Where Does Your Compass Point?

I’m not a big Pirates of the Caribbean movie fan. I liked the first one, hated the second one, and tolerated the third. Now with rumors of Johnny Depp signing up for a reprisal of his Captain Jack Sparrow character, I’m dreading the fourth installment of a Pirates movie. However, even though I don’t really like the movies, I’ve always been fascinated with Captain Jack’s compass.

Throughout the first movie Captain Jack is chastised because his compass doesn’t work. It never points North. Instead it spins around and goes in different directions. But never North. However, even though the compass never points North, Captain Jack always ends up where he wants to go. By the second movie we discover the secret of the malfunctioning compass. The compass may never point North, but it does point to something more important.

Captain Jack’s compass points “toward what the heart wants.”

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I discovered a flat tire on my car the other day. It wasn’t totally flat, but it was going flat. Then as I drove to the Service Center to get some air I heard the distinctive rhythmic click, click, click of a nail in the tire. Somewhere along the line I picked up a nail. I wasn’t sure exactly where the nail was, but I knew I had one in the tire. I pumped the tire back up, drove back home, and started scanning the tire for the nail. My son found it before I did. Reaching out his finger he said “There it is!” Just as it looked like he was going to pull the nail out, I quickly said, “No, don’t touch it. At this point, that’s why the tire isn’t going totally flat.”

I left the nail in the tire, parked the car, and didn’t drive it until it was repair time. Yesterday morning, a quick call to the Tire Spot had me rolling once again with a plug in the tire instead of the nail.

‘Stella’ Is Back on the Road!

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Aside from this blog, I also write another blog called Frame by Frame: A Family-Friendly Guide to the Movies. Starting this Monday, July 21, I’m launching a new weekly feature called Movie Monday.

It’s going to be great fun, and it gives everyone an opportunity to tell others about movies you watched over the weekend. For more information check out the latest blog entry Movie Monday Blog Carnival on my Frame by Frame blog.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

Welcome Frenzied Friday!

This will be a weekly feature where you the reader can get involved, and also invite others to join in the fun too. Usually Friday’s are known as TGIF and it’s simply a time to celebrate finally arriving at the end of another week, with little thought of what to do for the weekend. Frenzied Friday brings a slightly new twist to that old idea. Yes, it’s nice the weekend has finally arrived. But what about the weekend? What kinds of things are planned for the weekend to bring some order, peace and calm. That’s the kind of post we’re looking for here.

It’s really easy to join us and here’s how it works. Do a post about your week and then tell us how you plan to unwind during the weekend. What are you plans. Put a link in your post, to the Frenzied Friday post here. Please use a permalink directly to the weekly post page, not the general url for my website. The easiest way is to simply put a line in your post that says something like;

This post is taking part in Frenzied Friday!

Then make that line a permalink to the post here. At the end of this post you will find a Mr. Linky box. Fill in the information in the box, and put the permalink of your post, again, not your general url, in appropriate box field.

That’s it! Please spread the word about Frenzied Friday and lets have fun encouraging one another for making it to the end of another week and giving some great ideas for weekend plans!

Dr. Rus

Frenzied Friday Post for July 18, 2008
“A Weekend At The Movies”

The big movie news this weekend revolves around the new Batman flick, The Dark Knight. Early box office predictions have this latest installment in the Batman franchise pulling in about as much money as the Joker steals in the movie. I screened The Dark Knight earlier this week on an IMAX screen. You can find my review of the movie on my Frame by Frame Movie Review Blog. But, believe it or not, there are a couple other movies worthy of note opening this weekend too. With that in mind, what do I plan to do as a wind down for Frenzied Friday heading into another weekend? I’m going to check out those movies.

So, what’s on the also opened this weekend list? Aside from The Dark Knight, the hit Broadway musical packed with ABBA classics, Mamma Mia hits the big screen. Meryl Streep, who admitted she already knew some of the ABBA song lyrics by heart, is the mother of a soon-to-be-wed girl who’s on a mission to identify her biological father. Pierce Brosnan also appears in this musical to hit the big screen flick. Lastly, something for the kids, the rated G movie Space Chimps opens up this weekend too. In this animated flick a crew of chimps travel through space and attempt to defeat a dictator on a planet far, far away. Space Chimps sounds like my kind of a movie spoofing Star Trek.

Then, on a somewhat humorous note, former Batman Val Kilmer has an independent thriller called Felon opening today too. While Kilmer’s movie has a limited release, the superhero from the 1995 movie Batman Forever jokingly said he’s kind of sad for Christian Bale because his movie will be number one at the box office instead of the new Batman flick. Yeah, sure Val. Keep dreaming.

What’s my weekend going to look like? I’m not going to see the Kilmer movie. But I think I’ll see Space Chimps tonight and then take my wife to see Mamma Mia tomorrow night.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The second installment in the C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia series hit the big screen over the weekend. Prince Caspian took over the number one spot on the box office list for its opening weekend, dethroning the comic book superhero Iron Man. While some Hollywood analysts are lamenting the fact that Prince Caspian didn’t pull in really big numbers, Walden Media and Disney aren’t too concerned because they figure it will have a long run in theaters. After all, it’s based on the classic book series for kids and we’re heading into a Memorial Day Weekend. Then there’s the long summer when many kids are simply looking for something to do.

The life lessons in Prince Caspian are many. It’s C.S. Lewis, and that was his whole plan while writing the children’s books. He was looking to present strong life lessons for kids, through the use of allegory, fantasy and story. Lewis was a master writer and an incredible storyteller. Of course the Chronicles of Narnia series have proven this fact as they’ve turned into not only a classic collection of stories, but have also set the tone for what other writers aim at when attempting to write a children’s series.

I must admit I leaned over to my wife about half way through the movie and said I really need to head back to the books and re-read them. It’s been a long time since I’ve read the entire Narnia series. I easily tracked The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe movie because the book is so popular. But, I’m sure like many people, the remaining books in the series become fuzzy simply because they weren’t as widely read. With Walden already in pre-production for the third Chronicles movie, I think it’s time to blow the dust off my book series at home.

But what about the lessons learned from Prince Caspian. As I already mentioned, there are many, but for me, one lesson really stood out. Many times as we journey through life we want to recreate a certain situation or event so life will continue to move forward smoothly. In the midst of this political season many are looking for a return to the Reagan era. Others want a Clinton era, and still others simply want an era of change. Whatever the case may be, all too often we try to make things the same, expecting life to work out just like it did in the past. Now, I’m not saying we can’t learn lessons from the past, but we must remember this is called a journey. What does a journey mean? We somehow keep moving forward.

With this in mind, the strong lesson in Prince Caspian comes as a recurring theme experienced by Lucy as she searches for Aslan. Her question is always, “Why have you not helped us like you did before?” Aslan responds by saying, “Because I never do things the same way twice.” Wow! What an incredible reminder that something “new” is always ready to “spring up” right before our eyes. The words of Aslan in Prince Caspian reminded me of the words from Isaiah which declare, “See, I am doing a new thing.” While the new thing may be a scary new reality, when we understand and learn lessons from the past, the new thing will always strengthen us through this journey we call life.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus

Iron Man continues to pull in incredible dollars at the box office. Now the slow selling Playstation game is even doing well. It seems Iron Man mania is sweeping not only the nation, but the world. I’m sure Robert Downey Jr. is pleased that he’s connected with such a blockbuster hit. After all, he’s someone who’s had his share of ups and downs throughout his somewhat rocky career. He’s a good actor, but unfortunately he fell into the trap of drugs and alcohol. But, with that behind him, maybe he’s opened a new chapter not only in his life, but also in his career.

Iron Man is a very strong movie. It gets off to a somewhat disjointed start, but in the end, it comes through with great special effects and a good story line. In a nutshell, without any spoilers here for those who have not seen the movie yet, Iron Man is created after Tony Stark, an arms dealer, has a change of heart and decides to right some of the wrongs his weapons company created. Of course this doesn’t go over very well with some inside the company, but this does not deter him from creating the Iron Man superhero.

Now I know what you’re thinking – How in the world can we find an encouraging message from a comic book hero? But here it is. In the middle of the movie Stark’s assistant asks him why he’s so determined to create Iron Man, even if it means he may die while trying to right his wrongs. In a somewhat off-handed comment, we discover a great truth. Downey Jr.’s character says, “Maybe this is why I didn’t die when I was kidnapped.” Wow! What an amazing statement. Tucked away in the middle of this sci-fi comic book hero come to life movie, we discover a statement about purpose and destiny.

Could it be Downey’s statement, via the character Tony Stark, speaks of purpose and destiny not only for Iron Man, but for himself as well? Who knows. But I do know this, the nugget of truth concerning purpose and destiny in the Iron Man movie is a strong message for anyone who hears it. It is true, we do all have a purpose and destiny. While we may not be a superhero, we can do our best to positively influence those around us.

A Fellow Sojourner,

Dr. Rus

Thomas Merton, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, is probably one of my favorite spiritual authors. Merton recognized the dichotomy of writing, and actually being a writer. Many people know how to write, but few really write. There really is a difference between theory and actual practice. It’s like the newspaper editor in the Samuel L. Jackson movie Resurrecting The Champ tells the young sportswriter trying to find his voice. “I see a lot of words, but I don’t see a lot of writing.”

A book containing excerpts from Merton’s thoughts on the vocation of writing was recently released entitled Echoing Silence. What an amazing thought. One wants to write, in order to encourage others along whatever journey they may find themselves on. Whether it’s a journey of joy, adventure, science fiction, or whatever, the writer writes, so one can be entertained, learn something, or be encouraged. However, at the same time the writer often finds himself in the midst of an echoing silence. Just how do the words flow into thoughts, sentences, paragraphs, chapters, and yes, even books.

It’s funny, I find myself in the midst of such an echoing silence these days. While it’s exciting to write and create, it’s at the same time somewhat scary to think I’m hanging my thoughts out there for all to see. Will people like what they read? Will they understand what they read? Will it even make sense?

However, it really is all about the journey we find ourselves on individually. For some, reading helps them along the journey. For others, writing helps them along the journey. Whatever the case may be, in the end, we can find encouragement in knowing that the Alpha and the Omega really does know what’s going on. In the end, He is the Author of Life and He truly is in our corner, even in the midst of what might seem like echoing silence, to run the race which is marked out for us so that we might hear those wonderful words of — Well done My faithful servant. Come, enter into your rest.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The past few days I’ve been pondering what I like to call the Silver Screen Super Heroes. Many are looking for heroes these days, and it seems every time we turn around, the usual place for heroes, such as sports figures, keep falling down. Now I know we’re all human, but the hero category coming from the sports arena these days seems very littered with broken dreams and broken promises.

As a result, some people are connecting more with the super heroes of the big screen. There are so many to choose from! The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Batman, Superman, X-Men, and that really just scratches the surface. Every time I turn around there’s a new super hero movie on the horizon promising better special effects, and larger than life heroes.

Of all the super heroes listed above, there’s one that really stands out in my mind as someone putting forth a message of discovering the hero inside of each one us, and that’s Batman. Why Batman you ask? I arrived at this conclusion after interviewing Michael Uslan, the Executive Producer of the Batman movies. As we talked about the full range of Batman movies and discussed the somewhat different take in the Batman Begins movie, Michael told me something very interesting about the new Batman character. He said he went to great lengths to make sure people understood that while Batman may be considered a super hero, he’s a hero with no special powers. Most big screen super heroes have some kind of super human quality, but not the Batman of the Batman Begins movie. As a matter of fact, when you watch the movie you discover he uses the resources around him, to in turn become the hero of Batman.

As I pondered that aspect of the character portrayed in Michael Uslan’s Batman I also discovered his underlying message. Everyone, that includes you and me, have within us, and around us, the resources we need to overcome any situation. It doesn’t take a super hero to overcome difficult situations, it takes a person with purpose and destiny, and the desire to pull on the good qualities within each one of us.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus

The new Samuel L. Jackson movie opened over the weekend entitled Resurrecting the Champ. It’s about a retired boxer who’s living on the streets, and a second generation sports writer trying to find his big break. Little does he know, that while trying to find his big break with a big story, he in turn discovers his voice.

At the beginning of the movie a particular line jumped off the screen at me and I quickly wrote it down. While the young writer was talking with the newspaper editor about why he couldn’t get more prominent placement in the paper, the editor replied saying; “I see a lot of typing, but not much writing.”

Wow! What an incredible thought!

During the past few days I’ve been contemplating that phrase. Many times we type and type and type, but very little really gets written. Of course as a writer, that is of great concern to me. But what does that phrase really mean? I’m sure there’s much more to it, but after a brief look at the phrase I think it hooks in with the idea that if all we’re doing is jotting down facts about any given situation, we’re just typing. But, when we go behind the facts, and discover how the facts in turn link to life, and dare I saw it, our own personal life, then we move into the area of writing.

The older I get the more I realize the importance of purpose and destiny. How are we affecting those around us? How are we living our lives? Are we simply typing the script of our lives moving from one random incident to another? Or, are we writing the script of our lives, interacting with life and growing through each and every experience.

A Fellow Sojourner,
Dr. Rus