So, based on Sir_Jame186's & Sarah's (and reviewers') positive comments I watched Rocky Balboa at the University Mall Theatre near George Mason University for four bucks.  (Definitely a great deal since UMT is a second-run theatre.  Wasn't the movie released on Dec. 20th ... barely a month ago!  Whelp, I'm not complaining because I found it still showing for full (over)price at a first-run theatre.)  Stallone did a great job taking an improbable idea, a fight between a young champion boxer and an ex-champ in his late fifties, and crafting a story of loss, heart, family, friendship and respect for one's self and for others.  And the Rocky Balboa character has to be on the most respectful, kindest, and down-to-earth persons shown on the big screen.  Anyways, if you don't take the movie's fight situation too seriously, I think you'll enjoy the storyline.

Hoping to see Letters from Iwo Jima soon ... but it's not released as widely as I had hoped to find.

Listening: Best of Hiroshima by Hiroshima.

Looking for a way to spawn lively group discussions in your singles ministry?  Well, then talk about singleness & dating and especially the differences between men and women!  It never fails.  Last night I stopped by ABC Primetime for the viewing and discussion of part 2 of Tommy Nelson's Song of Solomon message.  I had actually gone through the study some years back, and wanted a refresher.  And the discussions were lively last night as in years past.

It was funny to hear many of the same old questions brought up last night.  Some things just never change.  One sidebar question was on 'how to treat a sister-in-Christ well without her thinking you're interested in her (when the guy isn't)?'  One the gals (I couldn't see who it was) replied guys should not be presumptous to think a girl would think that.  After that comment the guys suddenly shot up in their chairs, inching forward, ready to reply to it.  Yes ladies, it does happen!  And guys are frustrated by it.

Interestingly enough, a young sister-friend of mine IM'd me a few weeks ago with a question about being friendly to guys.  She was told by one of her girl-friends that she should not be outgoing to guys (i.e., guys-in-general).  It's strange but many Christian women think that it is better to be cold and unfriendly to a brother-in-Christ in response to his friendly gestures.  I hear that complaint often from men.

My response to her was that (1) she should not change who she is (i.e., a friendly, outgoing, and conversational person) and (2) her friend's idea isn't scriptural.  We're called to be brothers and sisters in the faith.  Our Lord says in John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you that you love one another, just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." [ESV]

The Apostle John repeats the idea in 1 John 4:20-21:  "If anyone says, " I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother." [ESV]

Remember our Lord is telling us the body of Christ is a spiritual family.  And ladies: your brothers-in-Christ are, well, your brothers in Christ!

Listening:  Dvorak: Piano Trios by the Ahn Trio

With regard to the general discussion about tv addictions and 24 (not there's any relation to the two), as Nat tells it there was a birthday celebration for Erica last night.  What Nat didn't say was that just as she was bringing out the birthday cake with the candles lit, 24's fourth episode starts.  Guess which birthday girl sticks out her arm and tells everyone to stop cuz her show is starting?     Haha.

Good thing for that cake's candles, 24 has a 1 minute recap before starting!  24 Addiction, it's for real.  And it's gonna bring Fox lots of advertising dollars!

Admit it, you/us DC folks are thinking it.  I know you are ... with weather this nice, global warming is actually good thing.  Just admit it, you're thinking it.  (I've already heard one friend say it.)

Listening:

• Avalon by John Tesh
• Illuminate by the David Crowder Band
• Unplugged by Eric Clapton.

I guess some folks hadn't heard I still don't have tv.  I still get a lot of surprised reactions.  My old youth kids would groan they "couldn't live without tv!"

Whelp, going on about 11 years now.  It's not because of money ... people -- my folks, the office secretary-- have offered their old sets ... not having one is all by design.  It's too easy to get addicted to it, and I rather use the time to read, play tennis, or try to keep in touch with people, and -- yeah -- read the occasional blog. 

Of course, I do watch television from time to time.  Tonight we celebrated Baltimoron's birthday (Happy Birthday!) and we watched the third & fourth hour of 24.  Gotta admit, it's good stuff.  I remember watching the first season with my pop.  He turned out to be a fan then.  It was good bonding time when I visited.

Anyways, the people watching tonight seemed very satisfied.  Even Shyeah seemed pleased.

Oh, Stand to Reason's Melinda Penner talks about "the issue of moral clarity and complexity in relation" to 24.  (HT: Justin Taylor)

If I had a tv, I would probably follow:

• Battlestar Galactica (I saw Season 1 and the first half of Season 2 on DVD ... incredible writing.  And an Asian-American as a Cylon ... who woulda thunk?)
• The Unit  (Ho-Uh, sir!)
• 24 (Jack is back.  How does he get around Los Angeles traffic in a hour??)
• House (Can he get any crankier?)
• CSI, Law & Order, or maybe Numb3rs.  (Geeks with badges, that could be me!)
• Good Eats with Alton Brown (food science)
• America's Test Kitchen (more food science)
• Yan Can Cook!  (The brother can cook ... love the accent as well)
• The news.
• Travel shows.

The best cable series on DVD, Band of Brothers.  Basically I like shows that either inform me, or shows that solve a problem or mystery.

Saturday a friend showed me parts of the dance-based storyline movie, Take the Lead, which reminded me of both the Japanese and American versions of Shall We Dance.  I found the SWD-Japanese version richer with the main character's development, while the American movie version had a more satisfying (dare I say, more romantic) ending.

In the ending of the American version we find Richard Gere's character wooing his wife back with typical Western grandiose flair at a department store while in the Japanese version we find the husband's lack of romantic sensibilities had to be subtly assisted by his daughter (and done without the public demonstration as seen by Gere's character).  In the former it is not the particular large-scale act that I find pleasing but rather it was the actual effort of trying, while I was slightly perturbed by the latter's stereotypical portrayal of another Asian man's romantic inabilities.

Furthermore I am also wondering if I prefer the Japanese version due to familiarity with my Asian culture's Confucian-based workerbee/office-drone's sense of duty towards work & providing for one's family while preferring Gere's ending due to my (hopefully?!!) more American romantic sensibilities.  Hmm.

So what of other American vs. Asian rendition of movies?  Anybody seen The Lakehouse (with Sandra Bullock & Keanu Reeves) or the Korean version Il Mare (Siworae) (with actress Jun Ji-hyun and that The Lakehouse was based off)?  (Reviews turned me off the Lakehouse, and I haven't found Il Mare yet.)  Are there similar movies I should consider?

Aaaargh.  What is up with Chinese period movies?!  First Jet Li's Hero, and now Chow Yan Fat & Gong Li's Curse of the Golden Flower.  CotGF has stunning visuals, very little martial arts, a complex Shakespearean-like story line, and a lousy ending!  Hero's ending was not as bad, but still both movies left me leaving the theatre completely unsatisfied.  No more.

Just wondering if anybody is reading Christopher Parkening's Grace Like A River autobiography?  Parkening is considered America's foremost classical guitarist who studied under the great master classical guitarist Andres Segovia.  He's also a Christian believer which is how I've come to know his name.

I'm two degrees of freedom from meeting Parkening.  A couple of years ago I noticed at the boarding area for my flight there was this bearded fella with a plastic hardtop case strapped to his back.  It looked like a guitar but with a really short neck.  Well, after we landed at our destination, curiosity caused me to ask him what was he carrying, and it was a classical guitar.  Turned out he was Andrew York of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and he grew up in Virginia.  (For you JMU alum, Wikipedia states York is a fellow graduate of y'alls fine institution.)

The only classical guitarist I could think of was Parkening and it turned out York has worked with him.  I guess right now I'm just amazed at how close to greatness I have come to meeting.

(Parkening mentions in his book asking York for his transcription of the song Andecy so he could play for a woman who was a big fan of the song.  The woman later became Parkening's wife.  That story reminded me of the connection between the two men and my meeting of York.)

Blogger Carolyn McCulley of Covenant Life Church writes:

*Sigh*     I continually find that subduing one's pride a difficult battle.  How God continues to work that issue in my heart ...

Well, I found Wilson's point about "biblical
preparation for marriage is nothing more than learning to follow Jesus
Christ and to love one’s neighbor" quite insightful.  I never thought how closely tied the two preparations were.  Nothing really changes when a person gets married, does it?  [Marrieds -- Any comments?]  One still has to follow Jesus and love a neighbor that is *now* a lot closer in proximity, eh?

P.S.  By the way, while McCulley's blog calls her blog "Solo Feminity", she subtitles it as "Godward encouragement for Christian single women (and others who visit here)".  Being a non-20ish fellow single, I can definitely resonant with her perspectives on the struggles & victories of the Christian single life, even as a Christian male.  I know many older singles struggle through singleness, I pray Solo Feminity provides much insight & comfort for our daily walk in Christ.  It seems like she has quite a male readership as well.  Besides much of her book selection is commendable.

[1]  http://solofemininity.blogs.com/posts/2007/01/seeking_wisdom_.html

• The undeveloped coffee beans, known as quakers, are what make coffee taste really bad (e.g., bitter).  The cheaper bags of coffee will have more quakers per bag than the costlier bags because it is an expensive process removing the quakers.  The quakers shown on tv were light-brownish in color.  (Saw on tv's America's Test Kitchen.  This and Alton Brown's show provide a lot of interesting food science.  If I had a tv & cable I would probably watch them the most.  Yes, I still do not have a television set by choice.)
• Transformers Bumblebee is no longer a VW Beetle due to Volkswagen not wanting to associate their products with "war-themed media" (From my litl' brother and "confirmed" on Wikipedia).