Always Reforming

    I love films, perhaps more than I should.  In fact, I consider myself a student of them, though I would never claim to be adept at interpreting or reviewing them.  Nonetheless I enjoy film and watch it as an art form, not simply a means of entertainment.  Every art form has its unique advantages, film's, obviously, being the ability to portray in a visible, dramatic way the nuances of life.  It's easier to get paid for making a bad movie than a bad book, but it's at least as difficult to make a good movie as it is to write a good book.  I don't often write movie reviews, but this specific film was powerful and depressing enough to motivate me to try my hand at it.     The film I am referencing is Woody Allen's latest (I think--he produces films at a freakishly prolific rate) effort, Cafe Society .  It's not the best Allen film I've ever seen, but almost every movie of his I've ever had the pleasure of viewing has been worth the tim...

    If you're a normal person, Halloween is probably just a fun holiday for costumes, candy, and general frivolity.  You've probably never sat and thought about whether it was morally right or wrong. If, however, you were raised in any one of a number of conservative Christian denominations, Halloween is the epicenter of a significant amount of fervent debate.  Is Halloween evil or is it harmless?  Are its origins pagan or actually Christian ?  Should we shun it, go all out, or find a middle ground?     I'm not necessarily here to offer any special insight into those questions.  What I would like to do is offer my point of view, and let that be that.  I was raised a Reformed Presbyterian.  If you've read my blog at all before, you're probably aware that we were on the fringe even of Reformed Presbyterianism (read: weird).  One of the emphases of traditional Presbyterianism is that we should not celebrate holidays that have pa...

    Last night was the final opportunity for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump to convince me that I should punch their names on the ballot this November.  I remain unconvinced.  While I will be voting this year, I will not be throwing my lot in with either the Democratic or the Republican candidate.  By way of explanation, here are my thoughts from the final (thank you, Lord!) presidential debate of 2016:    1) Neither candidate really said anything interesting.  In fact, they both used recycled lines over and over again.  Yeah, we know Trump has yet to release his tax records.  Yeah, Trump, we know that ICE has endorsed you.  Tell us something new, please.     2) Hillary, we don't believe you.  Everything you say is clearly calculated and carefully scripted. Your smile is faker than Donald Trump's tan!  We know these things.  You're a Washington elitist. You are the epitome of a stuck-up, rich old ...

    Let me start off by saying that I'm not trying to be judgmental here.  I really, really do not intend to come off that way.  That being said, let me proceed to judge an entire segment of modern culture--hipsters.  Don't get me wrong--I like hipsters.  I have a lot of friends who are hipsters.  I pretended to be a hipster for about 5 minutes back in '07.  Let me tell you why I ended up not being a hipster. Frankly, I just wasn't very good at it.  I was/am just too normal.  Of all the hipster distinctives, the apparel was always the hardest part for me.  I like indie music and a good cup of tea.  I enjoy the great outdoors and home remedies.  The clothes though...it just takes so much effort.  There's something about blue jeans and a Michigan shirt that just work for me.  I actually do enjoy plaid shirts, well-trimmed hair, and unusual footwear, but I just don't have the time or energy to invest in going throug...

    If you live in a hole or rely upon "traditional" media for your news (newspapers, cable news, etc.), you may not have heard that Wikileaks has released a few emails that are detrimental to Hillary Clinton's campaign.  Your classic liberal networks have done their best to ignore the heck out of these revelations, but less biased networks and the good ol' Internet have made sure the American public have heard about them.  Inundation feels like an appropriate word here.  Wikileaks has dumped thousands of emails over the past couple of weeks.  Some have been Hillary's own emails, while many are of her staff  communicating amongst themselves.  Americans have become privy to the type of information that government officials have long assumed would stay hidden.     Is this really that much of a revelation though?  Did you really not know that Hillary has more skeletons in her closet than a mob boss?  Did you really need these e...

    Sunday night offered up yet another raucous affair disguised under the name "debate."  It was, pardon my french, a heck of a time!  This was the entertaining encounter that  I was disappointed  we didn't get the first time around.  Allow me to offer my thoughts on this far more enjoyable debate.     1) Hillary is a stuck-up prick.  I said it the first time and I'm saying it again.  I say it in the most respectable way I possibly can.  Really.  Honestly.  Alas, it's undeniable.  The looks on her face when Trump brought up her illicit behavior, say, deleting something to the tune of 30,000 emails AFTER receiving a subpoena, told the whole story.  Her face said, "Who are you to question me, earthling?"     2) Hillary is still the better politician.  She answers questions in a far more succinct way than Trump, which was especially noteworthy in a debate that had audience members asking que...

    Congratulations, America!  Your nominees for the highest executive office in this land are a man who once bragged about sexually assaulting women and a woman who intimidated and silenced her husband's sexual assault victims.  Way to go!     Congratulations, America!  You've really done it this time.  You're epitomizing the whole "rock and a hard place" thing this year.  You're going to end up with a dishonest liberal--or Hillary Clinton!     Congratulations, America!  You ignored trivial things like character and track records and chose to nominate candidates who will advance their own agendas and pander to big business interests!     Congratulations, America!  You nominated a serial adulterer and the wife of one of only two presidents to have been impeached!     Congratulations, America!  You nominated a narcissist and an elitist!  Welcome to their world, plebes!     C...

    As if it weren't painful enough to endure Trump and Hillary bashing each other, we were forced (okay, no one forced me to watch, but none of the other channels were airing much of anything to compete with it) to watch their running mates bash the presidential candidates as well.  This debate felt practically the same, with the exception of their candidates' posture (they sat at a round table as opposed to standing behind podiums--that seems like a weird psychological thing).  Here are a few observations from what was essentially a rerun of the Presidential debate .     1) Kaine quoted Scripture against Trump  and it actually made sense.  That's your presidential candidate, Republicans!  I guess you can officially dismiss any lingering doubt about whether or not the Republican party is the party for conservative Christians.  It's not.     2) Kaine was infinitely better prepared than Pence, at least during the second h...

    We live in a hyper-critical era.  Go on Facebook for five minutes and this becomes apparent. Everybody thinks that they know more than everyone else.  We're a generation of experts!  Nowhere is this demonstrated more clearly than in the discussion of our parents.  We're all pretty sure our parents failed us in some catastrophic way and that is why we're broken, helpless people.  Luckily, however, we are enlightened and can arise above our parents' failures.  Our children will look back and think, "Man, my parents were incredible!"     Irreligious people feel this way, certainly, but their ire is nothing compared to that which issues forth from the offspring of evangelical Christians in America.  Their parents were legalistic.  Their parents were oppressive.  Their parents were backwards and old-fashioned.  Their parents abused them and taught them bad theology.  Blog after blog after blog exists for no othe...