This movie put my head in a strange place. It started out normal enough, interesting and funny with a hint of despair. As it went on, it got harder to understand, downright confusing at times. There were scenes I found myself tired, wanting it to just get over already. But for its existentialistic theme, it was perfect.

I don’t think this type of show is for everyone. I would even bet most people will hate it. But for those of us who often see life through bland colored glasses, I think it makes some sense, teaches a few things, and even offers hope.

The movie was sometimes sweet, sometimes sad, often sardonic. At times it seemed to drag on way too long. Caden spends so much of his time trying to understand himself and figure out “why,” that he forgets to live. His efforts to make sense of his life are so extreme (he stages a grand play to reenact his entire life in an attempt to understand it) that it robs him of new experiences. He lives life by looking in the rear view mirror, searching for meaning and answers. And the answers are dismal; we are alone, there isn’t a higher purpose, and there isn’t rhyme or reason to our existence. But what else would you expect from this type of movie? The irony, however, is that these particular answers exist only because he wants more from life than living. When living isn’t enough, it’s a bitter road. Wanting more is either an insatiable and disappointing quest or a delusional existence.

(The next section has spoilers and harsh language in the movie quote)

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I wasn’t happy when I saw a trailer for this movie last year because it was eerily close to the plot of the book I had started writing several months prior. It’s an independent film and it took months before I was able to finally get it from Blockbuster. I actually requested it because they hadn’t picked it up yet and within a couple weeks it showed up in their database and then in my mailbox.

It had a surreal feeling feeling to me. A drab world. Short camera shots that capture simple everyday events and string them together to paint a depressing meaningless place. Our hero, in an attempt to escape the void, signs up to test an experimental drug and gains special powers.

As his life takes on new meaning and he strives to use his powers for good, we watch his antics play out in the same old boring world the movie opened with. As a result, I found myself laughing without smiling. There is both humor and tragedy buried in every scene that seem to blend like a sweet and sour sauce. The end result is confusingly interesting, thought provoking, and highly entertaining.

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Last year I searched for this book. I didn’t know it’s name, the story, or the author but I scoured Amazon and my library database for an adventure about the African bush that Curtis and I could read as we prepared for our trip. I never found it, but better late than never…right? A friend of mine suggested I check out the author Laurens van der Post, a South African author fascinated with the Bushmen.

I started reading “A Story Like the Wind” and was hooked me with the tale of a fourteen year old boy growing up in the early 1900’s on his family farm in the heart of wild South Africa. The savage unsettled land is filled with wildlife, African folklore, and an earthy spirituality that carried me far away from traffic, work, and paved streets. But I sensed more than just a story and felt that there was something to this author. The spirituality of the African veld, the intimate details of people and animals, and the compassion of his characters suggested to me that Laurens was more than just a South African who, himself, had grown up in the early 1900’s in rural South Africa.

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It’s not easy for me to convince three teenagers, simultaneously, to sit down and watch a movie as a family. I have to use every ounce of my parental influence to get them to “just try 10 minutes.” If after 10 minutes they lose interest, they bail and I don’t protest. Based on the trailer, I had a hunch we’d all really like this show. I was so right.

Catinca Untaru, a six year-old girl from Romania, steals the show. Children are, generally, inherently cute but poor directing, filming, or lame attempts to exploit our tender emotions for kids can make me hate a movie. I read that in many scenes of The Fall cameras were hidden to help Cantinca feel spontaneous. Many of the scenes diverted from the script but the filming continued. The result is dialogue that reveals innocent misunderstandings, child-like questions, and some of the sweetest humor I have ever seen. The story is wonderfully creative, bizarre at times, and full of color and dreamlike scenes.

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I might have missed this one but the limited blu-ray choice at Blockbuster forced me to give it a chance. When I saw all the independent film festival awards it won, I decided to give it a try. I wasn’t disappointed.

The style of animation is really cool, artistic and different. It’s worth watching for that reason alone, but not why I recommend it. Watch this show for the insight it offers into the difficulties people have faced in Iran over the past 30 years. Before I lose most of you, let me add that the story is wrapped around a girl whose teenage adolescence/coming of age experiences are touching and heart wrenching. Not only does she struggle with issues faced by any typical teenage girl, she must also deal with the fact that her country is fighting a war and a radically changing government regime. I was fascinated by the peek into the Iranian world.

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Over the past year I have been invaded by vampires. They live in my sixteen year old daughter’s bedroom; on her walls, in her stereo, on her bookshelf, and in her computer. People magazine listed Stephenie Myer as one of the most 100 influential people of the year. She brought the vampires into our house.

The Twilight craze has spread like an unstoppable virus. Spread either by airborne sound waves or by computer, where countless blogs and chat rooms buzz with an addicting blend of romance and fantasy. The power of these stories astounds me. Nearly every woman in my life (wife, daughters, sisters, sister-in-laws, mother, friends, niece’s…) has been pricked by its allure (the teenagers especially). I was curious as a writer and a parent. So far I’ve read two of them.

I rolled my eyes a lot…too many references to “dreamy eyes” and “perfect skin” for my level of testosterone. But, I kept reading. Stephenie weaves a good tale and I found myself intrigued, although I would have been happy with a less oogling. But, I know that’s part of what the females love about it. I’m not quite the demographic.

I’ve read many books on writing, studied the rules, and tried to learn the craft of writing. In fact, I rewrote my book to fix a particular “problem” that I was surprised to find plastered on every page of the two of hers I have read. Based on what I have learned about writing, the books (word by word) are not written well. But before you all flame me for saying that, let me qualify that statement with this: I’m an unpublished author that can’t get signed and she’s a multi-millionaire superstar author. I thought they could have been better written, but I’m going against millions and millions of readers. Obviously I’m the one off base. So it makes me wonder, why have I spent all this time trying to learn the rules? Who made them and why? In the end, they obviously don’t matter and maybe by focusing on the mechanics I have lost a connection with my muse. I did think the storyline was well done. The events, characters, the tension…no complaints there.

Stephenie was named one of the most 100 influential people of the year by Time Magazine. The important question is, how is she changing people? What are people, primarily teenage girls, learning from her stories? A passion for reading? Yes, and that is excellent. A fuel for imagination? Yes, another good thing. Books are a staple for growth, especially books like this that have controversy and generate passion. But at the same time I have seen the extreme obsession that teenage girls show for Bella and Edward and I have a few concerns. Not necessarily huge concerns, but for girls who read the book and don’t analyze and discuss certain issues, I think the influence could be harmful. Those who examine themselves and the reasons the books are so captivating, I believe come out wiser and stronger.

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My original interest in this book was based on the story behind story, rather than the novel itself. John Kennedy Toole wrote this and then became depressed when he couldn’t get it published. After his suicide, his mother repeatedly approached Walker Percy (then a professor at Loyola) and finally convinced him to read it. Thanks to Walker it was eventually published, although 11 years after author’s tragic death. It went on to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1981 for fiction.

The title comes from Jonathan Swift: “When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him.” I really didn’t know what I was getting when I started the audio version (I listen to books during my daily commute), but after that first morning drive I was hooked. Barrett Whitener does a fantastic job of reading, so much so that I’m going to seek him out for future audio books. I’d like to point out, Stephen King (in “On Writing”) says that listening to a book is the best way to experience it and he used to pay his kids a nickel per page to record audio books for him.

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I would like to know how many people, like me, identify with Chris McCandless. I suppose most of us have a love/hate relationship with wealth and possessions. Sometimes I feel right on the edge of turning and walking away…like Chris. The closest I’ve come is walking away from good jobs because it just didn’t feel right. With nothing else lined up, I step into the unknown…somehow things have always work out. I think I’ve managed to stay a responsible parent through all my issues. Several years ago I ripped apart a dollar bill in front of my kids and threw it away. It was only a buck but they still talk about it. I’ve got a $50 bill in my wallet right now. I’d love to burn it…but I can’t bring myself to do it.

Chris gave away his $24,000 trust fund to charity, turned down a new car from his parents, burned his money, and wandered around the western United States meeting people and experiencing the land. His final adventure was living in the wilds of Alaska for several months. It’s not spoiling the ending to tell what happened, it was all over the news. When I say it was his final adventure, I mean it literally. He left behind journals, pictures, and friends to help tell his story.

“Rather than love, than money, than faith, than fame, than fairness…give me truth.”

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I know that world history is tainted throughout with racism, but I had no clue about what happened in Australia in the 1930’s. This is the true story of three girls who were taken from their homes because they were of mixed race and then put into a containment camp. Some of the crazy ideas that mankind has fashioned and executed are downright disturbing. Tearing children away from loving families can be a cheap way way to draw a tear, but that isn’t the focus of this show. It tells the inspiring story of Molly, a 14 year old girl, who escapes with her younger sisters and treks 1500 miles through the Australian Outback to get home. She knows the fence runs right to her village, so they follow it across the continent avoiding the police and rangers searching to capture them.

The girls perform superb. The documentary on the DVD about the making of this movie and history behind the story it as intriguing as the movie itself. The young actresses were picked from rural Australia and faced their own personal struggles as the movie was filmed. They are charming girls and if you follow-up the movie with the documentary you be that much more touched.

The images are beautiful, the story sweet, and the characters moving. It’s another good movie that inspires me to try and do a little more with my life.

If you know me, you’ll quickly understand why I loved this movie. It’s set in South Africa (hoe gaan dit my maat..dang I’m rusty), involves a boy’s passion with his camera, has a cast of troubled youth, addresses poverty, and has plenty of emotional drama. Two young friends find a dead body. One takes his gun, the other his video camera, and they each make use their new toys around the city. As a result, they branch into new directions in their lives which occasionaly cross throughout the movie, creating a nice conflict as the two friends face off from different sides of the track. A young white girl, carrying her own share of issues, becomes involved and introduces a nice flare of romance which does not bode well with her racist father.

This movie sparked several pages of journal writing for me. It touched on teenage issues, the inhumanity of poverty, and the whole Carpe Diem philosophy: what the hell am I doing with my life…wake up Warren! I enjoyed this show and it left me feeling flustered with some of the evils in the world but thankful for the life that I enjoy. I’d have to say watching this show helped make me a better person…or at least wanting to be a better person. Shows that can do that are certainly worth watching.