Said the Joker to the Thief

We watched Batman Begins last night in preparation for the upcoming Dark Knight movie. I have to say that while providing a good foundation and having really good moments, the ending still seems over the top for me. I have higher expectations for the sequel due to several reasons:

The origin being out of the way.
While the rise of a superhero is important for establishing motivations and context, it is nice not having to spend a third of story time on it.

The focus on Harvey Dent’s rise and fall.
Harvey Dent has the potential to be more grounded as a character and more intertwined into Bruce’s life than Ras Al Gul. Let’s hope that the filmmakers have looked to The Long Halloween as inspiration.

Heath Ledger as Joker.
There is really no more to say.

So in further preparation for the movie I went ahead a finished up one of my many projects. It is a short comic featuring the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s ‘All Along the Watchtower’ as the narration and dialogue:

Colorado City

Steve and Becky joined us as we traveled out to Colorado City on the long weekend of the fourth. We had lots of fun swiming, shooting fireworks, singing around the campfire, and eating Sharon's amazing food. Some pics:

'All the more a pair of underwater pearls'

From my recent fishing trip to the Rio Grande I brought back a couple of resurrection ferns (I had some explaining to do going through airport security). These little plants grow in the desert and most of the year look withered and dead. But when it rains they spring to life, unfurl, and show of their bright green leaves. The following is a series of photographs I took after I had poured water on one of them. It took approximately 4 hours for it to fully unfurl.



This plant absolutely made Laura’s week and though seeing it many times growing up, I still marvel at the brilliant greens from a plant that a few hours earlier was dirt brown. A small example of creation revealing and reaffirming its creator in Christ the Redeemer.

Waterfalls

I suppose I have been tuned into news from the northeast region because of our upcoming trip. As a side note, this awareness is probably one of the positive advantages of non local missions. Anyway, yesterday New York City unveiled 4 large waterfalls along the East river. They where the design of artist Olafur Eliasson and cost $15 million dollars. The point of these waterfalls from the artist: to get New Yorkers to see the river instead of just drive over or under it. The point from the major: to create some gawking revenue.

Now I am all for art, I even support the idea that art’s purpose isn’t tied up in it being functional. But something doesn’t sit well within me when a piece of art costs $15 million to make. Maybe it is because at a certain dollar level I want a piece of art that changes history or at least becomes architecture. Maybe I would rather see a riverside park in which the residents of Manhattan could use and as well as see the river. Maybe it is because I found a project that is already underway that has much more potential.

High Line Slideshow Here.

High Line Video here.

NPR story on the waterfalls here.

Yankee Country

We are planning a trip this summer to New York City and New England. I have never been to the northeast part of our country before (saving a sort layover in NYC) so this should be an interesting experience. It sort of balances out our recent trip to the west and we will be going during our first anniversary (if we needed another reason).

We will fly into New York (actually New Jersey) and spend a good three days in the city. Then we will rent a car in Stamford, CT and drive up the hills and mountains of the northern Appalachians. On the way we will stop in a Shaker village that has been turned into a museum. We will then drive over to Maine and enjoy the Lobster Festival and the Farnsworth museum in Rockland. Then we make a final drive into Boston stopping in Exeter to see Kahn’s library. We will spend a little over two day in the Boston and Cambridge area.

If anyone has any suggestions on what we should see, where we should eat, or what we should read along the drive please let me know.

The Devil Made Texas

I thought I would pass along a Texas folk song that I heard last weekend. (It's not making the strongest theological statement but I don’t think it was ever trying to)

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Oh, the devil in hell they say he was chained,

And there for a thousand years he remained;

He neither complained nor did he groan,

But decided he'd start up a hell of his own,

Where he could torment the souls of men

Without being shut in a prison pen;

So he asked the Lord if he had any sand

Left over from making this great land.

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The Lord He said, "Yes, I have plenty on hand,

But it's away down south on the Rio Grande,

And to tell you the truth, the stuff is so poor

I doubt it will do for a hell anymore."

The Devil went down and looked over the truck,

And he said if it came as a gift he was stuck,

For when he'd examined it carefully and well

He decided the place was too dry for a hell.

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But the Lord to just get the stuff off His hands

He promised the Devil He'd water the lands,

For He had some old water that was of no use,

A regular bog hole that stunk like the deuce.

So the contract was signed and the deed was given,

And the Lord went up to his spread up in heaven.

The Devil soon saw he had everything needed

To make a good hell and I'll say he succeeded.

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He scattered tarantulas over the road,

Put thorns on the cactus and horns on the toads,

He sprinkled the sand with millions of ants

So the man that sits down must wear soles on his pants.

He lengthened the horns of the Texas steer,

And added an inch to the jack rabbit's ear;

He put water puppies in all of the lakes,

And under the rocks he put rattlesnakes.

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He hung thorns and brambles on all of the trees.

He mixed up the dust with jiggers and fleas.

The rattlesnakes bites you, the scorpion stings,

The mesquito delights you by buzzing his wings.

The heat in the summer's a hundred and ten--

Too cool for the devil and too hot for men,

And all who remained in that climate soon bore

Stings, cuts, bites, scratches, and blisters galore.

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He quickened the buck of the bronco steed

And poisoned the feet of the centipede.

The wild boar roams in the black chaparral.

It's a hell of a place that we've got for a hell.

He planted red pepper beside of the brooks;

The Mexicans use them in all that they cook.

Just dine with a Mexican and you will shout,

"I've got hell on the inside as well as the out!"

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Log Throwing and Cliff Jumping

First off, I want to tell my little brother hi and that we are thinking of him and praying for him continually. Heath, we missed you on the fishing trip (we needed someone with some musical talent).

We had lots to do this weekend. Saturday Grace came to visit us and we went to the Texas Scottish Festival in Arlington. Though it was hot we had a great time and saw lots of kilts.

There was lots of music there and this band in particular was amazing.

The fiddler who looked like a mad scientist or physics professor (not much difference really).

Caber (telephone pole) tossing

I found some swords

And a Scottish terrier

On Sunday we loaded up a couple of cars and went to Lake Ray Roberts. Though the cliff jumping wasn’t as good as last time we had a blast (though I did get sunburned pretty bad).

The cliff that we jumped off last time, the water was probably a good six feet lower and you could easily see the bottom. Needless to say we found another cliff with acceptable water depth.

Jake and Timothy trying to climb the sandstone rocks. The Theresas waiting for the inevitable fall.

Myself going off.

Timothy getting ready.

Timothy making his leap.