someone dumping water out in the desert?  How did the mayor leave footprints when he seems like he always has to sit in a wheelchair-sort-of-thing for the entire film?  (Oops, I just spoiled part of the film for those of you who haven't seen it - sorry.  But not too badly.)

Other than that, I thought it was a great film, and very rewarding with plenty of strengths.  The voice acting was superb and it was a lot of fun to watch just for the weird factor.  I hope I have a chance to see it again sometime, if I get around to it.  I am not one of those people who likes to pick apart themes from the movie and apply them to culture or theology.  At least not tonight, since it's getting late.  A film is a film and it just isn't always a big deal.

Welcome and Cheesy Introduction

Welcome, reader(s?)! I don't even know where to begin.  For a long time I have wanted to start a blog of a more personal nature, to share my thoughts about theology, culture, hobbit-lore, and whatever else is on my mind.  Not that I think my ideas are terribly important, or myself tremendously smart or well-read on the subjects that I want to discuss - I fully expected to get ripped apart on a number of controversial topics and perhaps others. We shall see.  I hope it will be a valuable way to interact with people who I can't always meet with in person.

I may soon start a Facebook "fan page" (or whatever - Facebook is starting to drive me nuts) for this blog, just so my friends remember it exists.  Otherwise I suspect it will fade into a mysterious forgotten realm.  I will not bombard your news feed with posts, only provide a weekly summary of blog posts or something like that.

So, read away, debate, discuss, sharpen, and let's be friends in the process.  Welcome again!