Redemptive Ironman

With a worldwide gross of over $480 million, Ironman is a mega-blockbuster. The irony of that is not lost on its star, Robert Downey, Jr.

In 1992, he turned in an Oscar-nominated performance in Chaplain and it seemed Downey had no where to go but up. He went no where but down. No one doubted his acting ability, in fact, directors and actors alike laud him as one of the best in the business. However, personally he had become, as he puts it, “the poster boy for ­pharmaceutical mismanagement”. He lost roles because the insurance on him was prohibitive, he was fired from Ally McBeal, his comeback vehicle at the time. He was more recognized for appearances on Court TV than in movies.

In 2002, he had to put up his entire salary from the film to be in Gothika. The gamble paid off. He met his current wife, Susan Levin, who refused to marry him unless he gave up drugs. He did.

And then along came Ironman. In an interview in the London Telegraph, Downey said, “My victory has been hard won.” That was especially true for getting the role of Tony Stark. On the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Downey recounts telling the studio making the film that he thought he should be Ironman. “They told me I should go on thinking that,” he says with a grin. He had to screen test for the role - something he hadn’t done since Chaplain. “I’m really good at screen tests,” he smirked to Leno.

Life has come full circle. Downey is back where he was after Chaplain, only this time he’s clean, sober and a self-avowed family man. With this megahit, Downey says, “Finally, I’ve got something bigger than my past.” He recognizes the parallels between his life and that of Tony Stark. “People respond to the story. . . .people know my story,” he says. In a recent interview, he said he can feel the public wanting him to succeed.

Comebacks resonate with us because they are part of the ultimate story – Fall and Redemption. We see this time and again in Scripture and, as a Christian, I see it repeatedly in my life. I screw up and the Lord graciously helps me come back – time and again.

In Ironman, opportunistic weapons manufacturer and party animal Tony Stark transforms into a man with a mission. Robert Downey, Jr. transforms from playboy druggie to family man. And we the public cheer both.

[If you’ve seen the movie but didn’t stay through the credits for the extra scene, go here.]

White Hats, Black Hats & Grey Hats

I’m an old movie buff. I grew up watching John Wayne and Audie Murphy westerns where the good guys wore white hats and the bad guys wore black hats and the only grey was in the clothing. Only in Hollywood. In the real world, we live in shades of grey. Heroes have flaws and villains sometimes have virtues. My hubby’s sermon last week reinforced that principle and reminded me that shades of grey exists within the Church as well.

Taken from II Kings 10, we heard the story of Jehu who was zealous for the Lord. That alone would make you think he wears a white hat, but Jehu’s hat is grey.

Jehu was zealous for the Lord and destroyed the Baal worshipers, pouring vengeance out on the house of Ahab and Jezebel. However, Jehu continued the “sins of Jeroboam” - golden calf worship. [Jeroboam had reinstituted golden calf worship (I Kings 12) as the true way to worship God. He apparently maintained that Moses and Aaron had gotten it wrong - Golden calf worship wasn’t idolatry or worshipping another god, it was the proper way to worship.] Jehu was zealous for the Lord and yet very wrong on worship.

That’s a good lesson for the rest of us. In conservative theological circles, we sometimes demand our theologians wear snow white hats. They must be “right” on all matters before we can benefit from their teaching, so we think. I think an argument can be made, based on II Kings 10, that this is an extra biblical standard.

Bobby has helped to broaden my perspective on theological matters. I have become much more ecumenical over the course of our marriage. I am a Presbyterian because I believe the Presbyterian form of church government and reformed theology is the closest to the teaching of Scripture. Nevertheless, I still learn from Baptist teachers. I have an appreciation for some Methodist writers. I have learned from Catholic scholars and even Eastern Orthodox scholars. Anglican Bishop N. T. Wright has opened Scripture to me in marvelous ways!

N. T. Wright is a good example of a white hat with gray stripes. There are many issues on which Bishop Wright and I would part ways (economic matters as a prime example), but Wright is a conservative scholar who goes toe to toe with the liberal theologians of the ‘in search of the historical Jesus’ movement. He stands for the truth and has the academic and intellectual wherewithal to do so.

If I had dismissed Wright as a liberal because of his affiliation with the Anglican church or his views on third-world debt, etc., I would have missed out on some of the most wonderful teaching of our age.

Scripture recognizes heroes sometimes have feet of clay. We should recognize that as well.

Tag Time

A friend tagged me for a blog theme. The idea is to answer the seven categories below and then tag five friends. Sounded fun to me, so here goes:

Ten Years Ago

We were moving from Louisville to Central Kentucky. My hubby was still working himself to death as a fulltime student and fulltime pastor. I was working at a small nonprofit agency. We were making contingency plans just in case the Y2K bug turned out to be TEOTWAWKI (the end of the world as we know it).

Today's To Do List

Medical tapes; start working on Sunday School lesson; continue Spring cleaning; secretarial stuff for hubby; usual daily work.

If I Were Suddenly A Billionaire

1. Rosie's right: Tithe first and remove temptation.

2. Buy a home in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

3. Buy my church a building.

4. Travel.

5. Take care of some financial issues for friends.

3 Bad Habits
Just three? Worry; always underestimate how long a project will take; pack rat.

5 Most Recent Jobs

1. Medical transcriptionist

2. Program Manager, nonprofit agency

3. Office Manager, nonprofit agency

4. Mortgage Manager, Trans Union

5. Office Manager, 9th & O Baptist Church


5 Random Things You May Not Know About Me

1. Have read 2 biographies of Gen. George Patton and the autobiography of Gen. Omar Bradley.

2. Can imitate Marilyn Monroe and Mae West.

3. Afraid of heights (but working on this).

4. Drove over 100 mph on the German Autobahn (and LOVED it).

5. I am great at finding my way through a casino (much to my husband's chagrin).

5 Places I Want to See/See Again
(I'm cheating on this and answering it as a two-parter. )

Want to see: Alaska, Italy, New York City, Glacier National Park, Redwoods

Want to see again: Yellowstone, Zion National Park, northern Colorado, Bavaria, London.


And finally - Guinever, Ellen, Coral - you're tagged!

Forever Young

According to a whole lot of cosmetic commercials, the greatest fear women have is not breast cancer, not cervical cancer, it is getting older. There are billions of dollars invested in products that promise to help you not show your age. It seems that aging has become a social sin.

As part of this ridiculous mindset, Neutrogenia has an anti-aging product out now being promoted by Jennifer Garner. She is all of 36 and obviously over the hill. Just look at her:

Scripture speaks of wisdom coming with age. All our culture speaks of is to fear it. Good grief.

Facebook Fatigue?

In an effort to keep in touch with my younger friends, I have a Facebook page. I also have Facebook applications. Lots of Facebook applications. Lots and lots of Facebook applications! While most are fun, I hate the automatic "invite 20 of your friends to join" spam attachment that comes with these apps.

I joined a Facebook petition seeking to ban the inviting friends stuff. Seems I'm not the only one who's tired of it. Time Magazine has a whole article on it. Read it here.

In Memory of Charlton Heston

1984 was a magical year for me. My interest in politics and major in communications at the University of Louisville combined to present wonderful opportunities. The best opportunity was seeing President Ronald Reagan speak after the Louisville Debate from a front and center second floor position in the Atrium of the Hyatt Regency!

A close second favorite opportunity was the privilege of meeting Moses - Charlton Heston. Mr. Heston was campaigning for President Reagan and I attended one of the publicity stops. I eagerly stood in line for a chance to shake this iconic actor's hand, fully expecting to be rushed through and barely get a chance to glimpse his face. I couldn't have been more wrong.

Mr. Heston treated all those in line with equal respect. He stopped, shook your hand and looked you right in the eye while making a point to speak to you and exchange brief pleasantries. He did this for each and every person in line. He was warm and gracious.

While I admired his work as a thespian and agreed with and respected his work in the political arena, I was thrilled to find meeting the man didn't disappoint me in the least.

For biographical sketch, go here.

Bear-ly Dancing

Wonder what bears do when no one's around? Dance with trees of course! Here's a cute video of a grizzly and a black bear scratching themselves on a tree and looking for all the world like a dancers!

Addicted To Texting? You're Sick!

Is the first thing you think about doing when you get home from work to log on and check your email? If at home during the day, are you in front of your computer screen several times a day? Do your thumbs need physical therapy from all the texting you do? Is a vacation without a computer just not worth taking? If so, some Australian researchers have expressed their concern for your mental well being in a recent issue of American Journal of Psychiatry.

In the article, Dr Jerald Block said there were four symptoms: suffering from feelings of withdrawal when a computer cannot be accessed; an increased need for better equipment; need for more time to use it; and experiencing the negative repercussions of their addiction. Dr Block said that although text messaging was not directly linked to the Internet, it was a form of instant messaging and needed to be included among the criteria.

You can read the news report here. I really should text my friends about this. . .

A Singer's Fairytale

Do you ever wonder what talent goes undiscovered within people working on assembly lines, in office cubicles or selling mobile phones? One of the most inspirational videos on You Tube is that of an unassuming phone salesman in Britain who looks like anything but an opera singer, but who opens his mouth and pours out his heart in song. Paul Potts eventually won Britain’s Got Talent, but here is his audition. Even if you don’t like opera, you’ll like this.

And if you want to hear a trained voice sing Puccini's beautiful Nessun Dorma, take your pick of Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo or Luciano Pavarotti.

Daddy

March 4 is the anniversary of my Dad’s death. I'm still missing him, wanting to talk to him and hear him laugh. Thankfully, it’s my Dad’s laughter, his sense of humor and fun, that is beginning to make things easier. I’m remembering him with a smile more often than with tears. Rodney Atkins’ new song, Cleaning This Gun is making me smile a lot these days. My Dad actually greeted one of my dates with a gun in hand which he just happened to be cleaning at the time he knew I was being picked up!

Like in the lyrics, I think my Dad’s worst fear was that I would fall for a guy who reminded him of himself as a young man! [Which, of course, is exactly what I did!]

There’s another song out that always makes me think about him, Alan Jackson’s Small Town Southern Man, but no song really captures Daddy like Holly Dunn’s Daddy’s Hands.

A Feel Good Story

I love watching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. It just makes me feel good to see families in need get the help they need and in some cases, see dreams come true. I love the sappy, feel-good stories news anchors love to save to end their shows with. I love fairytale endings.

So, it was especially gratifying to read a friend's recent blog post and read about her experience being the "fairygodmother" as it were. It just filled me with warm fuzzies! You can read it here.

A Tale of Two Servants

My hubby is currently preaching through the books of Kings. Last week, he preached on II Kings 5 and a passage just leapt out at me.

Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor, but a leper. And the Syrians had gone out on raids, and had brought back captive a young girl from the land of Israel. She waited on Naaman’s wife. Then she said to her mistress, “If only my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! For he would heal him of his leprosy.” [II Kings 5:1-3]

There are several noteworthy elements to this section, but the one that struck me the most is the attitude of the servant girl. Picture this: She has been taken from her home and thrust into servitude in Syria, Israel’s worst enemy. Yet, she doesn’t have a bitter or hate-filled heart, but rather a servant’s heart. She has compassion for her master and wishes that he could be with one of God’s prophets. As the passage continues, we read of Naaman’s humbling and healing. He becomes a believer in Yahweh. All because his wife’s servant girl served her captor and had mercy on him.

What’s interesting is that the II Kings 5 is bookended with scenes of servants. The first shows us an Israelite slave serving her master, a Syrian. The concluding scene shows a servant of the prophet Elisha and his treatment of the same Syrian.

Instead of seeing him as a brother, Gehazi holds this Gentile God-fearer in contempt. He is like the Pharisees of the New Testament who hold the Romans in contempt and criticize Jesus for celebrating with them, the wrong type of people.

Overcome with gratitude, Naaman had offered Elisha gifts for healing him, but Elisha had refused:

And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, “Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.” But he said, “As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused. [II Kings 5:15, 16]

Gehazi doesn’t care about Naaman. When I read the passage, I can imagine his snarl as he says, “this Syrian”. Gehazi decides to take advantage of the hated Syrian. However when he does this, Elisha curses him with the leprosy that had previously been Naaman’s:

But Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, “Look, my master has spared Naaman this Syrian, while not receiving from his hands what he brought; but as the LORD lives, I will run after him and take something from him.” So Gehazi pursued Naaman. When Naaman saw him running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him, and said, “Is all well?” And he said, “All is well. My master has sent me, saying, ‘Indeed, just now two young men of the sons of the prophets have come to me from the mountains of Ephraim. Please give them a talent of silver and two changes of garments.’” So Naaman said, “Please, take two talents.” And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of garments, and handed them to two of his servants; and they carried them on ahead of him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand, and stored them away in the house; then he let the men go, and they departed. Now he went in and stood before his master. Elisha said to him, “Where did you go, Gehazi?” And he said, “Your servant did not go anywhere.” Then he said to him, “Did not my heart go with you when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it time to receive money and to receive clothing, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and oxen, male and female servants? Therefore the leprosy of Naaman shall cling to you and your descendants forever.” And he went out from his presence leprous, as white as snow. [II Kings 5:20-27]

The servant girl had a personal reason for hating Naaman. She was taken from her home and forced to be a servant. Gehazi had no personal reason other than a personal bigotry - two servants with two vastly different dispositions. The servant girl’s actions are recorded and thus honored, while Gehazi’s actions are recorded to his shame.

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justly,

to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Singin' In The Rain

I love the old Hollywood musicals and Singin' In The Rain is one of my all-time favorites from that era. I've watched the movie so often, I can quote entire scenes! In fact, one of the best anniversary gifts I've ever received from my hubby was a surprise evening at a dinner theatre for a performance of Singin' In The Rain (complete with the title song and rain!)

The dancing in the movie is incredible. Donald O'Connor's Make 'Em Laugh is such a physically demanding dance number and yet he makes it look effortless.

And then there's Gene Kelly. His dancing is athletic. Masculine. None of Astaire's graceful lines, but plenty of strength, agility and athleticism. Danny Kaye is a close second, but Gene Kelly is my favorite dancer.

Alas, I thought those days were long gone, but to quote Robert Plant, "dancing days are here again." In December, R & B star Usher filmed a tribute to Gene Kelly and reenacted his signature dance, the title sequence from Singin' In The Rain at the Rock the Movies Awards. When my friend Paul Pugh raved about this to me, I was skeptical, but Paul was right. Usher did a marvelous job! You can see it here. And you can watch a side-by-side comparison of his version with Kelly's here.

At the Movies: Music & Lyrics

If cinemas go the way of drive-ins, Bobby and I will share in the culpability. We rarely go out to see a movie. A film has to have really good buzz or cinematography that demands a big scope before you’ll find us sitting before the silver screen.

If the actors are tried and true favorites, we’ll just buy the movie when it comes out on DVD. If it has potential but there’s still some doubt about its multiple-viewing worthiness, we’ll just rent it.

We have a pretty large DVD library. For us, the decision to buy or not to buy is multifaceted. There are the rare DVDs for which we are willing to pay the full $20. However, most of the new releases we purchase are the $14 ones we pick up on Tuesdays (the weekday movies are always released) at Wal-Mart.

A good portion of the movies we own, we didn’t buy when they were first released. They have to hit the $9.99, $7.50 or even $5 displays before we plunk down our hard-earned greenbacks for them. Thanks to a sale at Best Buy, Music & Lyrics recently fit in the $7.50 category.

We usually like Hugh Grant and his costar in this film, Drew Barrymore, has made some cute movies, but neither of them were enough to completely sell us on a film. We had originally rented this just because it sounded sweet. And sweet it was.

A friend of mine wrote about it while it was still being shown in theaters. [Here’s her take on it.] The two main characters are winsome, the dialogue is witty and the music is good. It’s a trip down memory lane for people in their 30s and 40s who remember when there was “U2 and Blondie and music still on MTV”. I dare you to watch it and not hum “Pop, goes my heart” or “Way back into love” for days afterwards.

[Do you recognize the "other guy" in Pop? He's currently one of the stars of a hit TV show.]

The Secret of Sequel Success

There’s a 1996 movie called Multiplicity where a man whose life is out-of-control busy decides to clone himself to get everything done. The problem is each clone is of continuing lesser quality than the preceding one.

That’s usually the case with sequels: Start with a good idea and then water it down into a bad movie. I loved the first Matrix, but the second and third installments were disappointments. I loved the original Pirates of the Caribbean and even liked the second installment, but the third wasn’t so hot.

However, there are success stories. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is wonderful. The Bourne trilogy left me hoping they make a fourth! And then there’s the Oceans’s 11 sequels. The first was great, the second blah, but thankfully the third came full circle with another fun movie.

So how does one sequel succeed while others fail? It’s all in the formula. When movies stick to the original formula, you’ll have success. Deviate from the formula, flop city. The Ocean’s movies are a good example. The first and third movies were breezy, fun flicks with lots of inside jokes and old movie references. The second installment tried to inject a serious subplot. Kiss of death – they tried to add an ingredient to a recipe that was fine as it was!

We recently saw National Treasure 2. It is just about as much fun as the original. The writers kept the basic plot and just changed locales and it worked.

[Warning: Minor spoilers ahead] When the movie opens and Ben and Abigail are broken up, red flags went up. “Oh no!” I thought. “They’re changing things!” But my fears were groundless. Ben and Abigail’s breakup just helped to recreate the playful tension present between the two characters in the original. And Riley was still comic relief.

This is where Pirates messed up. Will and Elizabeth are the central lovers, Capt. Jack is the comic relief (even if he is a hero in his own right). The sequels muddied the water in the second and didn’t clear it up properly in the third. Mess with the formula and you get uneven results.

The lesson: If it ain't broke, don’t fix it!

Which brings us to another upcoming sequel which has me a little nervous. I loved the Mummy movies. The first and second did a marvelous job of sticking to the formula and both were fun films. The upcoming third is changing things. Rachel Weisz, Oscar firmly in hand, declined the third installment. Then the writers changed locales and in doing so they have omitted two of the main characters from the old movies – heroic friend Ardeth Bay and archnemesis Imhotep. This gives me pause. Replacing an ingredient (Rachel Weisz) was challenge enough, but omitting two others as well could ruin the meal!

Maybe as the Writer’s Strike continues, these insights will occur to the idled scriptwriters and we’ll get more successful sequels in the future!

Sears: Epilogue

Seems my voodoo pins are working! An AP story today says:

CHICAGO (AP) — Sears Holdings Corp. told investors Monday that it would likely post fourth-quarter earnings well below Wall Street forecasts as eroding sales push its profit down as much as 57 percent. The retailer said it expects to earn between $350 million and $470 million, or $2.59 to $3.48 per share, for the quarter ending Feb. 2 — far less than the $4.43 per share sought by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Sears earned $820 million in the fourth quarter a year earlier. [Entire story here.]

Don't mind me, I'm just sitting here gloating.

Sears Saga: Conclusion

Thanks for all the concern about my culinary impairment!

A new oven is in place. My opinion of Sears is still extremely poor. I told the local store General Manager even an "I'm sorry" would have gone a long way in easing tensions and she said, 'Well, realistically you're not going to get that.' 'Nuff said.

I put a protest on my account and had what little finance charges that had been applied credited back. I will be closing my account this week.

Sears dodged a bullet. As those of you who know me can attest, normally I would have fought the former Wishbook company tooth and nail until they begged for mercy!! With everything else going on right now, I just don't have the energy to mount the fight. They will simply lose a 25+ year account and get a whole lot of bad word-of-mouth publicity from this disgruntled customer.

I do take comfort with the rather dismal stock market reports regarding Sears. In November, the company said its third-quarter profit shrank 99 % because of declining sales and weak margins at its Sears and Kmart stores. This past Friday (01/04/08), Sears closed down 5 points to $104 which was within a few points of a two-year low and down considerably from the 2007 high of $191. Slumping sales at Sears and K-Mart aren’t helping their bottom line or 2008 forecasts. According to Yahoo! Finance, Sears Holdings has a current Overall Rating of F (Lowest Rating).

So, I'll let the free market handle Sears.

Well, actually I may stick voodoo pins into their sales circulars (until my pastor husband catches me, that is!!)

Not Just Another New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve usually finds Bobby and me surrounded by friends. We enjoy each other's company, laugh, enjoy some adult beverages and usually, at some point in the evening, sing. This continues until 11:45 when the television is turned on and we keep tradition alive by watching Dick Clark's countdown while a crystal ball descends in New York City.

This year we again watched Mr. Clark do his 10-9-8. . . bit, but we only shared it with my Mom and only after a visit to the hospital. Bobby's Mom is in ICU. Thankfully, we have the hope of bringing her home in a few days. Other familes in that part of the hospital don't have that hope. They didn't celebrate on 12/31/07.

On New Year's Eve 2007, there was another group of people not out at parties. My Mom-in-law was being attended by some wonderful, caring nurses. There were doctors on duty, night guards at their desk and myriad other people that I have never thought about or needed before who were working and serving as a New Year approached.

This year I resolved to never again take for granted a New Year's Eve of frivolity. I also resolve to remember and be grateful for those who work and serve as one year passes and another begins.

Harry Potter - Volume 8?

Attention all my fellow Harry Potter fans!

J. K. Rowlings has given us a glimmer of hope that we may one day get to renew our friendship with the Hogwarts gang. Read about it here.

Sears Nightmare Continues

When last I spoke with a Sears representative, I was assured my problem was being addressed and I would have a new oven delivered on Christmas Eve.

Surprise, surprise - the local store has no record of any such delivery order. Calls to delivery central show there are no records whatsoever of a delivery order for me.

Sears lied. Again. Not only was I without an oven for the Christmas holiday, but I will also be without an oven into the New Year.

Locally, the salespeople have gone above and beyond to try to assist me. Under their breath, they whisper my experience is rather typical. I called the credit card line to put a protest on my account and a statement that I would not be paying another red cent until this situation was resolved. THAT customer service rep said, "I wish I could tell you this experience is unusual, but it's not."

I called the local store general manager and supposedly a new stove is to be delivered this coming week. I'll believe it when I see it.

Shop at Sears at your own risk.