Ken Jr

OK, not really…but director Roland Emmerich did say that it would be his last disaster film (should we really believe him? C’mon, this is the guy who gave us the now classic uber-patriotic-alien-disaster-movie, Independence Day. More recently he directed the “Everyman’s version” of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, aka The Day After Tomorrow.)

So, after finally seeing 2012 (thank you Redbox) I can weigh in on all of the deep philosophical questions that people have been wrestling with since this movie debuted. These questions include “Would you risk your only chance of survival to save your purse-sized dog?”, “Is it more ethical to pay 1 billion euros for a place on the doomsday survival boat or stow-away on that same boat?” Oh, and I can’t forget the classic conundrum “Now that it’s the end of the world, should I actually be nice to my ex-wife’s boyfriend or should I try to outlive him and win back her heart?” If you are hoping for anything deeper when you watch 2012 you will probably be disappointed as the movie can’t decide whether it is better to glorify human survival in the face of impossible odds, or make ridiculous one-liners while billions of people are dying due to earthquakes and tsunamis (don’t worry, only CGI people were killed during the making of this film, not actual humans…well, except for that one guy).

Some other thoughts on 2012:

Pros: Woody Harrelson playing a hilarious conspiracy nut who turns out to be right, cheesy Russian accents, airplanes dodging falling buildings

Cons: lame acting in the midst of what should be horrific moments (especially the scene where a huge chasm opens up in the middle of a grocery store), excessive (and probably misused) scientific jargon, the movie’s unfortunate switch from campy to preachy half-way through (although the cut scene’s reveal that the ending was intended to be far more positive and cheesy), an incredibly anti-climactic ending (trust me, it’s bad, you don’t even want to know)

That’s all for now folks :)

If you thought that my review was enlightening or way off the mark please leave a comment below before the world ends.

I went for another jog today. My friend and I jogged across the Washington Avenue Bridge and part of campus and Dinkytown. I got a few side-cramps, but I rewarded myself by having some hot cakes at McDonald’s afterward. The weather today was fantastic, it is great to see the sun shining so warmly and I definitely think that jogging was a spectacular way to take advantage of the rise in temperatures.

Speaking of McDonald’s, I finally saw the documentary film Super Size Me today. Warning: if you are queasy or become easily grossed out, this film is not for you. The basic premise of the film is that fast-food (McDonald’s in particular) makes you sick. While I still don’t support the idea of suing a restaurant for eating choices that you make, I do think that the film provides a great perspective on American eating habits and our ideas about health.

I went for a brief jog this morning. The weather was gorgeous (if a tad chilly, 17 degree windchill). It was fun to be out and about. Hopefully seeing the sun before I start work will help me to stay positive and focused.

This morning I did something new. I went jogging with a friend. OK, that’s not too profound. Many people thoroughly enjoy jogging and running as ways to stay in shape and stay positive (endorphins, w00t!). The last time that I jogged for more than five minutes (the time it takes me to sprint to the next bus-stop when I’m running late) was in high school. Why the sudden interest? The LDI 5k fundraising race is coming up and I plan to give it my best. The plan is to raise at least 5,000 dollars for the small program by having each sponsored runner acquire $100 dollars in pledges. As a current LDI intern (Trek 1) I definitely want to do my part and that means being able to run a 5k in the first place.

Anyways, all of this got me thinking about the often-used metaphor of the Christian life. You’ve heard it before, right? Run the race (Hebrews 12:1). Running is a challenge. But it’s also more than that. Sometimes I think we as Christians focus too much on the race-track and the finish time. We imagine that the starting gun is about to go off and then…bam! We’re off. Well, though the Christian life can often be very exciting, I think we also need to consider the condition of our heart and body before we run. Running any race requires that we consider the cost involved beforehand. An Olympian trains their body for countless hours before setting foot on the track which will decide if they get a medal. All of this training is not necessarily exhilarating, but it is vital. In the same way, we are meant to train ourselves to be better followers of Christ. We need to be in community, study his word and practice spiritual disciplines before crisis and temptation occurs. Even when things are going “alright” (which itself could be a faulty assumption based on our perspective) we are called to more than the mundane. We are called to equip ourselves, train ourselves and in many other ways respond to the Spirit’s work in our lives.

All of the above assumes of course that we have already received the call to follow Christ. We can only make spiritual commitments like this when we know that our relationship with God has been established. We can’t ever do this work on our own, but we can place our faith and trust in Christ and know that his sacrifice on the cross has paid for our sins. Once we have such a faith, running the race becomes a whole lot easier because we know that the end is already certain.