FMYML

I put a bookmark along the top of my browser to this Young Married Life blog. To make it shorter, I named it “YML.” Now whenever I see it, I think, “FML.”

Which, if you know the internet, is entirely different, yet not totally unrelated, to YML.

Google it if you’re not sure what I’m talking about.

You thought you knew deers

Just your friendly, neighbourhood stag…

until MATING SEASON COMES ALONG!!!

Courtesy of “Autumn scenes” of the Big Picture.

Awesomeness

Two new shirts by Threadless that I like.

Swan Kick

& Forever Friends.

ClearPlay, eh?

Apparently, there is technology that edits movies for you.

Here is the list of things you can have removed.

It either skips the scene or mutes the language, and you can control what you want filtered out (if you don’t want to hear OMG but don’t mind seeing illicit drug use, you can do that).

It’s called ClearPlay.

That’s a cool technology. After all, if I could edit movies to remove the gratuitous sex scenes (and it’s ALWAYS gratuitous – let’s face it, these people RARELY need to be having sex so early in their relationships), I would.

But where would District 9 be without Vickus’ South African F-bombs?

What’s odd? Other than the censorship?

Their list of movies that they have filters for.

Hannah Montana needs to be filtered?

What’s wrong with 17 Again?

Moreover, what is LEFT of The Watchmen if you removed the violence and sex(ual organs)?

Rich people

Ever wonder how to feel about rich people?

Now technically, if you live in Canada, you’re rich. I’d say only those technically homeless aren’t rich. And even then, no one is going to starve to death in Canada. Our homeless eat more than many in this world.

But I don’t want to talk about the politically correct definition of rich. I’m talking about the superficial, instinct-driven definition of rich you already have – it’s those people that spend exorbitantly more money than you (because they make that much more than you) on things that you can’t even fathom being of value because they are so out of your price range.

Do you judge them? I do, and I feel dirty (thank you, Holy Spirit).

Part of me judges those richer than me because I’m envious. I resent them for having what I don’t. I see their possession(s) and view it(them) as something I want to attain, to strive towards.

But another part honestly wonders, “They have so much money, and they’re spending it on that? Really?” And I hypothesize how I would spend my money differently, and I fear that I wouldn’t, really.

Jesus says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

So why is it so easy, once we get a lot of money, to start spending it on ourselves? Why does affluence make it so easy to distance ourselves from the heart of God? Why is poor where it’s at?

Blessings

things I’m really grateful for. that make life good. an exhaustive list would be impossible.

picture of the grapefruit from smittenkitchen.com

snorg tees that correlate to certain people I know

Product(s)	Qty.	Total
	I Drink Your Milkshake – Husband (It’s a “There Will Be Blood” reference)		$18.95
	Bacon Makes Everything Better – My boss He likes bacon.		$18.95
	Candy Mountain – Any number of the youth at my church (or my friends from university)		$14.95
	Problem Solved – Hannah Slaughter made this joke JUST YESTERDAY		$18.95
	Comma Chameleon – Me.		$18.95
	Chillin Out – Victoria Lewis, who owns the box set.		$18.95
	It’s Okay Pluto – A specific yout from da yout group. She wants to be an aerospace engineer, and I think she’d find this funny.

Convo

Me: I just put through an amazon order :P:P me and books… JEEZE.

Friend: Hey, that’s one of the best things that you could get “addicted” to. At least it’s not “me and Twinkies…JEEZE” or “me and LSD…JEEZE”

blow-your-mind smoothies

Yea. Get ready.

1. Choco-Berrie Deelite

• 3 or 4 Frozen strawberries
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon of Nutella
• 1/4 cup of milk
• Blend.

There you are. Mind. Blown.

Now to do it again.

2. Apple-Cinnamon Pie Deelite

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut up into pieces
• 1 banana
• 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of vanilla yogurt
• 1 cup of crushed ice
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1 optional squirt of honey (optional = you be the judge of how tart your apples are and how sweet/old your banana is)
• Blend.

Chyea. I know. Right? I know.

Your mind is blown right now. I can feel it.

Yea.

Fireproof

Have you ever watched a school play? You know all the actors, you recognize the set because you’ve been working on it in art class for the last few months. You have a crush on the lead, and occasionally someone forgets their lines and you feel the tension – you’re rooting for their sucess, because you take pride in this production you had something to do with. You’re not passively consuming when you watch it, you’re watching friends perform something they’ve rehearsed a thousand times and you’re enjoying it, whether you like Julius Caesar or not.

I was part of the school play – not as an actor (surprisingly enough, I blossomed into the dramatic later in life) – but as one of the two art students who made the sets, costumes, props, etc. We got art credit, and skipped lots of school. It was fun.

I don’t have the same personal connection toFireproof, but it gives me the same vibes. You can tell the script could use some work, the actors over-act, it’s the “I’m acting this way because that’s what my character would do,” sort of acting, rather than the “I’m inhabiting the role, I AM Wolverine,” that you get from such masters of the stage like Hugh Jackman.

Nevertheless, you begin to “play along.” You can laugh where they want you to laugh, even if it seems a bit forced, or adds little to the plot. You bite your nails during the action scenes (they were actually quite well done). Sure the editing could have been a little tighter, sure there were moments where I can imagine directors such as Bryan Singer saying, “I’m bored,” as it ran about half an hour too long.* And while the Christian message was overt, and the solution a little too easy, you get to a point where it stops being surprising that they’re talking about Jesus, and you start actually listening to the words they’re saying. “Ok, this is meant to be an object lesson – sure it’s preaching in the middle of a film, barely masked in dialogue, but this is the point of the movie and I’m learning here, so that’s ok.”

It’s like watching the church’s Christmas play. You “get” it. You know their acting won’t earn them Oscars any time soon and the sets are distracting, you never lose yourself in the story but you’re still listening. And that’s what Fireproof is, it’s a story. It might actually make you cry, even if it’s horrible acting. It might actually make you laugh, at both the parts intentionally funny and not.

But hopefully, if you do decide to watch this movie, you can learn something from it. I think that’s what Fireproof is – it’s a message. It’s clearly designed as such, and you can see that construction, but the characters – all unpaid volunteer actors – are endearing. Some of them are not even that bad.

Oh, and in a surprising twist, while everyone has a Southern accent (other than our main character, for some reason), the comedic relief is not a black guy. The trusted friend, confidant, and moral guide is black, and the funny guy is white.

Yea, it’s worth watching.

*If you’ve ever seen behind-the-scenes bonus features on any of his movies, he sits in the editing room watching footage and says “I’m bored,” “Boring,” whenever something isn’t fast enough paced and thus quite effectively keeps his movies exciting. I think I saw this for his work on Superman.