The Expendables

Okay, by now everyone knows what a mess that movie was.  And let's face it, no one really expected Oscar bait, just a fun bunch of nostalgic action-packed goodness.  But it failed on that score as well.  Stallone was simply trying to do too much with too many names in one movie. 
So, what were some of the specific problems?  One - There was little to know background for any of the characters.  Why are thy together?  Why should I care about them at all?  Each character got a little moment of "development" at some point during the movie (Coutre's little thing about his ear and therapist, Ludgren's drug problem, Statham's girlfriend, etc.) but it was always little more than a sound bite.  Two - Too much setup before things really got going.  Three - Too much quick editing during the big finale.  I understand why, there were a lot of big names that needed screen time but it was still somewhat distracting.  Four - Jet Li was done wrong.  He was portrayed largely as a whiny little wimp.  Five - CG blood.  Enough said. 
Now, with all of those problems, I still generally enjoyed the movie.  Part of the reason is that I didn't see it until it was out on Netflix so I was well prepared for its various problems.  Another part is that did enjoy what action there was as well as the humor.  Finally, I also saw and appreciated some of what Stallone was trying to get at with his movie.  What's that?  Stallone, trying to say something?  With this movie?  In a word, yes.
See, if you've watched carefully over the last few years since he has returned to the Catholic Church, he has been trying to say something with his movies.  Rocky Balboa pretty much wore its message(s) on its sleeve and Rambo 4 from what I understand (since I haven't seen it) seems to be at least in part about Rambo finding some sort of peace and redemption.  While beating the snot out of a bunch of thugs. 
With this one, Stallone seems to be largely getting at the importance of relationships.  This is represented by the friendship between the various members of the Expendables as well as between Christmas and his girlfriend.  There were also intimations as to the damage done to a person's psyche by living a self-centered life of violence.  The first hint of this was Gunnar's drug problem and Ross' comment "The life got to him.  It'll get to us all eventually." The real lynch-pin for all of this was Micky Rourke's character of Tool, specifically his speech about turning his back on someone who was about to commit suicide and how that has haunted him ever since.  The moral, if all you see is the pain, the despair, "the blood and the mud" your heart will harden and it will die.  The only cure is to give yourself to some cause outside of yourself, Ross's case the woman they met on the island. 
So, there was some good stuff going on in the Expendables, just not enough.  Hopefully, Stallone fixes a lot of these problems with the second one.  Yes, it's already in the works with likely even more action stars of days gone by.

Marching Again

No, I didn’t go to the March for Life in D.C. I did that a couple of years ago and it was a great experience and hope to go again someday. Fact is though that it is expensive and is at least two days away from the wife and kids. So, what I did instead was participate in a little local March here in Holland, MI. Things got started at 7pm sharp (I assume it was sharp because I got there couple of minutes late and had to walk rather briskly to catch up) at a park downtown and went around the block. After the mini-march we filed into a Christian Reformed church across the street from the park for a brief period of song and prayer. There was also a brief testimonial from a woman who works as a pregnancy counselor for Bethany Christian Services, which is mostly known for its adoption work. She told us how when she was 21 she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy and came face-to-face with the difficulty of living out her pro-life convictions. With the support of her family though, she had the baby and gave him up for adoption…to her sister and her husband. Her son in now seventeen and doing very well indeed.

This story gets right to the heart of the pro-life movement. It is not about condemning those who have abortions (the culture that supports its legality yes, the women having them, no) but rather about reaching out and offering support to people in the support and affirmation of the sacredness of human life.

Sadly, on the way home, I was listening to NPR which found its own little way to commemorate the anniversary. They decided to do an interview with a nice, young, seemingly intelligent and thoughtful woman who had chosen to never have children. She had gone so far as to have ligation done to make sure that it simply never happens. Now, a whopping seven months later, she claims to have no regrets. Perhaps she doesn’t and perhaps she never will. But she will also never know what she is missing. And like all the big things in life, no one can really tell her either. You simply have to take the leap of faith and plunge in head first before you can truly realize the joys (and yes, frustrations) of parenthood. I encourage you to pray for this woman and her other “child-free” friends that they may be willing to see children not as a burden and an obstacle but rather as a blessing and joy. After all, at the end of the day, the vacations, TVs, cars and anonymous sex comes to an end. They all leave eventually and leave one feeling empty. But the smile of a child is forever. No, don’t rationalize it, live it.

This year’s anniversary of Roe vs. Wade is come and gone but next year will be here before we know it. Take some time to reflect on what you can do to support unborn children and their often desperate mothers with no where to turn. Donate time and/or money to a pregnancy center, pray, write your legislators, hold fundraisers and next year, find an event around the anniversary of Roe and go, and try to bring a friends or two while you’re at it.

Krav Maga

For those unfamiliar with those two words, Krav Maga is a martial art developed by the Israeli special forces.  Virtually everyone over there knows at least a little since almost everyone serves in the military.  Granted, not everyone knows the special forces version but even the watered down version is pretty hard-core. 
Anyway, a little more than a year ago, I met an ex-Marine who teaches the art (oddly enough, two days after my brother and I were talking about it) and promptly signed up.  And it has been a ton of fun.  And pain.  Lots of pain.  Moving on.
Finally, after a year I finally got to spar.  First with sticks and then hand-to-hand.  I had done both at place where I used to live but that was nearly a decade ago.  I had remembered it being fun but I had forgotten just how much fun it is.  Fortunately, a lot of previous training came back to me and I think I did quite well.  Hopefully, this will become a regular thing and more people in the class will get gear so they can get in on the action.

Updates

Natural Law update.

The natural law series will be on a bit o a hiatus as we read through what has been done so far and decide if there are holes that need to be filled and if so how to do it. We’ll also be moving forward with the series as well, so don’t worry about just getting hit with a bunch of revisions.

Coming soon

I’m finally going to be starting work on an essay on science fiction that I mentioned a while back. Mostly, how it is a legitimate form of literature and how it can be of great service in exploring human nature. I also may be posting reviews of some movies such as Inception (probably need to watch it again first), The Expendables and maybe even Terminator Salvation.

Nature of this blog

So, I was discussing things with my brother the other day and he asked what sort of goals I had for my blog. Quite simply, I don’t have any big plans, simply to have fun with it. That said, if it becomes something more, great.  Well, that isn't exactly true.  I do hope that by looking at a number of different things and providing a certain perspective, I can make some small contribution to the preservation of Christian civilization.  Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say its restoration.

That is also a big part of why this blog covers a number of different things, I don’t really want it to be just one thing.  Culture involves many different factors after all.  So, I’ll do a lot of movie and book reviews (because that’s the most fun for me) but there will also be the occasional political commentary, pro-life updates and whatever else strikes my fancy. Now, that doesn’t mean I plan on just blogging from the seat of my pants. I intend to write quality stuff and hopefully improve over time (another reason for the blog by the way) such that it would be worthy of being picked up by advertisers or something. Again, advertising isn’t the goal, improving my writing is. (Which reminds me, I need to start proof reading posts before I put them on the site.) As another aside, that doesn’t mean that my reviews will suddenly become more conventional. I intend to continue spending time not only hitting standard points such as acting, effects, plot, etc but to also tease out the various themes explored in the given movie or book.  If anything, I want to do more of that.

Of course, I am also open to suggestions so if anyone likes or doesn’t like something specific, let me know.

Good news, bad news

Good news - Some friends of mine down in Atlanta report that they managed to convince two women on their way to an abortion to keep their babies.  A couple of other women turned away as well, although we don't know if they changed their minds for sure.  Still, good news that shows a difference can be made just by being out in front of these "clinics."  So, if you can, get out there.  If not, pray.  Actually, pray if you can get out there too. 
Bad news - About fifty babies still died at that abortuary on the same day.  Still lots of work to be done.  Which reminds me, if you are in the Holland, MI area come to Centennial Park Monday the 24th at 7 pm.  The local Right to Life group is holding a little mini-March that night for the unborn.  Be there!  And wherever you are, find other local event to attend.  Or go to the big March in D.C.  I went a couple of years ago and it is definitely an experience. 

John Carter of Mars

For some time now, I’ve been promising a review of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Martian Tales Trilogy. At last, here it is. Of course, I read them several months ago now, so my memory is a touch fuzzy. The good news for you is that this should be a relatively short post.

First, a note on presentation. I bought the Barnes and Noble edition which is great in terms of price ($9.99 for the three book collection) but horrible in terms of quality presentation. First, the cover is a rather bland picture of Mars, which is quite the contrast with vivid fantasy art that normally goes with these books. The book is also riddled with typos. Apparently Barnes and Noble couldn’t be bothered to run it through the spell checker. It is also a flimsy glued binding which will start to fall apart after just a few readings. But again, it was only ten bucks for three books.

It also has a forward that reads like it was written by a bachelors in humanities at Berkley. There were numerous times during the book that I found myself wondering if that person had read the same book I was reading. For example, he was talking about Carter’s attitude to the Martians as being like that of a British officer to the people in the various colonies. To make his point, he quotes Carter saying something like “I am a better master by being a kind master.” Presumably this quote would have come from the third book, Warlord of Mars when Carter is basically made king of the whole planet. But no, it doesn’t refer to the Martians at all, not the sentient ones anyway. It actually comes from the first book and refers to a beast of burden used by the green Martians much as we use horses.

Moving on to the story, it quickly becomes clear that the author the forward got one thing right, it is an action-adventure story, with the closest modern counterpart being probably Indiana Jones. That is, character, plot, and setting all exist largely to facilitate the action. Not that all these other story elements are completely neglected, they simply aren’t the point. The point is that John Carter is an unstoppable warrior who leaps first and looks second, and fortunately usually finds himself on the side of right.

Things begin with an introduction to our hero, who knows well that he is “not like other men,” for a number of reasons. These include the fact that his nephew cannot remember Carter ever looking any different, even though he first met his uncle as a small child and is now a full-grown man. In fact, Carter himself really doesn’t remember ever being any different, seemingly perpetually to be aged in his mid-thirties and in peak physical condition.

The adventure begins in Arizona where John Carter is prospecting for gold. Naturally, not all is peaceful and he winds up taking refuge from a band of natives in a cave where is seemingly overcome by some gas from within. This triggers a kind of out of body experience in which he is transported to Mars. It is a “kind” of out of body experience because we quickly realize that he has a fully functioning body on Mars, in addition to the one left in the cave on earth. This isn’t explained, and frankly doesn’t need to be. As I said, such things really aren’t the point.

Once there, he quickly is captured by a tribe of green Martians. These are four-armed green giants who live a brutal existence among the deserts and ancient ruins of Mars. While a prisoner, he actually becomes a chieftain of the tribe, basically by killing everyone who pisses him off (don’t worry, they deserve it) and so earns the respect of this warlike people, especially of Tars Tarkas, apparently just about the only green Martian with something like a conscience. He also makes the acquaintance of Deja Thoris, who is a red Martian and looks human, in fact, like a very beautiful human. She is also the princess of Mars and thus a great prize of the green Martians. Carter though, eventually helps her to escape. Through a number of other adventures, he gets her back to her home city of Helium, marries her and forms an alliance with all the green Martians after Tars Tarkas becomes their big chief. First book ends with Carter rushing to restart the air production facility that continually replenishes Mars’ thin atmosphere. But not before passing out and waking back up in the cave in Arizona.

The second book involves John Carter’s return to Mars ten years later. Rather than a quick reunion with Deja Thoris and their child (who had not quite hatched – yes hatched – at the end of the first book) he is plunged into the deep south of Mars. This is where their religion thought Heaven was. However, we quickly find out that this Heaven is more like Hell, populated with great white apes and strange plant-men who rend nearly everyone who gets down the river. If they make it past them, they are taken prisoner by a race of white Martians who essentially are the priests of the land. They, however are not the top of the food chain though as they are themselves enslaved by a race of black Martians, whose leader is the goddess of Mars. Naturally, over the course of the book, Carter exposes the whole brutal deception, leading right to the third book in which he leads the red and green Martians in the defeat of the a coalition of surviving and discontented black and white Martians who are joined by some discontented red Martians and the long-last race of yellow Martians who hide in a secret city at Mars’ north pole.

As I said, though, they real star of the books is Carter’s physical prowess and loyalty to Deja Thoris and Tars Tarkas, all of which are demonstrated through a never ending series of sword and fist fights. All in all, the action is written well, and Tars Tarkas is as good of a character as John Carter. Deja Thoris though is a largely forgettable damsel in distress, bringing little to the story except motivation for Carter. Which now that I think about it is a very good thing. After all, no motivation equals no story. So while her visible role is small, the whole series of books couldn’t exist if not for her. Something to ponder.

My personal recommendation is that if you want a fun read to just let the brain relax a bit, pick up a John Carter book and enjoy the ride. However, I wouldn’t recommend reading multiple stories in a row since they constant battles and demonstrations of Carter’s invincibility do start to get a tad repetitive after a while.

Natural Law - Decalogue Part 2

Finally, the next natural law essay.


Natural Law – The Commandments Part 2

The last time, we took a relatively in-depth look at the first three, or theistic
commandments and just how they can be understood from a natural law perspective, or
rather three different natural law perspectives. Today, we continue with a brief survey of
the next seven or social commandments. Since they all have a fairly obvious relevance
to the well-being of society our procedure will be somewhat different here. Instead of
looking at them from the material/subjective, philosophical and theistic perspectives as
before, we will mostly confine ourselves to a relational perspective, looking at the basic
meaning of each commandment and what sort of situations each relates too. So, let’s get
started.

The Fourth Commandment – Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother

This commandment is certainly not a favorite today but it is absolutely essential. First,
it is necessary because it is through the action of our mothers and fathers that we exist at
all and their subsequent care and sacrifice get us through our most vulnerable years and
teach us how to be responsible adults ourselves. And responsible adults are responsible
citizens who are a benefit to their society rather than a burden on it. Even if there were
no commandment, a very basic material sense of justice would require that some sort of
recompense be offered.
Through this sense of honor and respect towards those who have come before us, we also
learn to respect and honor employers, elected officials and the laws they make. Without
this basic respect, the rule of law would itself be called into question.
It should be noted that respect, honor and obedience only go so far. If any authority is
attempting to abuse its power to contravene higher law, then it is not to be obeyed. For
example if you were required to kill your ailing grandmother for the good of the state.

The Fifth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Kill

Most people do not question the validity of this commandment. After all, it is difficult to
disagree with a commandment that prohibits the taking of human life for anything other
than purposes of defense. Still, let’s clarify that a little bit. First of all, the intent is not to
prohibit killing in every instance, but rather to prohibit the taking of innocent human life.
Meaning that killing to defend yourself, another person or your country is permissible if
there is no other alternative.
Included as innocent human life are also the unborn (the most innocent of all) and
euthanasia. Both of these actions are prohibited simply on the basis that human life is
unique and a gift not to be squandered or taken from anyone else.

The Sixth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Commit Adultery

It is obvious how adultery can affect a marriage, but how does it affect society? Simply
because of the fact that is affects the marriage. When one spouse cheats, the trust
of the other spouse and that of any children involved is greatly damaged. This can
color all future relationships to the extent of doubting the validity of marriage and of

wanting to avoid children so they may not suffer similar pain. This obviously affects the
development and even the existence of future generations and so of society.

The Seventh Commandment – Thou Shalt not Steal

This is another easy one. Theft, of money, property, goods, ideas, etc deprives a person
of what is rightfully theirs, undermining basic motivation for work as well as fostering a
culture of fear and suspicion that can contribute to a sense of isolation from other people,
thus fragmenting society.

The Eight Commandment – Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness

Again, most people would certainly agree that lying should be avoided, certainly in the
case of falsely accusing people of action that they have not committed. But beyond such
obvious injustice, lying in general (to our spouse, to our employer, priest, friends, etc)
is yet another action that can understand the basic fabric of society. This is because our
laws and even daily interactions assume that most people have a basic concept of truth,
that it is important. We simply could not function if we always assumed that everyone
was out to swindle us, from the stock broker to the mechanic changing our oil. We trust
them to do their job. That is we trust them to not bear false witness as the nature and
quality of their work. Without this basic level of trust we all would soon be nervous
wrecks constantly looking over our shoulders for the next person trying to put one over
on us.

The Ninth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Covet thy Neighbor’s Wife

Alright, the other commandments all involve certain actions, even honoring our mothers
and fathers, while beginning in the mind certainly must result in some sort of concrete
action. So, it’s easy to see how these have an effect on the stability of society and thus
reflect the natural law. But how does coveting play into this? After all doesn’t it simply
happen in the mind? The answer of course is no. True, initially certain thoughts may
enter the mind and then leave; a situation that simply reflects the human condition. Even
the greatest saints suffered temptations. However, once those thoughts are entertained,
they can fester and eventually may come out in various little ways. One may begin
treating one’s one wife poorly, or seeking to undermine your neighbor’s marriage in
subtle ways. All of this violates the natural trust that one’s spouse and one’s neighbor
has a right to. And it goes without saying that if things continue in this direction then
violation of this commandment can result in the violation of the commandment against
adultery.

The Tenth Commandment – Thou Shalt not Covet they Neighbor’s Goods

This one of course works just like the ninth commandment. “ like my neighbor’s table
saw,” a thought which is harmless enough. However, this thought can eventually morph
into envy and now I find myself angry that he has one and I don’t. If unchecked, such
an attitude can damage one’s relationships not only with one’s neighbor but one’s

family as one becomes obsessed. Naturally, this situation could lead to violation of the
commandment against theft, or even against killing in certain circumstances.

We’ve completed our brief survey of the seven social commandments and how they
relate to the stability of society. The implicit assumption is that the stability of society is
bound up with the natural law and is itself desirable from the perspective of the natural
law. But is it? And if so, what sort of society? Is the natural law as reflected in the
commandments the only guarantor of a stable society? We will begin to explore these
questions in the next essay as we look at the place of the natural law in the public square.

I know, I know

I'm supposed to have already posted a new natural law essay.  Unfortunately, things were really busy at work and at home last week.  It is well underway though and with some luck will be up on Wednesday night.  I've also continued work on my basement, which is really close now.  Everyone is moved to their new rooms and I'm mostly just finishing some odd trim and building a small handful of doors.  Perhaps two to three weeks and I can start really organizing my brand new library room.

Coming Soon

I'm going to start on a new natural law post and the long promised review of the John Carter of Mars books.  I'm not really sure how much it will resemble a real review but we'll see what happens.  Expect one of them this week.  I've also watched a couple of movies and read some books that may be post worthy.