Five Things

1) I just saw a spider crawl up my bedroom wall and stop on the "W" of the Hollywood sign poster I have. Then I thought about how creepy it would be to see giant spiders on the actual Hollywood sign. I think that's actually a terrible horror film already....

2) This Christmas I am re-discovering my affinity for playing the piano and baking lemon squares.

3) I got to hold two newborn babies in the past week.

4) Leaving home is going to be harder than I thought. Emotionally and financially.

5) Here are the 6 major films opening nationwide on Christmas day, in order that I am most excited about them:

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2. The Spirit
3. Valkyrie
4. Frost|Nixon
5. Marley & Me
6. Bedtime Stories

More thoughtful posts coming soon to a computer near you.

Secret Millionaire?

What do you think of this new show??

Late Night in Swain

Far better than any of the late night television shows, there is "Late Night in Swain." This is what I have dubbed the small community of filmmakers that squirrel themselves away in the tech-laced building at all hours of the night perfecting our small, but meaningful (to us) creations.

Overheard recently:

"It's 1 am - I may start gesticulating wildly for no reason." -Zac

"....that's what she said." -Everyone

"I will render all. All to thee I freely render" -Me

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust." -T.S. Eliot

"It's business time." -Kris

"I like girls. They smell nice." -Zac

"Some parts are really really fun to get into and some parts aren't. Didn't you think that last part was fun, Tim?" -Kris

"I was poking around and I was like, 'Man! That is exactly what I want!'" -Zac

"No! No! No! I lost these files!" -Everyone

"Until recently I used to mispronounce 'cacophony' and 'mogul.'" -Me

"I hate audio." -Everyone

"I like hot keys. They're hot." -Kris


End scene.

Fidelity

Mmmm. This is my heart right now. (Click on it to watch.)



And for those of you who don't like country music, unfortunately, this song by Gary Allan is also quality:

i'm still learning how to pray
trying hard not to stray
try to see things your way
i'm still learning how to pray
i'm still learning how to trust
it's so hard to open up
and i'd do anything for us
i'm still learning how to trust

i'm still learning how to bend
how to let you in
in a world full of tears
we'll conquer all our fears
i'm still learning how to fly
i wanna take you higher
i'll be there till the end
i'll be your lover and your friend
i'm still learning how to bend


Mmmm. Lessons.

For Your Consideration

No, this is not a post about the Oscars. (Though one is soon to come, I assure you.)

This is to spark dialogue about a piece of unhealthy propaganda and its consequences. What say you?

The Evidence
The original letter - James Dobson writes a heinous 'Letter from 2012 in Obama's America"
The response - Jim Wallis writes a well-articulated response, in my humble opinion.


What's your stance?
5 words or 5 paragraphs...whatever. Just chime in!

Elections + Links

Elect the President.
Interesting link to a Sojourner's article by Shane Claiborne about the elections and endorsing.


"Elect" religious leaders.
I want to read this book (linked above). Generally, Rob Bell says some pretty dead-on stuff about life, love & freedom. And, of course, I like things that call us to a new way of doing this thing we call "church."

Consider this paradox that prefaces this latest book: "There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty. This is a book about those two numbers."


"Elect" a career path.
I'm interviewing on Thursday for an internship in Hollywood through UNC (linked above). I really would like to do this (fingers crossed) and live in the City of Angels making movies and loving the community around me. Patience.


What are you electing?

Two Surprises

I came home today to pick up a picnic basket for my final film project that we're filming this afternoon. And when I came home I had two surprises waiting for me.

1) My dog is dying. It's sad for me, because even though I don't see her that often anymore, I really love her. Her name is Herriot, like James Herriot the British vet (in both senses of the word) around World War II. He wrote a series of short stories about his veterinarian days, the most famous collection of which is All Creatures Great and Small. Quite a history for a small dog.

Herriot's a beagle. She was a little porky, but now she's bones thin and not eating. She used to run around in circles when anyone came home and gave her a biscuit. Now she creeps around the yard, very frail.

I grew up with this dog since I was 8. We had a lot of fun times together playing outside. Here's a picture of her and me 4 years ago:

Farewell, my good friend.


2) I found a short book in our guest bathroom called Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley. Wow. It is exactly what I need right now. The subtitle is "Who Wins when Family and Work Collide."

I've been struggling lately with what is a healthy balance between time with people and work. A couple evenings ago I had an intense conversation with Kris where I realized I'd been neglecting both him and my other friends. For what? To do work? So not worth it.

When I get to the end of my life, I want to look back on relationships that I've invested in and cared for the people around me. As great a legacy as it would be to make a billion award-winning movies, it's not good enough. I think I can do both - I want to do both. But I need to prioritize my relationships and set aside some time for them.

So I apologize to the men and women I have neglected this year. I have been selfishly caught up in kickstarting my career and haven't looked around to see the beautiful people all around me. But I hope to change that in the coming weeks. Do you mind hanging out with me again? ;)


"when success is equated with excess
our ambition for excess wrecks us
when the top of the mind
becomes the bottom line
when success is equated with excess

i want out of this machine
it doesn't feel like freedom

this is my american dream
i want to live and die for bigger things
i'm tired of fighting for just me
this is my american dream"

-switchfoot