Well, I should have known I was in trouble when I got lost in the airport...in the States! LAX proved to be a little confusing as I had to leave security and the terminal building and walk outside to a new terminal and check in again and go through another security check (finally got a full body screening). My first new friend was a Korean woman on my flight who persisted in her broken English to tell me about her life, and she even gave me a "Korean" massage. Once landed I followed the directions and got to Shinjuku. However, once in Shinjuku I could not find the place to purchase tickets. I wandered around the busiest train station in the world wheeling an enormous suitcase and wearing a very confused, scared expression for about 30 minutes. I was finally able to communicate to employees what I was looking for and got on my train. By the time I got to Calvin's school I had been traveling for about 23 hours, so I was quite tired and went to sleep.

The next day, Calvin and I headed to the Imperial Palace where we hung out in the gardens. We then went to a famous war shrine and a museum that covered the war history of Japan. It was really interesting to walk through a museum that tells the story of World War II from the other point of view. We then went to a famous temple in Tokyo, and I got my first Japanese meal of noodles and fried pork. To end the evening, we headed to Kichijoji to meet up with some of Calvin's friends.

Blake and Black Swans

There’s been a lot of talk lately about the dark, new film Black Swan. The consensus seems to be that it is obviously artful but one wishes she had not watched it. Hmm… sounds like a Darren Aronofsky film all right. Last weekend I finally got a chance to see this much anticipated film. Be warned that, though I loved this movie, it contains very offensive sexual scenes. I do not believe that this movie is for everyone. Also, I spoil the ending ahead. At the beginning of the film, we immediately get a picture of innocence: a timid ballerina with devout discipline to the techniques of dance. From this point on I could not help but view the film through the lens of William Blake’s poetry (note: my Romantics professor never really agreed with my interpretation of Blake).

In the hot climate that this film has erupted, I am trying to find reasons that this film is valuable and significant outside of its artistic production. I believe that there is something spiritually significant in the film’s story. What we have here is Blake’s theme of innocence and its inevitable movement into experience, which ultimately leads to death. O.K. Too nerdy? Well, it is essentially the story of Eve. At the beginning of the story, the young dancer is a near perfect individual. She has a mastery of technique and a blameless personality that qualifies her to dance as the white swan. However, there is something missing that disqualifies her from embodying the black swan. The movie then chronicles her slow move into experience through sexual encounters, jealousy, and violence. She has eaten the apple, and it has changed her; this state of experience leads to her death. The movie asserts that while this transformation is inevitable, there is also something good, even perfect in it. Perfection is only achieved by first going through a state of experience. In my reading, Blake reaches this same conclusion. And this is what I believe most Christians will probably be offended by. Did we need to enter the state of sin or would it have been better to stay in Eden?

-Call of Duty: Black Ops (Xbox 360)
-The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot (or any book of his poetry)
-Pilgrim At Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
-Scarf
-Wool Gloves
-Indoor Basketball
-Coffee Grinder
-Coffee Mugs

Stuff I need for my apartment:

-Shower Curtain
-Hand Towels
-Bath Towels
-Lazy Boy chair
-End Table
-basically any kitchen tools/supplies (cutting knife, silicone spatula, cutting board, anything really)

The Passion of Joan of Arc

The first movie on the Image's list that I decided to tackle was The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). It is a silent film directed by Carl Dreyer. The first thing that I noticed about the movie is that there seems to be a good reason that people don't watch 1920s silent films anymore. Its hard to watch a movie in complete silence. It actually takes effort to stay focused and follow the action of the movie. In the absence of sound, the viewer must glean all emotion from the sense of sight. I immediately had a new appreciation for music and the power it has to move an audiences emotional connection and reaction to a film. To convey the intense emotion that this film is famous for, Dreyer used stunning photography. Long, almost awkward, shots are held on the main actresses face, so that the viewer can examine and begin to experience every painful gesture of her saintly countenance. By the time she is being burned at the stake, I found that the silent film is the perfect medium to tell the story of Saint Joan. It allows the viewer to experience just a hint of the patience and resolve required of a martyr.

We see it all the time: "Top 100 Films of All-Time". We get excited until we realize we don't recognize the titles of seventy-five percent of the list. A closer look at the years of release of the films usually tells us why we don't recognize the list. Our culture doesn't really like to watch old movies. Many would rather *gasp* read a book than trudge through a black and white film that is "supposed to be really good". After being recruited to help with compiling Image's top 100 films list, I thought it might be time to explore some of these "great", old films. The list is decided by the journal's online forum community. It is essentially decided by a small group of cinephiles who have an interest in creating a list with their faith's development in mind. As a result, the list does not have all the typical top movies, but includes a long list of foreign and old films. Of their 2010 top 100 films I had heard of seven and seen five...not a great percentage. So I've decided to give some of these films a chance.

Ever since my brother has moved to Japan to study linguistics, I have been mildly intrigued by Japanese art and language. Consequently, many of my poems (a sparse handful at best to keep up the illusion that I am artistic) have been haikus. It also seems like a fitting form for the Autumn season.

Gnarled branches fight leaves
the bloody petals drip down
October has won

One of my theological, philosophical, and political musings this quarter has been what is known as the Euthyphro question. It is a question of morality as Socrates asks Euthyphro "is something right because the gods (or God) command it, or do the gods (or God) command it because it is right?" In my philosophy classes, the consensus seems to be that there must be something that right is that is the reason that God makes his commandments. If not, then his commandments are arbitrary and random which is something I find hard to believe. But a view like this could also seem to put something in authority over God. Uh Oh. Anyway, in my imaginative writing class I was assigned to write a poem streaming three entries from my writing journal. This was the result of trying to weave three articles with the Euthyphro question in mind. If this poem seems too cynical or harsh on God, keep in mind that I've been reading 17th and 18th century poetry all quarter and am trying to imitate some of their doubt to represent my own struggle.

Morality lies under sands of a private beach.
Many are sure it flows from the Divine Castle built
on the shore. But this cannot be where it forms.
To make these laws not arbitrary wishes of Being,
even God must be measured in His good.
We all are looking for a way to make sense
of life. Smashing politics into pieces,
trying to make it work for you and
for me.
Opposition falls on man,
clothing him in confusion,
tripping him short of the divine.


Still a work in progress as my workshop group pointed out to me this week (the consensus there was that the poem did not make much sense :))