Best of 2005

In honor of the past year, I'm going to give you my "best of the year" awards, in arbitrary and random categories of my own choosing.

Best Trip
Honeymooning in Hawaii. I don't think I need to add much to this. A week on the beautiful island of Kauai was absolutely perfect.

Best Meal
This is a hard award to bestow, as I was privileged to have many good meals in 2005. One that sticks out was dinner at the Embassy Club with Heath and Sarah high atop the Principal Building in downtown Des Moines. What a view!

Best Athlete
Curtis Stinson. Helped ISU to its first NCAA appearance (and win) since the Hampton debacle in 2001.

Best Game
Iowa State beating Colorado at a crazy Jack Trice. Of course when you are an ISU fan, the best is always followed by the worst (losing to Kansas).

Best Movie
Cinderella Man. With an honorable mention to Batman Begins.

Best Book
I didn't read as many books as I would like to (hopefully that will change this next year), but my favorite had to be The Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. We received this as a wedding gift from Ron and Jane E, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It looks at marriage as a means to make us holy and has been very helpful to me.

Best Sermon(s)
A series on worship by John Piper. His "Desiring God" podcast is great listening and worth subscribing to if you are looking for good Biblical exposition.

Best News
The new addition to our family that will be arriving in March.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

While in Cedar Falls for a couple days earlier this week, I finally saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Having read all the books (though it was a long time ago), I was anxious to see how well CS Lewis' story would translate to the big screen.

The success of Peter Jackson's movies undoubtedly provided the impetus to put Narnia on film, and it is tempting to try compare this movie to Lord of the Rings. But that would be a bit unfair. First, because Jackson's movies were so well crafted and set the bar so high that it will be almost impossible for future efforts to match. Second, because Lewis was telling a different type of tale. Narnia is aimed much more at children. They are the chief protagonists. There are talking animals and characters from fairy-tales. It is the kind of story you could read to your kids at bedtime. Tolkein, on the other hand, was writing a story with greater depth, detail, and darkness. Not necessarily material that is appreciated by youngsters (although I read him when I was eight or so and still loved it).

So back to the movie. I thought it was an enjoyable picture if you take it on its own terms. It tells a wonderful story with a gospel allegory at its heart. The computer generated animals are well done--especially Aslan. The witch is cold and calculating. There are light-hearted moments, as well as tense ones. The acting is good--especially the young girl who plays Lucy. However, I wasn't as drawn in to the story as I expected to be--though I'm not sure why. This may be because I'm older than when I first read the book or because it didn't have the same sense of danger as the LOTR movies. Maybe I should go back and read the books again.

My favorite moments were not so much the battles but the quieter scenes when we got a glimpse of the bigger world of Narnia. Near the end of the movie we see Lucy and Tumnus standing at a balcony watching Aslan depart along the seaside. Tumnus tells Lucy not to cry--Aslan will be back again when the need is greatest. I couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that we too are waiting for the return of our Saviour--the Lion of Judah who will return again to the world he created and restore it to its former glory.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

White Elephant

One of the things I look forward to around Christmastime are "White Elephant" exchanges. I'm not sure where the name comes from. The practice of opening unknown gifts or stealing them from others has nothing to do with elephants that I can think of. Yet regardless of the odd name, I enjoy it.

There is the random nature of the gifts. It may be juvenile, but watching someone open something which they would never seek or receive in the normal course of gift-giving-protocol provides a good laugh. Like my cousin John, who got a nightie with "Angel" written across the front of it. Or my sister's fiance Seth receiving a package of "Caress" body lotions.

Then there is the scheming and stealing. When someone does chance upon a gift they really do find useful they better not become too attached because it will soon be gone. Some try the old "hide it behind the back" trick so that everyone forgets about what they have. But the cruel irony remains: the degree of your enjoyment of the gift is inversely proportional to the odds of your keeping it.

Of course you can't forget the complex rules. The same gift can't be stolen twice on the same turn. A gift can only be stolen three times maximum. The first one to pick also gets the last chance to steal. It is enough to cause serious confusion at times.

Lastly, there is the strategy. If you want to stay in the game, you better steal something popular, even if its not what you really want. Pay close attention as people open their gifts. If someone finds something which everyone is ooohing and aaahing over grab it. Bide your time, and it will soon be stolen from you--at which point you will have the chance to get something truly wonderful. Which will promptly be stolen again.

When you have 40 people in the exchange, like I do at the gathering on my Dad's side of the family, these strategies will be put to the ultimate test. Yet even if you don't get what you want, there is a silver lining. Just save your gift for next year. When some unsuspecting soul chances upon it, you will receive the hearty satisfaction of knowing you have given them something special: the gift that keeps on being given.

Cinderella Man

I need to give a quick thumbs-up for the movie Cinderella Man (recently released on DVD). It is the real-life story of depression-era boxer Jim Braddock. He's a down-on-his-luck fighter past his prime just trying to keep food on the table for his family. Injuries and age make him to lose his fighting license, but he gets a second chance and makes the most of it.

Russell Crowe again shows why he is one of the best actors of our time, and does a superb job playing a character who we empathize with, admire, and cheer for. Despite his rude, arrogant offscreen personality he has a way of finding his way into some of my very favorite movies (Gladiator, Master and Commander, Beautiful Mind). If only he could display in real life some of the admirable qualities he is capable of showing on film.

Cinderella Man is right up there among my very favorite sports movies (and non-sports movies). The acting is top-notch. The boxing scenes are realistic. There are quiet, tender moments that may cause a small tear to well up inside (not that I cried). It can be enjoyed by men and women alike. It is the kind of hopeful, uncynical movie they need to make more of these days.

My rating: 5 stars.


My all-time sports favorites:
1. Hoosiers (still gives me goosebumps at the end)
2. Cinderella Man
3. The Natural
4. Remember the Titans
5. Chariots of Fire

Midweek Update

Burnt ends and tidbits of meat...

NetFlix
I signed up for NetFlix on Monday morning, and my first two DVDs arrived in the mail yesterday. That's pretty impressive turnaround. What were my first two selections you ask? Cinderella Man and Notorious (a 1946 Hitchcock thriller starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman).

Shopping
I hope to finish it up tonight, with the all-important present for my wife. Actually, we are hoping to buy a camcorder so we'll just be getting a few small things for each other.

Christmas Vacation
Only two more days of work left and I am off for eleven consecutive days. It will be a nice break. We'll be at my parents in Boone for the weekend and hit Waterloo for a couple days before returning to Des Moines. Other items on the agenda include turning our office into a nursery, doing some reading, and hopefully watching ISU win the Houston Bowl.

Blogging #1
This is my shameless plug encouraging Tristan to re-open his blog for business. It's been too long T, and I know you're reading. By way of tribute, I offer a few classic links to his blog:

Not quite Marting Luther, but close
Roll distinctions in the grocery store
Red means "Stop". Green means "Go find a new self-esteem"

Blogging #2
I am wondering if any of my many and various family members are reading this via the MyFamily site? If so, I'm thinking a few of them need to start blogs of their own. I'm thinking Katy could give us a nice look into Nashville life. Uncle Danny has his investing advice. And of course my Dad has the Apple angle covered.

December 19

It was a cold wintery December night, two years ago today. I was on my way to pick up my date, and hoping the night would go well. My dating experience at this point was pretty much zilch, and so there were a few butterflies in my stomach. But at least the car was newly washed and the mats were clean. I had asked Lauren out just a couple days earlier, as we walked out of the theater after Return of the King. I'm not sure why I asked her then. Maybe I was inspired by the heroic deeds of Frodo and Aragorn, and ready to do something daring myself. Maybe it was the coaxing and teasing from Kyle, Stu, and Jason before the movie began. Whatever gave me the final push, I had decided to ask her out. Fortunately she said yes. So we ate steak at Court Avenue Brewery and drove through "Jolly Holiday Lights". We ended the evening watching White Christmas. As I drove home, I thought about what a great girl Lauren was and how much I enjoyed hanging out with her. Two years later--after dating, engagement, wedding, honeymoon, and 7 months of pregnancy I am thinking the same thing.

NetFlix

So today I did it. I took the NetFlix plunge. My patience with rental stores had reached the end of its rope. I was tired of aimlessly wandering the aisles, searching for the right movie like a needle in a haystack. I was tired of only finding new releases, as if cinema didn't exist before last year. I was tired of the long lines, and of burning gas to return movies. I was tired of every copy of the new release you really want to see being gone. Blockbuster? More like "Not-In-Stockbuster".

Here's the NetFlix plan. You go online and pick out the movies that you want to watch from a list of over 50,000 titles (basically every movie ever made that you might want to watch). Then they mail them to you to see whenever you want--no worrying about when they are due. When you are done, just pop them in the prepaid-mailer and wait for the next movie on your list to arrive. I signed up for the $14.99 per month plan, which gives you unlimited DVDs (two-at-a-time). They start you off with a free two-week trial. I will let you know how it goes. They also have a $9.99 plan (one-at-a-time), which I may switch to depending on how quick the turnaround time is. I figure we average about 4 rentals a month, which will run you $14.80 at Blockbuster ($3.70 apiece).

So it seems like a no-brainer to me, especially with vacation time and the long cold winter months ahead. If I never have to aimlessly wander the aisles of movie-rental purgatory again I will be a very happy man.

WaveLength

Lauren and I recently decided we needed a new game of the party/group variety that is fun to play when you have company over or go home for the holidays. We did a little online searching and ended up ordering WaveLength. The basic premise of the game is simple. You and your partner try to rank the "Top 5" from various categories. You get 1 point for items on both your lists, and 2 points for items you rank in the same slot. Examples of some categories are: Breakfast Cereals, Famous International Cities, or 80s songs.

The game is setup to reward teammates who are thinking on the same lines, hence the name. We played it this past week and it is a great game. It's fun to see what others come up with for their lists, as well as try to anticipate what your partner will choose. If you are looking to buy a game for Christmas, this is a great pick. It may be hard to find in stores, so you might have to order online.

In the spirit of WaveLength, I give you my "Top 5 Christmas Songs"...

1. O Come, O Come Immanuel
2. What Child is This?
3. Joy to the World
4. O Come Let Us Adore Him
5. White Christmas (only with Bing)

'Tis the Season for Movies

December has replaced Summer as the time to release good movies. The trend seemed to start in 2001 with The Fellowship of the Ring. I fondly remember standing in line with friends at the Movies 12 in Ames before the midnight showing. The stress of finals were done, and Chistmas break couldn't have started any better. That movie still ranks at the top of my "most anticipated" list, as I remember speculating with friends about it years in advance of the release date. And of course the next couple years brought the sequels (and extended-edition DVDs), of which I also have great memories. In fact, I asked my wife out on our first date while walking back to the car after Return of the King. While I don't expect there to ever be a better three-year run of "event" movies than what Lord of the Rings had, this year looks to have some exciting ones coming out. Here's what I am looking forward to seeing over the break:

1. Chronicles of Narnia -- I read CS Lewis' great series as a youngster and am looking forward to seeing what they have done with the movie adaptation.

2. King Kong -- My cousin Bret is poo-pooing this one saying "It's about a monkey. How good can it be?". How quickly he forgets Peter Jackson. Lauren is also not excited for this one, so I might have to sneak in a matinee-showing with the guys from work.

3. The New World -- Based on the John Smith/Pocahontas story, this one looks interesting. It also has the potential to be artsy-fartsy and boring.

Friday Lunch

I love Fridays. And not just because the work-week is done. Fridays are a great day for food. While I was a student at Emmaus every Friday was either pizza or cheeseburgers followed by chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I have to admit that I spent many a 11:00 class pining away for lunch when I should have been paying attention to Church History. I can still find sketches of pizza and burgers mixed in with my notes.

Now that I am gainfully employed, Friday lunches are still something I look forward to. The other four days of the week bring the typical cold-cut sandwich or leftovers. But Fridays is when we round up the gang and go out for lunch. Mexican is a popular choice, either Tasty Tacos or El Rodeo. Sometimes we do fastfood like Wendy's or Culvers.

Today I was happy because we went to Cactus Bob's. It's a cozy little BBQ joint in Johnston that opened not too long ago. Perhaps some other time I will put my star ratings up for it. I usually get the brisket sandwich and two sides for $6.50. It is tasty and a great value.

However, today I would like to comment on something else interesting besides the food. As we pulled into the restaurant we spotted a pickup truck pulling in ahead of us. In the back of the truck were like five frozen-stiff deer. That is amusing enough in and of itself, but the truck proceeded to back into a spot right in front of Cactus Bob's, so that the entire restaurant was treated to the sight of bloody frozen deer in the back of the truck.

As we were getting a good laugh at this, out stepped the driver and his passenger. Lo and behold if it wasn't a modern-day Davey Crockett and his sidekick. The driver was wearing a skunk hat, and his friend had a bib-overalls and a bushy beard. I don't know about you, but if I see guys like this in front of me, I know I'm at the right place for some good BBQ.

Walk The Line

While shopping in the Plaza, we took a break from the cold to watch the Johnny Cash movie "Walk The Line". Before my quick review, I have to give a disclaimer. I have not listened to much of Cash's work, nor did I know much of anything about his life. This is probably due to the fact that I have always associated him with "country" (a genre of music which I usually steer clear of). I was a blank slate, waiting to be enlightened.

The movie follows a fairly formulaic biopic storyline. It starts by looking at his childhood, focusing on the death of his brother and his relationship with his stern, abusive father. He joins the military to get away from home, gets married, and struggles to make it as a musician before catching his break. The remainder of the movie looks at his rise to fame and the accompanying struggles of being a big-time music star. If you have ever watched a movie about a musician you know the script: drugs, alcohol, and a crumbling marriage, punctuated by musical performances. Cash becomes enamored with June Carter, another musician who is touring with him, and the bulk of the movie focuses on their relationship.

What did I like about this movie? The musical performances are great, with Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon singing their own music. I found myself wanting to go and listen to an entire Johnny Cash CD, which is a saying something for someone who doesn't like country. Then again, Cash seemed to blaze his own trail, not content to fit into any one particular genre. I wished the film would have focused more on the music and tried to show us Cash's legacy as a musician.

What didn't I like about this movie? From what little I do know of Cash, his faith played a major role in the overcoming his vices. The movie (predictably for Hollywood) ignores this, and instead shows him finding his way back through his love for June Carter. Since a major theme of the film is about his unfaithfulness and leaving his first wife and family in the dust, I just couldn't get into it. There is a scene where he tells June that he wishes he would have died instead of his brother. She disagrees with him, and says "You're a good man Johnny." That didn't ring true since the film hadn't shown us anything redeeming (besides the music) up to that point. He wasn't a good man--he was a sinner who needed a Saviour. I think that is what Johnny would've wanted people to know.

My rating: 2 stars (out of 5)

Jack Stack Barbeque

While in Kansas City this past weekend, I made sure to make time for some BBQ. We went to Jack Stack Barbeque. It is a classy place with several locations in Kansas City. How was the food? Fantastic. I had brisket and baby back ribs with slaw and beans for a side. Lauren had brisket and pork, which I sampled as well.

Brisket -- 5 stars. So tender that no knife was needed, with a full smokey flavor.

Baby Back Ribs -- 3.5 stars. Also very tender, although a bit on the salty side.

Sliced Pork -- 2 stars. Had more of a "ham" flavor, with not much smoked taste.

Beans -- 5 stars. With little bits of brisket and oh so flavorful. I could have eaten a whole plate full of these. Of course Lauren wouldn't have appreciated the after-effects.

Slaw -- 4 stars. I don't remember what stood out here, but it was a great side.

Kansas City

Lauren and I returned from our trip to Kansas City today. It was a bit of an early anniversary trip, since Lauren will be almost nine months pregnant by our anniversary. We stayed at the Marriott downtown, which was a great choice. Convenient location, nice room, and good room service. Kansas City is my kind of town. I have been there several times for the BIg 12 tournament, and they should be the hosts every year.

Saturday we ate lunch at Jack Stack BBQ (awesome), then went shopping at the Country Club Plaza. There are lots of fancy shops with expensive merchandise, so we just window shopped. But it was a great time to be there, with all the Christmas lights and atmosphere. This morning it was breakfast at IHOP before driving home, where I had a nice nap on the couch watching football.