I took in the movie 7 Pounds Sunday evening, early. I have to admit, I am a Will Smith fan, not every movie, but most. I enjoyed the slow moving Pursuit of Happyness and now own it to see whenever I want, along with his July 4th blockbusters.
Never mind that I got the whole movie plot in the first 3 minutes, which was closely guarded until its release. Even the promos didn't utter a hint of the whole plot.
Here is how I look at movies - I judge most movies by how well they take you into their world of reality and out of yours. Then I look at content, emotional toll or lack thereof, and then entertainment. (I believe movies should suck you in and the aesthetics of the theater should become oblivious to your mind, if not, its a poorly written or shot movie)
Only once did I find myself attracted back inside the theater instead of inside the story when I was viewing 7 Pounds.
So as the movie was unfolding, of course there were subtle plot lines and a few twists of those plot lines. But the major plot line stayed true all the way through the movie. It was a task set before the main character, and before the audience.
I believe the movie is meant to be more centered, more challenging, more intuitive, more grounded in the fundamental human struggle. I found that I was asking myself, if faced with the same situation, could I do that task that was asked of the main character? Could I make it through the tunnel and break out into the daylight? Could I find redemption that was being sought?
A second, heart wrenching observance was thrown at me. My emotions careened at the pureness of the thought. Redemption I found has more than one paradigm.
As the movie moved along its fateful road, I questioned my own ethics and morals. I searched my relationships for some semblance of love. Searched for the meaning of love. I basked in the notion of my love of others, but also, love of myself. What would I do?
Just as I thought I had a sense of this new paradigm, a plot twist was thrown. Of course you knew the plot twist was developing right in front of your eyes, but it was finally brought to fruition and stated in plain black and white. What do you do with it?
I pondered through the rest of the movie. Could the subtle twist of the plot line relieve the overpowering need to solve the redemption question?
Of course I can't reveal the details that answered this question in the movie, but I can leave you with my growing wonderment-- With this new sense of love divulged, was it good enough to overpower the paradigm shift of redemption? Was it redemption? Was it a new definition of redemption? Was it justified redemption -- could you justify it?
Are you wondering--do I recommend it? I always recommend something that will make you do a bit of soul searching. But Will Smith and the rest of the cast do an awesome job too!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
10 Days - Are you Antsy yet?
It's 10 (ten) days until Christmas. Can you believe it? I can't and if we want to really think about it we have 16 days until the 1st of the New Year. I can't wait for that.
Okay but let's not shadow over my favorite day of the year - December 20th. Why you ask? Well its the shortest day of the year and the day after we start gathering our lost minutes back. Yeah! Of course we still have to struggle through the rest of the winter, but we will have minutes of daylight coming back to help us negotiate that path!
So this weekend we topped the state of MN's snowfall - a mere 15.5" of snow fell in two days. All the animals of the farm were tucked away in their stalls. Not seeing the misery outside, I did have a few ansty horses. But moreover, they didn't like the wind beating on the barn. So you would think they would be happy snuggled away in their stalls. Nope, they still complained to me of having to "Stay In" - Oh well.
I made a batch of fudge last night - YUM! And am thinking about a batch of divinity for good measure - we'll see.
On the front of the economy - I haven't found work yet, sounds like not until after the first of the year. We'll see. It's the holidays, not much moving right now. It's been 60 days since the last day I worked. I enjoy being home, no doubt. But - I also like working, using my God given talents to make some good in the world! So I am also getting antsy.
On a political note - Our outgoing president made travels to Iraq and at a press conference, was given the ultimate insult in Islamice/Muslim worlds - shoes thrown at him. Well we did press for freedoms in Iraq. That was a clear expression of their new found freedoms. What was puzzling was the lack of security around the president after the first shoe flew!
Our President elect has been busy, I am sure, but it has been quiet over the weekend.
Okay - and what is with the ILL Gov??? Holy bananas - can you believe the corruption in government, wait, yes I can. I hope we get this all cleared up soon. How embarrassing.
Well I need to hop onto other things.....
Okay but let's not shadow over my favorite day of the year - December 20th. Why you ask? Well its the shortest day of the year and the day after we start gathering our lost minutes back. Yeah! Of course we still have to struggle through the rest of the winter, but we will have minutes of daylight coming back to help us negotiate that path!
So this weekend we topped the state of MN's snowfall - a mere 15.5" of snow fell in two days. All the animals of the farm were tucked away in their stalls. Not seeing the misery outside, I did have a few ansty horses. But moreover, they didn't like the wind beating on the barn. So you would think they would be happy snuggled away in their stalls. Nope, they still complained to me of having to "Stay In" - Oh well.
I made a batch of fudge last night - YUM! And am thinking about a batch of divinity for good measure - we'll see.
On the front of the economy - I haven't found work yet, sounds like not until after the first of the year. We'll see. It's the holidays, not much moving right now. It's been 60 days since the last day I worked. I enjoy being home, no doubt. But - I also like working, using my God given talents to make some good in the world! So I am also getting antsy.
On a political note - Our outgoing president made travels to Iraq and at a press conference, was given the ultimate insult in Islamice/Muslim worlds - shoes thrown at him. Well we did press for freedoms in Iraq. That was a clear expression of their new found freedoms. What was puzzling was the lack of security around the president after the first shoe flew!
Our President elect has been busy, I am sure, but it has been quiet over the weekend.
Okay - and what is with the ILL Gov??? Holy bananas - can you believe the corruption in government, wait, yes I can. I hope we get this all cleared up soon. How embarrassing.
Well I need to hop onto other things.....
Monday, December 8, 2008
Economic Boost?
Well the Big3 got a short stay, or did they? By not managing their biz, they will have a rider on their tail coats for a undetermined amount of time and guess who it is- BigBro. I have heard from my own local retailer of vehicles that they didn't switch gears fast enough because we, the american ppl couldn't curb our appetite for bigger and better. Well I will give them that. But if, as an analyst, I look to the future.... Okay folks here's a quick lesson for you, every company has an analytic department that is supposed to look to the next 1 year, 3 year, 5 year and 10 year, budgets and dedicate something to the new.....SO WHAT HAPPENED??? Didn't their Decision Support folks see an alternate line of automotives needed to come up in the ranks. OF COURSE THEY DID! Oh well I will get off my soap box now. But let me tell you, we just bit another $15B out of the $700B we set aside to help the mortgage desparados. I am not sneezing at this. Remember me - I have had no work for 8 weeks now. So this is a big big worry for me.
How is it we don't see the elephant in our own bedroom? It lurks and throws a big shadow. I know, I said before I didn't see it coming, but its here and we are on the brink of the abyss economically. What amazes me, is we are here and on the edge of the abyss and this is the second time in less than 100 years. Didn't we learn from the last time? hMMMMM! I know I am learning a hard few lessons here myself.
Okay on a lighter note - we had 6" of snow in the last 24 hours. It was horrbily cold this weekend so not much got out done or out. But today wasn't too bad if you were dressed right. So I was out most of the day with my family. I played with three of my kiddos today. They had fun, almost wiped out I don't know how many times and my youngest boy thought he was just the bomb! I laughed my butt off. But now one wiped out so no injuries - WHEW!
And now I better go sit with the kiddies that are overtaking my second bedroom - PPPPPROOOOOM!
How is it we don't see the elephant in our own bedroom? It lurks and throws a big shadow. I know, I said before I didn't see it coming, but its here and we are on the brink of the abyss economically. What amazes me, is we are here and on the edge of the abyss and this is the second time in less than 100 years. Didn't we learn from the last time? hMMMMM! I know I am learning a hard few lessons here myself.
Okay on a lighter note - we had 6" of snow in the last 24 hours. It was horrbily cold this weekend so not much got out done or out. But today wasn't too bad if you were dressed right. So I was out most of the day with my family. I played with three of my kiddos today. They had fun, almost wiped out I don't know how many times and my youngest boy thought he was just the bomb! I laughed my butt off. But now one wiped out so no injuries - WHEW!
And now I better go sit with the kiddies that are overtaking my second bedroom - PPPPPROOOOOM!
Thursday, December 4, 2008
It's hard times - but could be good times
I have to admit, I didn't see this coming. But since Oct. 16th or so, I have not had any work come my way. 6 weeks. At first I thought, well, something will come along shortly. Then I started actively looking. I spend 2-6 hours a day pouring over every job search engine I can find. Sending out no less than 6 resumes a day and answering all emails I receive. And making the rounds of all my contacts.
This has been really tough. I know I am not the only one out there in this economy and I certainly don't expect to be the last, but wow!
So its tough. The only things I buy are a gallon of milk and eggs from the store right now and I make them try to last for a long time. Otherwise, what is in the house for groceries is it. Nothing gets wasted anymore.
Trips - only if I absolutely have to. And if I know someone else is going, a neighbor or family, I give them the couple dollars and request they pick it up for me. I return the favor when I go.
So here's the rub. I have a farm with farm animals. I don't worry to much, I bought enough hay for a whole year and it tested out fantastically, they can live off the stuff without me adding any additional protein, etc. But I do feed a minimum of feed to get minerals and vitamins in them.
But they aren't getting much more than that.
With the farm animals, I used to be able to employee a local resident to do chores if I had to travel, giving someone a part time job. Well that went away. I do chores now because I am home, not working. And its become a game this year. Because of the early cold this year, keeping water that the stock will drink has been one of the challenges. I can't afford much on the electricity bill, so only one common tank is run 24 hours a day. I just can't empty and refill that everyday. Then I have a 16 gallon heated bucket in one pasture that is only run while there is stock out there. It is only filled to what they will drink, so I don't have to empty much at the end of the day. Then I have two animals inside 24/7, they have a heated bucket each. I also have two others that are in part of the day as they have to be switched out for excercise. Their buckets are plugged in for the time they are in their stalls. Then the buckets are emptied and unplugged to make sure there are no power draws there. Which leaves the feed room. It has open pipes in an small 8X12 insulated room with a door. I try to heat it up to 50 degrees while I am doing chores in the evening and then I unplug it, hoping it stays above freezing at night, so no pipes break.
Well so far this has been working. LOL! The electric bill is half of what it was last year. Wow! But this is only the beginning of December. I hope I can keep the electric bill low.
Then there is the distribution of hay outside. I don't waste anything right now. They have to eat their hay to the ground before they get more. No waste. Its going to be a long cold winter. I hope they all understand. They aren't starving thats for sure. They all have a nice layer of fat on them. Maybe a bit too much even. LOL!
Okay so that leaves the house. Only one light on in a room and the room has to be occupied to have it on. Now here's the rub. I inherited 4 kittens last week. They were in a bad situation, I won't go into that. But they needed to be moved. Mind you they are all up for adoption so they eventually will go to loving homes. When speaking of lights, they can't not have light from sundown to 9 or so in the bedroom the occupy. So they get a light on for about 5 hours every evening. Now this wouldn't be an issue, but I have my own cats and they share my light in the room I occupy. So these littles guys are getting special treatment. They can't be in the same company as my older cats, LOL! My older cats would not understand that and chaos would insue.
Plus they eat! I finally got a little bit of cat food from their owners today. With the telling of one of them has a home. Except the one the person chose, has dirrhea right now. So I have to get the little kid cleaned up before he can go to his new home.
So those are some of the challenges. But the title of the post is its hard times - but could be good times, right?!
Yes with the struggles of keeping drinkable water in front of stock and lights and groceries and additional cat food being bought -there comes some joys too. The stock outside seems to appreciate having someone around more often. They talk to me while I do chores. They get petted or hugged or whatever more often. I have broken out the cookbooks and revisited how to make homemade breads, puddings, cookies, stews , etc., etc. I am learning how to make everything s-t-r-e-t-c-h! Not to throw away anything if you can help it.
And the kittens are fun, yes I fuss because they are here, but to go sit and let them play and jump and crawl and meow and purr all over you. You can't help but laugh and smile and chuckle and have a good feeling.
And my cats love that I sit for an hour. They all pile on top of me somewhere and purr and eventually fall asleep. Oh to have a nap with their human! What joy.
The dog, he gets to run around more all day and see his human more often. You can't stop that tail from wagging!
It's hard times, but it is good times too.
This has been really tough. I know I am not the only one out there in this economy and I certainly don't expect to be the last, but wow!
So its tough. The only things I buy are a gallon of milk and eggs from the store right now and I make them try to last for a long time. Otherwise, what is in the house for groceries is it. Nothing gets wasted anymore.
Trips - only if I absolutely have to. And if I know someone else is going, a neighbor or family, I give them the couple dollars and request they pick it up for me. I return the favor when I go.
So here's the rub. I have a farm with farm animals. I don't worry to much, I bought enough hay for a whole year and it tested out fantastically, they can live off the stuff without me adding any additional protein, etc. But I do feed a minimum of feed to get minerals and vitamins in them.
But they aren't getting much more than that.
With the farm animals, I used to be able to employee a local resident to do chores if I had to travel, giving someone a part time job. Well that went away. I do chores now because I am home, not working. And its become a game this year. Because of the early cold this year, keeping water that the stock will drink has been one of the challenges. I can't afford much on the electricity bill, so only one common tank is run 24 hours a day. I just can't empty and refill that everyday. Then I have a 16 gallon heated bucket in one pasture that is only run while there is stock out there. It is only filled to what they will drink, so I don't have to empty much at the end of the day. Then I have two animals inside 24/7, they have a heated bucket each. I also have two others that are in part of the day as they have to be switched out for excercise. Their buckets are plugged in for the time they are in their stalls. Then the buckets are emptied and unplugged to make sure there are no power draws there. Which leaves the feed room. It has open pipes in an small 8X12 insulated room with a door. I try to heat it up to 50 degrees while I am doing chores in the evening and then I unplug it, hoping it stays above freezing at night, so no pipes break.
Well so far this has been working. LOL! The electric bill is half of what it was last year. Wow! But this is only the beginning of December. I hope I can keep the electric bill low.
Then there is the distribution of hay outside. I don't waste anything right now. They have to eat their hay to the ground before they get more. No waste. Its going to be a long cold winter. I hope they all understand. They aren't starving thats for sure. They all have a nice layer of fat on them. Maybe a bit too much even. LOL!
Okay so that leaves the house. Only one light on in a room and the room has to be occupied to have it on. Now here's the rub. I inherited 4 kittens last week. They were in a bad situation, I won't go into that. But they needed to be moved. Mind you they are all up for adoption so they eventually will go to loving homes. When speaking of lights, they can't not have light from sundown to 9 or so in the bedroom the occupy. So they get a light on for about 5 hours every evening. Now this wouldn't be an issue, but I have my own cats and they share my light in the room I occupy. So these littles guys are getting special treatment. They can't be in the same company as my older cats, LOL! My older cats would not understand that and chaos would insue.
Plus they eat! I finally got a little bit of cat food from their owners today. With the telling of one of them has a home. Except the one the person chose, has dirrhea right now. So I have to get the little kid cleaned up before he can go to his new home.
So those are some of the challenges. But the title of the post is its hard times - but could be good times, right?!
Yes with the struggles of keeping drinkable water in front of stock and lights and groceries and additional cat food being bought -there comes some joys too. The stock outside seems to appreciate having someone around more often. They talk to me while I do chores. They get petted or hugged or whatever more often. I have broken out the cookbooks and revisited how to make homemade breads, puddings, cookies, stews , etc., etc. I am learning how to make everything s-t-r-e-t-c-h! Not to throw away anything if you can help it.
And the kittens are fun, yes I fuss because they are here, but to go sit and let them play and jump and crawl and meow and purr all over you. You can't help but laugh and smile and chuckle and have a good feeling.
And my cats love that I sit for an hour. They all pile on top of me somewhere and purr and eventually fall asleep. Oh to have a nap with their human! What joy.
The dog, he gets to run around more all day and see his human more often. You can't stop that tail from wagging!
It's hard times, but it is good times too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)