Merry Christmas

Thanks be to God for the gift of his precious son.

Go read Matthew 1 and 2 and Luke 1 and 2.

;)

Home for the Holidays

Well, I'm back in Tulsa, and I'm enjoying a mandate from my advisor to not do any work over the holiday break. And oh, does it ever feel GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!

Vivaquijote and I (my brother, for the uninformed) finished off our Christmas shopping today, and just enjoyed a bountiful feast of Wendy's spicy chicken sandwiches. Last night was the first time I've had real BBQ since July, and man, was it ever satisfying.

I've also been reading for pleasure recently, something I haven't had much time to do during the semester. I picked up a copy of Stephen King's Gunslinger, the first in the Dark Tower series. Not bad. In fact, I really like it. I've been meaning to try out some of his work, but just haven't been able to do so until now... and I'm pleasantly surprised.

I also borrowed a Sin City graphic novel from my brother, A Dame to Kill For. Once again, Frank Miller has completely blown me away. A lot of people I know don't particularly like the stories of Sin City. To be fair, the stories are dark and hard to stomach, but in the end they have a lot to say about the depravity of the human condition and how even at our worst, there is still a spark of beauty (a shred of the image of God) in even the most monstrous among us. Not to say that makes us good at all (no, if anything it makes us even more depraved), but Miller's work reminds us that it is there, and that there was once something divine about us. Miller also challenges many modern perceptions of good and evil, making even the most tolerant person have to confront the fact that people are, in fact, wicked to the core, and denying this truth can have much more serious consequences than simply earning a person the label "intolerant"... in Sin City, it can get you killed.

As a student of human behavior, I see Sin City as an honest picture of human nature in its most basic form: Wickedly bent towards self-gratification and the satisfaction of its own pride, yet still grasping at the shreds of a shattered sense of nobility, morality, and purpose. Fallen man, unbound and yet enslaved: That is the disturbing beauty of Sin City.

And that is why I will relish every moment of watching the uncut version of Robert Rodriguez's cinematic masterpiece over and over again.

Reading the Sin City novellas in parallel with the book of Jeremiah has been particularly interesting. It helps you understand, in a way, why God is right and just in the kinds of punishments he issued forth. Many times we question God's judgments, and wonder how he could be good and righteous and yet so severe. Then you read Sin City. Then you read Jeremiah. Then you begin to see man as he truly is. Suddenly, you wonder why God has been so merciful.

I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry...

Just click. Oh, and be sure your speakers are on and are turned up LOUD.

Wiping the Dirt From My Filthy Hands...

...after a long semester full of hard work.

We are just rounding the bend into finals week. I haven't updated for a while with anything truly substantial, so I figured that if I was going to, I'd better do it now before I get swamped next week.

Things, though extremely intense, are going very well. I've been getting very high marks on the projects and papers I've been turning in, the class I'm TAing for is going well, and we've actually been talking a lot about designing and piloting the first experiment in what will eventually become my master's thesis over the next year and a half. Good stuff!

On top of that, the snow is still hanging around on the ground. For those of you who don't know, the GF and I had a bit of a wild adventure this past weekend. You can check out her account of the events on her blog (a link to which is conveniently provided on the menu to your right).

I got together with the guys from my bible study last night and played Halo 2 for the first time in months. Oh, man, did we ever suck it up at first. But we eventually all got back into the rhythm of things and had a really good time. It was a very welcome break to the pervading intensity.

Not long now, and I will be flying back to Tulsa for a much needed break. Well, break is a relative term... I will have some reading to do and stimuli to design. Still, it will be nice to get back to Oklahoma, to see my sister (whom I have not seen since July), and spend time with my brother watching South Park and finding ways to make fun of stupid people.

Well, I should get back to work.