We're back baby...

Just a note of congratulations to the 2008 Western Conference Champs Los Angeles Lakers. And to all of you conspiracy theorists who think the NBA is rigged, well, you are probably right, but who cares!!!!! The Lakers are back baby!!!...bring on the Celtics.

7 reasons why Narnia "failed"

Prince Caspian, from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, opened this weekend in some 4000 movie theaters around the country. It had absolutely zero opening day competition and was riding the wave of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, which grossed upward of 745 million worldwide.

Caspian ended up grossing 55 million in the opening weekend, a great opening for 99% of movies but a severe disappointment for those involved with the film. It was not near the disaster of Speed Racer, which will ultimately go down as one of the biggest flops in history. Still, it has to be disappointing to Disney and Walden Media, especially considering they are currently filming Voyage of the Dawn Treader and have the rights to the other 4 films after that.

While I enjoyed the film and thought is was an upgrade from the previous one, here are 7 reasons why I think Narnia did not perform well:

1. While the Narnia series are popular books, aside from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, they do not have the same popularity as the LOTR or Harry Potter.

2. This movie didn't really know who its audience was. I took 15 junior high students to see it and they all thought it was "good" but that the action was lacking because it was so bloodless (there was high action but no blood or gore). Nonetheless, it was an intense movie and not one that I would not openly recommend for a 7 year old. The older kids thought it was too "PC" or "Churchy" while the little kids will get scared.

3. Ironman kicks major butt and I think everyone was so amped on that movie that a fantasy adventure to a magical place called Narnia was not really working. What looked like amazing timing on release date really didn't work.

4. Indiana Jones comes out next week. Many adults who still consider Indy as a mentor and father figure are thinking of no other movies but the Crystal Skull. I can't blame them. I wanted to cry at the previews.

5. The 4 kids in the movie, while decent actors, do not carry with them any emotional ties with the audience. Aragorn, Frodo, Legolas, Gimli, etc... were what made LOTR such a great ride. It wasn't the action as much as what will happen to everyone on the journey to Mordor. Narnia has failed to introduce a character that mesmerizes audiences. Note- I think Aslan fills this role, He is incredible but he has such limited screen time that you don't get a chance to connect with him.

6. C.S. Lewis is such a brilliant writer that it seems extremely difficult to bring his words to life on the screen. He is so poetic and implores such imagery that much of the magic of the books in lost on the big screen. Harry Potter, on the other hand, has made an easy transition to screen and I think is actually boring if you have read the books. Caspian, by the way, is one of the more exciting of the books in terms of action. I don't know how they are going to make The Silver Chair or The Magician's Nephew into a full length feature.

7. The Christian Coalition is still watching reruns of The Passion and failed to show up for this movie, or maybe they are saving money to secretly go watch Harry Potter. Sinners!

The book of Jacob

Ἰάκωβος - James, Jacob
Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
Strongs # 2385 - (Iákōbos) - Jacobus, the name of three Israelites.');">Ἰάκωβος - this is the Greek name for James. It actually has two meanings, James or Jacob, and based on its spelling sounds more like Jacob than James. Supposedly the translators of the King James named the epistle James after King James of England. Jacob was robbed.

For the next 5 weeks in the High School and Junior High group we are studying the book of Jacob (James). It is an amazingly practical book and a great intro read for someone who hasn't spent much time in church or in scripture. I asked a group of high school students if they ever were confused about where and how to begin in reading their bibles. Almost all of them raised their hands. Then I proceeded to ask how many practice the "random flip" when reading. This method, which entails flipping open to a random verse,reading it and then moving on to something else, seems to be a popular study tool for many people. I think this reflects poorly on the pastors and leaders in the church. We oftentimes do such a bad job of teaching people how to read scripture, instead focusing on our great biblical insight and application, which every person goes home and meditates on immediately after the service (yeah right). We have no problem passionately telling people they need to read, read, read their bibles but rarely to we focus on the hermeneutical aspect of digesting scripture. In this postmodern age, it feels like we are swinging back in history to the time when there were no bibles in modern languages and priests read the scriptures to the people. How many churchgoers rely on the words of the pastor to give them the encouragement they need to "make it through" the week until the next Sunday. A normal schedule looks like this: fill up (Sunday morning), deplete with the realities of this world (Sunday afternoon - Saturday night), fill up again (Sunday morning). We wonder why the church is struggling to transform communities.

I am really excited to walk with these students over the next 5 weeks. I have challenged them to read the same chapter every day that we are studying. My prayer is that they would develop a passion and a fire to know scripture and not be content to just flip, read, close, forget.

A little update

-Jen and I went surfing on Monday, the first time we have been in the water since the shark attack. The surf was 2-3 ft. and glassy, it was about 70 degrees and sunny, and the winds were very calm. As I was riding a wave, th sun who shine through the water is it would break behind me, like the water was an emerald. Beautiful. It was a day that reminded me how much I love living in San Diego.

- As we were sitting out there in the water a school of little fish were jumping around. Jen was freaking out, imagining a 17 ft. Great White chasing a school of 4 inch fish. I laughed. I'm so sensitive.

- In case you were wondering if I was nervous about going into the water, rest assured, I made Jen go out first to see if any predators were lurking. I'm so sensitive.

- I got into a conversation with a Jehovah's Witness at a coffee shop. He saw that I was translating Greek and started a conversation. He just wanted to talk about the end times and how America is the new "Babylon." I wanted to talk about the Trinity (which he doesn't believe in) and how absolutely essential that is to who God is. He didn't want to go there. I found myself angry afterwards at his theological beliefs.

- We had a farewell party last night for the high school pastor at the church. It was a great celebration and very encouraging for him. It has been fun to be a part of a healthy positive parting between church and staff. Not always the case. I will be taking over the high school group for the next 6 weeks. Pray for me. I want these 6 weeks to be a spiritually challenging and affirming time for these students.

- Speaking of church, I had the opportunity to facilitate a worship night at Daybreak last Sunday night. It was nothing big but the first opportunity I have had to be a part of the larger church. I was really nervous, which was a strange feeling, but had a good time leading God's people in a time of worship. I struggled explaining the Lord's Supper though. Such a mysterious and beautiful connection to Christ that is hard to explain in 5-7 minutes. I kept running in circles as I prepared for the evening. When the time came I froze and did it in 3 minutes.

-Really excited about the Spurs-Hornets matchup. Should be fun to watch. CP3 might be my new favorite non-Laker (now that Nash is out). I know that I predicted a Celtics-Lakers finals, and I think it could happen, but I would also love to see them lose to the Hawks.

- Lastly, I am hungry and am in desperate need of coffee. Viacondios.

Shark attack

There was a horrible shark attack yesterday morning in Solana Beach.

A man was swimming with a group of friends training for a triathlon when he was attacked by a 12-17 ft. great white. Several surfers claimed that there were distraught seals nearby at the time of the attack. The man was bit on the thighs and eventually bled to death on the beach.

It has been a surreal day for everyone in San Diego. Almost everyone I came in contact with yesterday made a comment about the attack. It strikes close to home because everyone here spends a lot of time in the water and we all think we are immune to being attacked. The last fatality in San Diego was 1994 and even that one was suspect (many think that the woman drowned first). Shark attacks happens in Florida or Australia or Northern California, not San Diego. Our beaches are free of anything dangerous; we don't even like seaweed on the sand (or Europeans in their speedos).

A marine biologist (not George Costanza) said in the interview that the chance of an attack are the same an hour after the man died and in a month from now. Sharks are migratory so this one is probably on his way to Nor Cal but there are always other sharks in the water. The inclination for all of us is to assume that this shark is a man eater and is going to attack swimmers and surfers up and down the beach. Thank you Mr. Spielberg for that phobia.

I did check the surf camera at Swamis, a beach about 2 miles from the attack, and 3 hours after a man was killed about 30 surfers were in the water. Can lightening strike twice? I don't know but I think I am going to find out this afternoon.

Western Conference Champs!

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers who clinched the Western Conference Regular Season Title last night.

It is on to the madness of the playoffs in the Western Conference. I am actually more excited about the NBA now than I have been since Magic and Co. steamrolled in 1988.

Consider these potential matchups.
#1 Lakers vs #8 Nuggets
#2 Hornets vs #7 Mavs
#3 Spurs vs #6 Suns
#4 Jazz vs #5 Rockets

then...

Lakers vs Jazz
Hornets vs Suns

THEN...
Lakers vs Suns (Shaq and Kobe collide in the most hyped Western Conference Finals in history.

and finally....
LAKERS vs CELTICS....

EPIC

The Circle of Life

An old friend came home last night, hopefully making one last stop before her eternal resting place.

Jen and I have been praying of late about getting out of our current car payment with the Hyundai (which is a nice car but not really "us") and obtaining a car with cash that we could drive around for a couple years (hopefully) while we save for another car.

On top of that, ever since we moved back to Cali I have wanted a truck. I love trucks. They are not super practical for our lifestyle, we don't have the need to pull anything or load anything but guys just love trucks. Much of our life as males makes no sense anyway. The only practical side to a truck is for our surf career, which is taking more time that we thought to materialize.

Back in 1998 I purchased a Nissan pickup truck while I was entering my junior year of college. It was a 1994 V6 extended cab pickup. When I moved to Colorado after graduation I was forced to get rid of it because it is a rear wheel drive truck and would not fare well in the snow.

I sold it to my parents, who in turn sold it to my sister, who eventually sold it back to my parents. Then my parents sold the truck to my uncle who has had it for the last couple years. The truck is quite incestuous.

I heard the other day that my uncle Alan had gotten a new(er) truck so I called him up to inquire about my old pickup.

It is funny how life can circle back on us. I am not sure if I am making a wise step financially for our family or seriously digressing in life as I am entering my 30's. I guess it is not worth too much thought because the reality is that our new car is my old car and she has come back to pay homage to the many great miles I put on her when we were both young and full of life. I like to say that I brought her into the world and I am going to take her out. Fitting.

So if you need to move, pickup an antique dresser, or throw a surfboard in the back, I can accommodate that request once again. Don't be a stranger.