Thine is The Kingdom

Christ Shall Have Dominion / Music: Critical Mass

2012-02-03T09:25:00.000-08:00

Dominion. Not only is it an awesome word, but it's a word with a freight-train size load of theological connotations that are- to be simplistic- rather controversial.

And rather awesome.

So let's start at the beginning.

"And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." (Gen. 1:28, KJV)

Here we see the initial command given to man. Rule the earth. Man tends the earth and brings it into obedience to God.

This is, of course, much harder after the fall- in fact, it can only be accomplished apart from God's Grace.

But that doesn't mean that we should not still strive towards it- and pray for the Grace that it necessitates.

Some will say that we are no longer "under" this initial mandate, since we are now under the New Covenant. To these, my reply is threefold:

This is our initial created purpose. It doesn't just go away- it's what we were made to do.
Both our Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul refer back to creation order. ("From the beginning, it was not so.") Why do we retain the model for things like one-man-one-woman marriage yet reject the Dominion Mandate?
This objection arises from what I believe to be a dangerous misunderstanding of the New Covenant. The New Covenant was the fulfillment of The Law in Christ. The ceremonial and sacrificial laws are done away with in Him. The New Covenant is not a "liberation" from the moral laws of God, nor is it a repudiation- an abolishing- of all the things contained in the Old Testament. This includes the Dominion Mandate.

So what does this dominion-taking look like, practically? In a nutshell, it looks like applying all of God's Word to all of life.

Instead of seeing this world as a lost cause, "going to hell in a hand-basket," we should see this world as God's. He owns it. We are His ambassadors come to claim His domain back from those who have usurped Him.

"And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." (Matt. 28:18)

Scripture paints a picture, not of a monastic separation from the world, nor of an antinomian revelry in sin, but of an aggressive expansion, an in-this-world-but-not-of-it march forward which calls every area of life- politics, art, culture, education, all of it- to submit to Christ.

Which leads to discussing eschatology- what we think about the end-times. The dominion worldview can seem inherently postmillenial. Postmillenialists believe that there will be no tribulation- the church will obey God more and more and His Kingdom gradually will advance and fill the earth. "All the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD."

But for someone who believes that the earth will get worse and worse until Jesus comes back, it might seem like dominion is a silly and irrelevant idea.

It's not.

Though it does kinda make better sense from a post-mil standpoint.

My point with this post, however, isn't to start a debate on eschatology. I'd rather leave that for another time. My point here is that this world is God's. His Kingdom will reign. Perhaps that reign will be inaugurated by Divine fiat, where the world gets worse and worse and then BAM. Christ returns and brings justice. Perhaps it will indeed be by the faithfulness of the remnant.

Either way, His Kingdom is inevitable.

Either way, it is for us to obey. To live as if all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Christ. Because it has.

Christianity isn't another part of our life. It is our life. It's not the thing we put in the "religion" box on Facebook. It's the foundation, the worldview, the root of everything that we do. It must be so.

And it gets bigger. The dominion-minded believer desires to see things like politics and the arts conquered for Christ. This does NOT mean using physical force to overthrow governments, but it does mean striving for the conformation of the institutions of this world to The Word of God.

Yes, I firmly believe that our national legal system should be built on The moral Law of God. What other option do we have as believers?

The retort may come back, "you're advocating saving the nation through politics!"

Not at all. Nations are lost or won one soul at a time. Politics cannot save. But, as has been said- if Christians are faithful, and God is willing, politics will be saved.

So the dominion-minded believer isn't just "waiting at the bus stop" for Jesus' return. He is actively striving to expand the real-life Kingdom of God on this earth.

"Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven." (Matt. 6:10)

That's what I see Scripture exhorting us to. This earth belongs to Christ. Let's act like it.

I hope that this woefully short epistle attempting to define dominion proves helpful and edifying to some. I might have inspired more questions than I answered, but that might be a good thing. Please ask the questions below, though I can't guarantee that I'll be able to answer them. Oftentimes, my answers aren't even necessary- others will pitch in and answer the questions for me, and sometimes better than I could've. I enjoy learning from you all, so thanks again for the discussions.

Speaking of dominion, here's one of my latest dominion-taking endeavors in the area of music. I think it's fitting to the topic at hand, both in title and in genre. Because God's Kingdom, one way or another, will reach Critical Mass.

Critical Mass by gabrielhudelson

"Christ shall have dominion, over land and sea,
Earth’s remotest regions shall His empire be;
They that wilds inhabit shall their worship bring,
Kings shall render tribute, nations serve our King."

You're Not Going to College?!?

2012-01-24T11:23:00.001-08:00

In a culture saturated with the presupposition that a college degree is necessary to adulthood (though it is being desaturated, I think), there are some who step back and reconsider if the piece of paper with the alphabet soup is really all that and a box of crackers. In the circles that I swim in, it's common to see the expectation that girls will stay home instead of going off to college. Online alternatives like CollegePlus! are also very popular among homeschoolers.

I guess I go a step further. More on that in a bit.

I have no intention of going to college, at this point, nor of getting any manner of degree (other than a high-school diploma). Which isn't to say that if I got a scholarship to Julliard or Patrick Henry I would just turn it down.

Why? I'm so glad you asked!

Girls

First, though, I'm going to talk about girls going to college (because I've been asked to clarify my stance). In family-integrated, homeschooling circles it's not rare to see people taking a philosophical stance against girls going to college. I agree with these people- specifically because of the Biblical principle of male headship, I would be very reluctant to give my blessing on my daughter/sister going away to college (unless she went with her brother, maybe..?).

I mean, really- why would I send the precious daughter that God has entrusted me with off to a temple of humanism to learn from educated fools (Ps. 14:1) and fellowship with boys stuck in manly bodies who would love to take advantage of her and girls who like it that way?

Yeah, that's a grim picture which I paint of college. And right you are- not all colleges are like this! Just most of 'em. So now that we've ruled out the majority of colleges...

To any girl going to Patrick Henry college or Bob Jones University or another such respectable establishment (and to her father!), I ask- how are you playing out Numbers 30? How are you as a father protecting your daughter? How are you, as a daughter, being held accountable, protected, loved, instructed, familied?

Maybe you are, that's between you and The LORD. But the principles must be dealt with, one way or t'other.

I certainly have no desire for my daughters (LORD willing, one day) to go to college.

I'm not saying that no girl should ever go to college, but that any girl that does go to college needs to deal with the principles that God gives us to live by. I'm sure there are exceptions. But I'm tired of pursuing exceptions. I'd rather seek what it is that God gives us as a normative pattern, and let Him take care of the exceptions.

Guys

Here, though, I go even further. Not only am I "against" girls going to college- I'm "against" guys going to college.

Hear me out.

Let's look at some Biblical principles:

Family
Accountability
Time Stewardship
Financial Stewardship

Family

Throughout Scripture God works through families. Whether it's blood relatives or relatives by The Blood, we're called to be in fellowship with one another. Christianity is not a religion of loners. From the very beginning, God instituted the family. It's the assumed normative throughout Scripture. (Ps. 68:6, Heb. 10:25)

It's a good thing.

So why would I want to leave my family and my church family to go somewhere else for so long? Is it really worth it?

Accountability

This is closely tied to family. When I'm living together with my family and my local brothers and sisters in Christ, I don't have the luxury of hiding things. Sure, it's possible, but it's hard. It also puts a block in relationships that I treasure. While it is indeed possible (and, I say, necessary!) to set up accountability in a college (or other such) situation, it's not as organic and unavoidable. (Jas. 5:16, Pr. 27:17)

Add to that all the temptations that come with being alone on a college campus among myriads of peers who, with the exception of the exceptional colleges, are more likely to tempt than to help against the temptations, and you have a recipe for trouble.

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall." (1 Cor. 10:12)

It is by God's Grace that we stand at all, even protected in our homes. Let us not presume upon God's Grace and throw ourselves in the path of temptation.

Remember the young man in Pr. 7.

Time Stewardship

I would want to spend 4 years of my life in college why exactly? During those 4 years, I could start a business, or study my craft, or any number of things, while in the context of my own family and church. Indeed, I could start my own family. 4 years is a lot of time. Would it really be a good investment to sink it all into college? (Eph. 5:16)

Financial Stewardship

I know there are cheaper options than just the standard (extraordinarily expensive) college fare. I'm not talking about those right now.

Scripturally, debt is slavery. (Pr. 22:7) I cannot see how I could justify going into years worth of debt for a degree. Furthermore, even if I had all that money and could pay out-of-pocket, would that be good stewardship of God's money?

Please note that I'm putting these out not as a list of rules, but as a list of principles. These are my thoughts (which are, to varying degrees, undergirded with Scripture, but my interpretations aren't infallible). I'm not trying to start a fight- these are some of the reasons behind what I believe about college, and I hope some of you find them edifying.

Why?

I can see Biblical allowance for college much better if it is a local college or, especially, something like CollegePlus! which is done (mostly) from home.

Even allowing for something like CollegePlus! or a local community college, though, I would like to know this.

Why would I want to go to college?

Here are some of my reasons why, and then my reasons why they don't convince me.

Networking

Networking is hugely important, especially for someone in my line of business. For my part, though, I'd rather do that on websites like ChristianFilmmakers.org or at gatherings like the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. In the former case, it's free, it's ongoing, and it's focused on my industry. In the latter case, while it's away from home and costs- it's only for a week, and that's a week of condensed and intense networking. If I'm diligent enough.

Knowledge

First off, "the fear of The LORD is the beginning of knowledge." So if I'm going to a pagan institution which will teach me things rooted in a heathen worldview, I'm going to need to filter all that out.

Secondly, with all the technology we have today, why would I want to pay so much money and spend so much time going to an institution to learn when I could study from home at my own pace on only the subjects most important to me? This allows me to still learn from the wisdom of others- whether it's via books, websites, or even local mentors. It also allows me to learn my craft by doing it- not by studying about it in a classroom setting.

Diploma

It's just a piece of paper. If I can do my job and do it well, then I'm not really worried about whether I have an official stamp of approval.

That isn't to say that a college degree isn't helpful, or, at times, necessary, but rather that it isn't always necessary and is often overrated.

Hats of Awesomeness

It's hard, but I think that I'm willing to sacrifice my chance to get one of these babies for the reasons stated above.

(Again, my point isn't that college is inherently evil or that college is not an option for Christians- my point here is that I really don't see why, as a general rule, it is beneficial enough to justify all the costs.)

One More Time

Again, yes, I'm sure there are exceptions. Again, I'm not worried about exceptions. I'm not looking for them right now. I want to find the principles that God has given which direct normative Christian life. If He leads you or me to pursue a path that falls under the category of "exception," than may we be ever willing to follow!

In either case, however, we must deal with the principles given in The Text.

Well, there you have it. This concludes my doctoral thesis on why I don't think The LORD is calling me to go to college at this point in my life.

I guess I'm forever condemned to being classified with other diploma-free people like Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Ford.

Bummer.

Music: It's Been a While

2012-01-20T12:19:00.000-08:00

This piece is from Sons of Georgia. It starts off with the musicians warming up, and then begins a dance.

It's Been a While - "Sons of Georgia" by gabrielhudelson

Here's a recently-released teaser trailer for the film as well. For this music I twisted some popular Civil War melodies into minor.

Music: Breaking Camp/The King's Prayer

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

This piece is from the soundtrack to Ponder Pictures' "Brothers Arise."

This screenshot actually comes from the scene for which this piece was written. Many thanks to the director for this excellent image, and for being an all-around really nice guy. He really has a heart for The LORD, and I look forward to watching God use him in the future!

The finished score in the film is slightly different than this piece (and I like it better!), but this is almost the finished product. Enjoy! If you want to hear a version closer to the final one, check out the YouTube upload. Slight differences, but they are indeed there.

Breaking Camp/The King's Prayer - "Brothers II" by gabrielhudelson

Why I Won't Hesitate to Pull the Trigger

2012-01-09T08:12:00.001-08:00

Thoughts on Christians and violence.

I've recently been involved in multiple discussions about what Scripture has to say about Christians and violence. It is a touchy and very important topic.

I'm going to break this into two parts. First, I'm going to talk about why total pacifism is (I believe) an untenable position. Then, I'm going to discuss the Scriptural definition and basis for Christian violence.

Turn on your battle music, ladies and gentlemen.

Shouldn't We Just Love Everybody?

The argument that we should be non-confrontational can have much appeal, and appear to be Scriptural on its face.

First problem: if played out consistently, it's absurd.

Prepare yourself for some violent satire. *innocent smile*

(While I am being satirical here, it is all in good humor- please don't take offense. It's spoken with a smile. :-)

If Christians should be pacifistic, then no Christian should be a police officer, and all legal systems should be abolished. Turning the other cheek, you know.

The bad guys should never be resisted. Mugger? Thief? Murderer? Rapist? Just make sure you pick a Christian for your target, because if they aren't a Christian they might resist you.

Hey, at least I can fling a gospel tract at the guy who busted down my door before he shoots me.

Make that gently hand the gospel tract to him- flinging it might hurt his feelings.

If I was target shooting at the range, and, walking home, saw a psychotic villain massacring a schoolyard full of children, I should set my favorite pistol down and pull out my cellphone. After all, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away. Then, I should perhaps run into the schoolyard and try to reason with the fellow. Maybe I could do some kind of martial art on him which wouldn't actually hurt him- though the fact that he has a gun makes that idea slightly less attractive.

How horrifying does the example have to get before we admit, "OK, I guess I'd have to do something then?"

Buy a Sword

Now I'm going to use The Sword to see whether we should use the sword.

I have six points to this part of my article:

Assumption
Model
Command
New Covenant
A Pragmatic Presupposition
On Martyrdom and Self-Defense

Assumption

In Proverb 6:16, The LORD states that He hates hands that shed innocent blood. Interestingly, He didn't say that He hates hands that shed blood, as such.

Scripture assumes the use of violence (if necessary) to protect the innocent from evil.

"If the thief is caught while breaking in and is struck so that he dies, there will be no bloodguiltiness on his account. But if the sun has risen on him, there will be bloodguiltiness on his account. He shall surely make restitution; if he owns nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft." (Ex. 22:2+3)

"When he found her in the field, the engaged girl cried out, but there was no one to save her." (Deut. 22:27)

Scripture doesn't specify when exactly we should pull out the Glock or bust out a 3-punch-combo. But does It really have to?

In all honesty, what kind of man would I be if I saw someone being attacked and I didn't rush to their aid?

I'm not talking about two drunks getting into a fight into which I throw myself and "[grab] a dog by the ears."

I'm talking about a woman being mugged or a black guy getting mistreated by a couple of white guys in the men's room or an old man being accosted by a robber.

God made me a man. He gave me strength and a love for things of war. Not things of death- things of victory and justice. Rescuing the damsel in distress. Slaying the dragon- or the gangster- to save the innocent.

I'm not defending a sick fascination with violence- a love of pain and misery- a desire to hurt and kill.

I am defending a love of justice, and a commitment to protect the innocent. I see it modeled and assumed in Scripture- and I see it written on the heart of every little boy who loves to play soldier.

I'm also not saying that lethal force should be the first resort. Absolutely not.

I am saying that the innocent should be defended using whatever force necessary. Perhaps it can be simple psychological warfare. Maybe a swift chop to the temple will stun the assailant without permanent damage. Or maybe his death is necessary. Really, though, it's not about me wanting to harm him. It's about me wanting to protect her (whoever the innocent person is). So long as he insists on harming her, he'll have to go through me, and he's in danger. The moment he stops trying to do evil, he stops being in danger. It's his choice. I'm just defending.

Model

Throughout Scripture appropriate use of violence is not only portrayed but is commended. The example of Phinehas, who slew two people who were defiling God's tabernacle, comes to mind. What did God have to say about Phinehas' taking of two human lives?

"Behold, I give him My covenant of peace; and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the sons of Israel." (Num. 25:13)

Command

"When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: 'Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses.'" (Neh. 4:14)

Not only is violence in defense of the innocent, specifically in defense of the family, assumed throughout the Old Testament, it is also commanded.

We see that also reinforced in the New Testament in that Christ gave up His life for His bride!

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her..." (Eph. 5:25)

New Covenant

Now comes the real issue. Oftentimes today the New Testament is not looked at in context of the Old Testament- as the fulfillment thereof. Rather it is seen as something vastly different which frees us from the bondage of the Old Testament.

And indeed we are free from the Old Covenant, praise God! However, those who wrote the New Testament were thoroughly saturated in the Old. That set their worldview. They also reaffirmed the value of the Old Testament. (2 Tim. 3:16)

Yes, we are indeed free from the Old Covenant. The sacrificial and ceremonial laws were fulfilled in Christ. We aren't Jews, and don't need to be- Christ is our High Priest. Praise God!

If we take that (precious!) truth and use it to nullify all of the Old Testament, we not only cause ourselves much pain and confusion but we specifically disobey both the models and the commands that we are given in the New Testament.

To say that anything stated in the Old Testament must be re-stated in the New Testament or it is invalid is simply unScriptural.

That said, if Christ overturns something in the New Testament, He has every right to do so, and it is incumbent upon us to submit to that.

So what does Jesus say about violence? I'm going to look at some Scriptures that might be brought up specifically for this discussion, and then talk about how I interpret that. If you question my interpretation, please feel free to tell me so in the comments! However, please remember the Old Testament context in which Christ spoke, and interpret these passages in light of the whole context of Scripture.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matt. 5:9)

I can be a peacemaker and still stop the guy who comes in to attack my family. Actually, I'm probably more of a peacemaker by doing so. (Gotta say, I think the Colt "Peacemaker" has the best name for a gun that I've ever heard.)

"You have heard that it was said, ‘AN EYE FOR AN EYE, AND A TOOTH FOR A TOOTH.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you." (Matt. 5:38-42)

Take insults like a man. I firmly believe that the culture of dueling to the death over insults violates this principle. If somebody slaps you or makes a snide remark, take it with grace and love him back. It's not something to kill over. Be generous of your stuff and your time- if the guy is holding you up for the $20 in your wallet, dig out the loose change for him too. "Do not take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God."

"...love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..." (Matt. 5:44)

Pretty self-explanatory, but please, let's let God define love, instead of the soupy, mushy, "tolerant" culture of today.

"Then Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.'" (Matt. 26:52)

I love the argument that my good friend Casey made over at his blog for this passage. Basically, if you make a lifestyle of swordsmanship, you're going to wind up dying by the sword, most likely.

There's a world of context that we must see these statements through. Jesus is set on fulfilling what His Father has commanded. He's not here to resist- He knows not only that the soldiers are here to take Him, but that His Father wants Him to go with them.

"When I sent you out without money belt and bag and sandals, you did not lack anything, did you?" They said, "No, nothing." And He said to them, "But now, whoever has a money belt is to take it along, likewise also a bag, and whoever has no sword is to sell his coat and buy one." (Luke 22:35+36)

Here Jesus tells the disciples to buy a sword. We see the juxtaposition of his previous miraculous care for his disciples with a transition into a more natural method of provision and survival- take some money and a sword.

So one has to ask- if Jesus meant to say never use violence, why in the world would He tell His disciples to sell their cloaks and buy a sword?

You may say "Jesus never used violence." (He did, actually, in the Temple.)

But Jesus didn't have a place to lay His head, either.

We can't forget that when Christ walked the earth a whole lot was happening. Many things throughout that period in Church history were not normative.

A Pragmatic Presupposition

The argument has been made that I know where I'm going when I die. I know where my wife is going, and my kids (by God's Grace). Odds are, this poor criminal is going to go to hell if I shoot him!

This is a thoroughly pragmatic and humanistic argument based on a wildly unScriptural thought process.

It is for us to do what God has called us to do. It is for God to worry about the consequences.

If I get to witness to this man- to wage psychological warfare- praise God! So be it. I'm not looking for a fight, and I'd rather see this man come to repentance.

But I have a feeling that if he kicks down my door and pulls a gun he isn't stopping by for a friendly chat over a cup of eggnog.

God calls me to love my wife- to love my children- and to love my neighbor. What kind of sick logic turns these commands into a call to give my family over to the criminal to be abused and slaughtered? Who am I called to love more- my wife, my child, or this murderer?

And am I really loving my neighbor(s) if I allow this person to get away with this evil deed?

The effects on society are obvious. When the good guys have the guns, the bad guys are scared to commit crime. When the good guys are disarmed, the bad guys have nothing to fear. If I let this wicked man work his will and leave, how many other homes and families is he now able to destroy?

It is because I love that I will use force on this criminal. Because I love my wife, my kids, my God, my country, I will not allow this evil man to pillage and plunder freely.

It's not a lack of love that makes me pull the trigger. It's the presence of love.

We talk a lot about how we should love the perpetrator- whatever happened to loving the victim?

On Martyrdom and Self-Defense

Martyrdom is a glorious thing. Many early Christians were brutally murdered for their faith, and Scripture repeatedly paints for us a glorious picture of what an honor it is to endure hardship and even death for the cause of Christ.

"...others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection..." (Heb. 11:35)

"...they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name." (Acts 5:41)

There is, however, a vast difference between being martyred and being mugged.

If I am to suffer for the cause of Christ, praise God! May He strengthen me that I may suffer and die well.

But if a man attacks me in an alley, I will defend myself, just as I would defend my home- Ex. 22:2, again.

By doing so, I protect myself from death, my family from the loss of a brother and son, and the next person that would have been attacked from death as well.

If I'm married, I'm then protecting my family from the loss of their protector and provider.

Do you see how Biblical use of violence is protective? It's not about taking lives- it's about saving them.

It is worth stating again that lethal force isn't the first resort. It has been rightly said that we should "shoot to stop, not to kill." Sometimes death may result in the process of stopping them- sometimes not. But because of what I love, because of what I value, I will use force in defense of the innocent.

And if it comes to it, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

Thoughts on Biblical Feminity - Pt. 3

2012-01-02T21:55:00.000-08:00

This post is the third in a series. The first one was very foundational, so please read that one. And if you'd like to read the second, I won't complain.

I'm going to wrap up my posts on this theme with this third post, at least for now.

This is really an open-ended series. It can't end. It's an exploration of different ways to please our King. He is infinite. There's always more to be learned.

But I'm finite, so this is the last post in this particular series. :-D

A godly woman whom I would like to spend my life with:

Is about her Father's business and her father's business. And she isn't waiting for me. I will explain.
Is very intelligent- and not just in a sharp, high-IQ, witty way, but especially in a studious and wise way.
Is prepared to learn, to change, to repent, to forgive, and to submit to my leadership.
Is striving to be like Christ. Not because it makes guys like me pay attention, but because it's right.
Presents a unified front to our children and others.
Is honoring to the men in her life.
Is interested in theology and philosophy. Like, really interested. Like, I can discuss eschatology and utilitarianism with her. And she loves it.
Loves kids and knows how to handle/raise/teach them.
Dresses modestly. And that doesn't mean in a burlap sack or a burka, either.
Can cook a mean dinner, and, in general, run a home like a captain runs a ship.
Can talk to me like a friend and a brother- like another person.
Is joyful. Really, downright joyful- rejoicing where God has placed her. And is happy to be a woman- with all that that entails.
Can look at a dilapidated home or an unpleasant situation and has the vision to see what it could be and what needs to be done to get it there.
Is frugal and joyfully content.
Is hospitable.
Is physically disciplined.
Is musically talented/inclined/knowledgeable/etc. This one is much more personal, but I think I can broaden this principle to apply to all of my sisters in Christ, not just those who might end up marrying a musician sometime down the road.

This post covers points 9-17.

Point 9

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with dresses modestly. And that doesn't mean in a burlap sack or a burka, either.

Ah, to find Biblical and God-pleasing balance in all things. I am one to err more on the side of functionality- I have my T-shirt and jeans (with the shirt tucked in for professionalism ;-)- what more could I need? I have one sister who is more prone to this error and another sister who swings to the other extreme.

Fashion isn't inherently bad. I've been convicted to take a little more time to make sure that I look (and smell) nice. It's polite, and it affects my testimony to others.

Modesty doesn't just mean not showing inordinate amounts of skin and/or shape- though it is very much that. It also means adorning yourself in such a way as not to draw attention to yourself. And, perhaps primarily, it means acting in this way.

So dressing in a burlap sack is not modest at all. It's distracting. Same thing with wearing prairie dresses all the time. They may be beautiful dresses which hide all the naughty-thought-inducing curves, but they make you stand out like a sore thumb.

Yes, we should be different from the world. We should look different, too- distinctly masculine/feminine, pure, modest, discreet, disciplined.

That doesn't mean that it's a bad thing to look nice- and to look stylish.

So girls- take care of yourselves. It's not a bad thing to make yourself presentable, modern-looking, and attractive.

But saying that opens the door to a hefty danger on the other side.

It really boils down to the question: who are you trying to please? God or man? If you are dressing to attract guys' eyes (or, as I hear is often the case, to look better than other girls... o.O), then you are striving to please man. That's sin.

To be practical, once we've pressed past the heart-issue of being a man-pleaser, we get into a grayer area. There's a difference between being attractive and lust-inducing. There's a point where you are putting a stumbling block before your brothers.

Note to guys- man up. I firmly believe that ladies have the responsibility to be considerate and Godly in their clothing choices. But we have a responsibility as well. The message of modesty should be preached to the girls, but we men need to keep our minds and eyes in check as well. Take every thought captive. It's not all their fault. Maybe God has given them different convictions. Or maybe He is just waiting to address their clothing because He is working on them in an area that is more important. My brothers. Please. Love your sisters in Christ. Take responsibility. Be the man.

Ladies, I'm not going to draw the lines for you. You must dress in such a way that is feminine and modest. That's what Scripture says. How that looks is between you, your father/family, and your Father in heaven.

I thought this quote was worth sharing:

"Your dresses should be tight enough to show you're a woman and loose enough to show you're a lady." - Edith Head

Something else to take into consideration is time stewardship. To the stereotypical woman who spends hours in the mirror daily, I ask you- is that really how God would have you invest His time?

To be real practical (speaking from my preference, here, not from Scripture- my sister says that she likes this kind of feedback), I hope the women in my family are able to wear feminine pants in a feminine way, and also an occasional pair of blue jeans when the occasion necessitates, but that they are usually found in dresses or skirts. And that they like it that way- I don't want to be the clothes police. For now, that's how I'll be leading my household, and that is something that I like to see in other young women as well.

On hair (after all, if I'm gonna open up one can of worms, I may as well...). It's Biblical for women to have long hair and for men to have short (1 Cor. 11, and I'm discussing norms, not exceptions). But how long is long? How short is short? Same deal here. There's plenty of Christian liberty and beautiful options and variety within the confines given us by Scripture. It's not my job to pull out the measuring tape. But I don't think it's a good thing (for men and women alike!) if I see you from behind and am left wondering which gender-camp you hail from.

Point 10

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with can cook a mean dinner, and, in general, run a home like a captain runs a ship.

WHOOPS.

*phew*

Much better.

This point is pretty self-explanatory and explicitly Biblical- she's the homemaker. And "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

(What do you meant that's not in Proverbs? *searches madly*)

OK, well, "She rises also while it is still night, and provides food for her household..."

Pr. 31 makes it clear. This lady is on top of things. So from being able to manage the finances to being able to manage the dinner table, she is indeed the home-maker. My heart safely trusts in her- I know she is making sure the books balance and the kids don't whither away.

Point 11

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with can talk to me like a friend and a brother- like another person.

If we're not married and we're not blood-relatives then we're brothers and sisters in Christ. I as a guy and you as a girl need to be able to relate as such. We should love each other in beautifully platonic purity. :-)

In other words, when we meet each other we shouldn't be thinking "potential spouse!" while our heart rate exceeds that of even the most vigorous cardio-athlete.

Nor should we be thinking "cooties!" and scampering elsewhere like the two Ns on a pair of magnets.

Indeed, really we should stop thinking about ourselves. She might marry me! Does he think I'm cute? Do I really have to talk to her- a girl!?! NOOOO!!!

And we need to start thinking about others. How can I love this person, this brother or sister in The LORD, in such a way as to edify him, to encourage her, to bless him, to please God?

Because remember, there's no "I" in "friend." Or something like that.

Point 12

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is joyful. Really, downright joyful- rejoicing where God has placed her. And is happy to be a woman- with all that that entails.

It's a fruit of The Spirit. :-) As such, let's pause and say that joy should characterize every child of God- not just the ladies. If you don't have joy, something's wrong- you need to repent.

(Note that there's a difference between joy and happiness. I can be mournful and yet still resting in the joyful hope of the victory of Christ. But the deep and wonderful facets of joy are not what I'm here to study right now.)

Who would want to live with an angry or miserable person (spouse or parent)? Who would want to grow up in such a house?

How much more beautiful is a household which emanates the joy of Christ?

It's also important that we are joyful about the way God made us- content. As a man, I need to rejoice that God made me as a man and gladly assume the responsibilities, duties, and so on which correspond to Biblical manliness. The same for my sisters in Christ. Enjoy being a girl! Enjoy doing Biblically feminine things. If my wife was always groaning about how she really didn't want to be a homemaker and wished she could have become a brain surgeon, you can see how that would not only damage our relationship and the atmosphere of our home but also the worldview of our kids.

Point 13

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with can look at a dilapidated home or an unpleasant situation and has the vision to see what it could be and what needs to be done to get it there.

My mom is a first-class example of this. Messy house? Mounds of laundry on the floor? Moldy drywall that needs replaced? Or maybe we need to rip out the flooring?

If that's where The LORD is leading and where Dad is leading- move over. And take a "before" picture. Because it's going to be awesome.

This point also means that a godly woman doesn't shy away from helping the dirty homeless kid or cleaning up the home of the old lady we're trying to help.

A Godly woman- I've said it before- is a warrioress. Not a china doll. She'll do what needs done. She "maketh her arms strong." Extreme Makeover Home Edition has nothing on her. (In fact, she does extreme makeovers without the TV show budget.)

Point 14

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is frugal and joyfully content.

This kinda goes along with point 13- and my mom is a great example of this one too. She can stretch a dollar like a rubber band. She can find good deals, she can manage the finances and balance the budget. So whether you have a little side business that you run from the home (talk about a homeschooling opportunity) or maybe you just have an eye for killer deals, you can be a real asset to your husband, by making the winning of the bread take a bit less of the sweat of his brow.

A related but separate point from frugality is joyful contentment.

I'm not rich. I'm exceedingly blessed and better off than many in this world, but I'm not rolling in the dough. At least not yet.

Which means that I probably won't have a mansion to offer my bride. Nor is it likely that we'll honeymoon on a fancy ship to an exotic location and sip drinks with umbrellas in them.

I can't afford those things right now. And I certainly don't want to chain myself to 30 years of debt just to get a big house.

I'd rather be a poor, free man than a rich slave.

I need a wife who can support me in this.

I'm an entrepreneur. I don't have a steady paycheck.

Let me pause to address a mindset with which I heartily disagree- that the $50-a-day job is a "real job" and jobs without a steady paycheck aren't. In both cases, God is the One who provides. (That random bit of insight was free.) Ooh, another random bit of insight- guys, "entrepreneur" is a label that's easy to slap on to just about anything. If you're planning on supporting a family, make sure that you aren't slapping that label on an idea you have or something you might do one day. We must pray for God's provision- but we must faithfully invest and work hard as well. "In all labor, there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

If the clients just aren't coming in, I need a helper who can joyfully rest in the hand of God and trust in His provision. (Another note to guys- if the clients aren't coming in, I shouldn't be so stuck to "pursuing my dream" that I can't do what it takes to provide for my family- whether that means lawn care or serving milkshakes at Chick-fil-a.)

If my wife is always pining for the big house, the fancy cruise, if we see the rich guy come in with his wife decked out in expensive jewelry and she looks longingly, then that shows a lack of vision on her part.

And it hurts, on my part.

Not because I believe that God has called me to be a millionaire- He may give and take as He sees fit- but because I really really want my girl to be happy.

And when her happiness is contingent upon me acquiring something which God has not called me to acquire, we have a problem.

An admirable example of this is Mary from It's a Wonderful Life.

She didn't need George Bailey to see the world or design skyscrapers or become a millionaire so that she could love him wholeheartedly. She took a broken-down (like, really broken-down) old house and turned it into a palace. She supported him by giving away their honeymoon money to keep the Building and Loan running. She was joyfully there by his side, supporting him through whatever he was going through.

I as the husband want to provide for my wife and family in the best way that I can (as God leads). But I don't know where God will take me or what trials we may have to endure. A wife who can support her husband through all the financial worries and troubles of life and who can find a way to make things work is a very valuable companion indeed.

So are you ready to rest in the hand of God and be joyfully content where He puts you, whether that's a trailer or a mansion?

Can you take them both with equal joy and say "The LORD giveth, The LORD taketh away, blessed be the name of The LORD?"

Because it's all His anyway.

Point 15

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is hospitable.

I might be an elder in the local church someday. One of the requirements for being an elder is hospitality. I need a wife who can help me with that. I, living with her in an understanding way, want to help her by working with her needs in this area. She needs to support me by being able to throw a feast for our guests, making our house presentable, and so on.

I remember the story that Dad tells of when ours was one of the host-homes for a Christmas event at a church. One of the older men of the church walked into the house, looked around, and said "Rob is going to go far- he has a good wife."

What amazing insight by him! And what a testimony to the character of my mother!

While some may not be able to vocalize what this man saw, everyone feels it. A woman can truly make a house a home- it's not just a trite saying.

Point 16

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is physically disciplined.

Now we're really getting into some practical stuff that's more what I would like than what God commands.

But there are nevertheless Biblical principles to be brought to bear here. Let's explore.

I'm into physical fitness. I like to work out, I try to eat right- so on. And I'd like to have a wife who can go on a run or a hike with me.

I also would like her to be able to make healthy meals, made-from-scratch foods, and so on.

These are preferences. Maybe God will give me a wife like this- maybe His plan is different. (Whatever it is, it's best.)

But everyone needs to deal with Biblical principles like good stewardship and self-control.

I realize that some people are overweight because of disease or other conditions over which they have no control.

But if you are overweight because you don't have the self-control to say "no" or the discipline to take a walk now and again, then this is a problem. This isn't just an issue of not looking nice- it's a character problem.

If you constantly eat garbage and drink poison (you know what they are!) then you need to consider whether that is being a good steward of the amazing body that God gave you. And if you're feeding garbage and poison to our kids- even worse.

Again, there's a balance here. I, for one, am prone to fall on the other side of that balance to the point where I can't enjoy a cup of hot chocolate because I'm too busy reading the ingredients list. That's not good either. It goes back to joyful contentment.

If God provides this non-free-range chicken or Christmas candy with unpronounceable ingredients, let us eat it and give thanks!

But I'd love to be able to wrestle with my great-grandchildren. And I'd love it even more if my wife was right there tickling Johnny alongside me.

I think eating right and staying in shape might just help us get there.

Even more importantly (to varying degrees for different believers), it's Biblical.

Hopefully I've navigated that minefield with some semblance of success. I look forward to hearing your comments. I firmly don't mean to say that all Christians should be P90X grads. But the Biblical principles do need to be dealt with. How you deal with them is between you and our Maker.

Point 17

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is musically talented/inclined/knowledgeable/etc.

Like I said in the longer version of the point- this doesn't apply to all of you. :-) Indeed, it doesn't necessarily apply to my future spouse- that's in God's hands. This, like being able to run with me, is a much less important thing then whether she has right doctrine or honors her parents. I'm being brutally practical in hopes that it will edify some of you.

But let me get to the point of which "the point" above is just a practical example.

I have been called to a certain mission, a certain facet of dominion-taking by God. All men have. Mine, at least for now, is music. God has given me this to conquer for His Glory. I would like to have a wife that can help me in this specific area.

Now please, don't start piano lessons. (Well, do start piano lessons, but for different reasons. Like because they're awesome.)

This goes back to how I began this series of posts- applying yourself to real-world pursuits. If you have practical skills that you can use to help your husband in- well, whatever it is he does, then you are all the more prepared to be a helper to him.

(And don't take that to mean that you need to figure out what kind of man you want to marry and what kind of woman he would want and... this is just a practical outplay of what I said at the very beginning of this series. Invest your time wisely, and pursue what God wants you to. Let Him worry about matching skill-sets.)

Leftovers

Here are some other things that I'm not going to spend a lot of time on, but which are quite important:

- The way she treats her family/siblings. That will speak volumes about how she will treat me and our kids.
- The way she takes- or doesn't take- responsibility. Is it always because of something or someone else? Or does she take responsibility for her actions and character? Is she trustworthy? (Pr. 20:6)
- Does she not only "let boys be boys" (in the righteous, dignified, un-barbaric and Biblical sense), but love and cultivate their daring, bravery, strength, and manliness? Does she prevent little brother Johnny from ever doing something that might end up giving him a black eye or bloody nose? Or does she encourage him to be brave, praise him when he comes in with a "war-wound," bandage him up and send him back out into the fray?

Purity

You may notice that purity wasn't on my list. Is it important? Very much so. Indeed, it is on my list. Just not the list that I posted here.

But physical purity is the milk. Let us press into the meat. I can find an army of virgins, not one of whom is a warrioress for The Kingdom of Heaven. I want more than just a girl who hasn't done drugs or kissed five previous boyfriends. I want a girl who has done and is set on doing great things for The Kingdom of God. I want more than a girl who never gave her heart to Edward Cullen- I want a girl who has given her heart to Christ.

On Perfection

I realize that this is a long list and that no one is going to be perfect. Also that this list isn't perfect, or exhaustive. My list isn't the standard- God's Word is. I don't expect perfection of my spouse, and I hope she doesn't expect perfection of me ('cuz she ain't gonna get it).

I don't expect her to be like Christ in everything.

But I do expect her to desire to be like Christ in everything.

And really, that's where it starts.

If she strives to please Him, the rest will come in His good time.

One More Time

I also wish to re-state that some things I talked about are objective truths that apply to all women- or all Christians! Others are more specific and practical, and will apply at different levels to different people, and perhaps not at all to some. Some of them are even things that might not apply to anyone beyond my own household, being my own personal desires and convictions.

That's All, Folks!

Like I said, this is an open-ended list- it's not a checklist, but rather a list of things to think about and discuss in the light of God's Word. It is an attempt to give my sisters in Christ a bit of a better picture of just what guys like me think a "godly woman" is. There's where those practical parts come in handy.

More importantly, it is an exploration of what God thinks a "godly woman" is- not because I know what pleases Him, but because I want to know what pleases Him. He tells us in His Word. May He open our eyes more and more to see His Truth!

Sisters, hopefully this gives you some ideas, not of what this one guy wants you to become, but of what Christ wants you to become. Brothers, let us encourage our sisters to godliness, and let us ourselves strive to admire that which God finds admirable.

This concludes my thoughts on Biblical femininity. For now, at least. Thanks for reading and for interacting!

(Oh, wait! Did I list that she absolutely must be drop-dead gorgeous. ;-) Actually, she doesn't have to be- and I could go into the whole inner/outer beauty thing, but I'm just going to stop this article. Now.)

A New Year in View

2011-12-31T16:49:00.000-08:00

Today the sun sets on another year.

Repeatedly Scripture exhorts the people of God to remember. As this year comes to a close, it provides an opportune, if somewhat arbitrary place in time to set up stones of remembrance. The Hand of God has done much, and it behooves those who desire to see a faithful progeny to record these events that their children and grandchildren may remember.

"Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever." - Joshua 4:6-7

So while I hope that any who read this will be edified, this post is for myself and for my family, both present and (LORD willing) future.

Over the past year, our great God has providentially brought to pass many things, only a few of which I shall mention below.

We moved from our previous home of five years into a house that God provided through a family in our church, and thus became debt free (if officially homeless :-). Little brother number two was born in April. After this, Mom went through a time of being bedridden. Praise God, it was not nearly as long as it could have been, and she has been back to full health for quite some time now. I got the Complete Composer's Collection, and our family also purchased another Macintosh for our business endeavors. Our church began meeting in a school building when we had previously been meeting in homes. The LORD has brought me multiple business opportunities, and I have worked on a variety of films- including multiple projects that I'm working on right now. We were able to spend much time together with both sets of our grandparents. Dad's father died, and Dad performed the funeral service back in Indiana. We commemorated one sister's coming-of-age with a "Milestone Celebration," and another sister was baptized. Dad and I met with Mark Rushdoony this very morning.

I asked him what he would say to the next generation if he could say one thing. While I can't quote his answer word-for-word, I shall paraphrase it. He said that we must remember to not be focused on one specific area of life, like politics or family, in such a way that we lose sight of The Kingdom. We must seek first The Kingdom. It is crucial that the next generation learns this!

This brings me to the spiritual growth which has been worked in our family by God in His mercy. This year I've wrestled through the doctrine of The Trinity and had legalisms exposed that were hiding in the wings of my presuppositions. Praise God- may we never stop growing.

This is just a sampling of the many works of God. May we always remember!

This time of year also lends itself well to the setting of goals- the casting of vision for the future. Some might call them "New Year's Resolutions." Regardless of the term used, "In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." (Pr. 14:23)

Setting achievable, practical goals, with a time-frame in which they must be accomplished and incremental steps leading to their completion, can help to keep the goal-setter on track, so that they are laboring toward their goals instead of merely talking. Ultimately, of course, a goal is only going to be fulfilled that is according to the sovereign plan of God- every plan for the future must be understood in the context of "if The LORD wills." However, that should not be a deterrent from prayerfully setting goals and working towards them.

So here are some of my personal goals for 2012.

I hope to release three albums this year, if The LORD sees fit. More updates on that to follow. I would also like to be prepared to provide for a wife. I want to get back to practicing the piano consistently, and would like to practice for ten hours each week, minimum, except on weeks with important holidays or on vacation. I am sure that I won't make it every week, but I want to strive for it. I also want to exercise consistently. I'd like to release the first book in a piano curriculum. Lastly, I want to be consistently memorizing Scripture.

You are welcome to hold me to these!

So now I ask you this:

What are your plans for 2012- how is God leading you?

What are your memories from 2011- what has God done in your life?

What are you doing right now to pass on the legacy of God's mighty acts of providence to the next generation?

Tomorrow the sun rises on another year. May it be a year filled with production for The King and His Kingdom. May each unforgiving minute of 2012 be filled with "sixty seconds of distance run."

Music: Cured of War

2011-12-30T10:12:00.000-08:00

More music from the civil war film, "Sons of Georgia." I love the sound of the Gypsy solo violin, and praise The LORD for growth as I learn how to use these tools that He has blessed me with better. May it ever be for His Glory!

Cured of War - "Sons of Georgia" by gabrielhudelson

Thoughts on Biblical Femininity - Pt. 2

2011-12-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

(Just so you know, I'm not posting Leighton paintings as a model for how all women should dress. :-)

Continuing my thoughts from my first post (which covered points 1-4 below) in this, a multi-part letter to my sisters in Christ. If you haven't read the first one, please do. It's foundational.

Before I begin, I want to mention something that a commenter reminded me of. These things are really thoughts I'm putting out there- discussion points. Different Christians will be more or less prone to different areas. So this isn't like a "checklist"- it's a list of discussion points and things to think about. Ultimately, if Scripture says it, it's true. If I say it- check it with Scripture.

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with...

Is about her Father's business and her father's business. And she isn't waiting for me. I will explain.
Is very intelligent- and not just in a sharp, high-IQ, witty way, but especially in a studious and wise way.
Is prepared to learn, to change, to repent, to forgive, and to submit to my leadership.
Is striving to be like Christ. Not because it makes guys like me pay attention, but because it's right.
Presents a unified front to our children and others.
Is honoring to the men in her life.
Is interested in theology and philosophy. Like, really interested. Like, I can discuss eschatology and utilitarianism with her. And she loves it.
Loves kids and knows how to handle/raise/teach them.

Point 5

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with presents a unified front to our children and others.

Part of her submission to me is her support for me. This means that it's not her and the kids against me or me and the kids against her. We two need to become one flesh. As one goes, so goes the other. So if Johnny tries to play Mom against Dad or Dad against Mom he's gonna get spanked. Twice.

We're unified.

This also means that if neighbor Jane wants the kids to come over for a sleepover and I say "no," she's not going to get a different answer by asking my wife.

In front of our children and in front of the world around us, we're together. She's not only submitting to me, but she's supporting and reinforcing me. She backs me up rather then undermining me.

We're partners on the same mission. We have each other's back. Every time. It's just the way we roll.

*cue spy music*

Point 6

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is honoring to the men in her life.

Because, after all, I'm going to be the man in her life.

And because, more importantly, it's Biblical.

"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones." - Pr. 12:4

This point follows right along with the two previous. Are you, my sisters in Christ, treating your fathers and brothers in the Biblical ways discussed above? Are you supportive and submissive?

(and no, I'm not advocating wife-like submission to your father or brothers...)

How are you treating your father? Is Dad the buffoon that can't do anything right? Do you try to "straighten him out", but he's just too... silly? Do you roll your eyes at his jokes and act like Mom is the only one who ever gets anything done? Are you convinced that men are stupid (after all, that's what the movies say)? How about your brother- he's always on the computer. He never cleans his room. (I say this to my shame. But back to my point...) Or maybe he's younger and he never cleans his face. He is the subject of many an embarrassing story or sharp joke, and he is a real pain when he interrupts your talks with the girls. In fact, if he would just-

What does that say about you? Are you being the "crown" of your father? Your brothers? Or are you being rottenness in their bones?

Trust me, I notice.

But more importantly- "The eyes of The LORD are in every place."

Do you think God smiles on a girl who makes a fool of her father? Who derides men in general and her men in particular?

And how much more beautiful to see a girl who praises her father, who commends her brothers, who magnifies their skills and achievements while hiding their faults (another good commenter point-out- I'm not talking about deceitfully hiding faults or lying to make them look good.)?

Again, I'm not equating your relationship to your father or your brothers to your relationship with your husband.

But I am comparing them.

And it would be foolish for me to expect a woman who was rottenness in the bones of her father or brothers to suddenly become my crown.

Please remember that by building them up, I don't mean being silly. "He's so awesome he's just perfect he's amazing he's wonderful." That just makes you look foolish and embarrasses him.

You as a daughter or sister have the power to bless and honor and inspire and crown the men in your life- or to shame them and cut them in half.

Right now I'm talking about family relationships. This applies to a different degree to your brothers in Christ, but that's not my focus here. It also applies most strongly to the relationship between a husband and wife- but then, that's what we're really talking about, isn't it?

I say this very sincerely- the power of a woman is great.

Please use it wisely.

Point 7

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is interested in theology and philosophy. Like, really interested. Like, I can discuss eschatology and utilitarianism with her. And she loves it.

This connects with point 2, but is a bit different. I want a wife who is my soul-mate- who shares my deepest thoughts and ponderings. She's not a theological cream-puff. If I'm away and a Jehovah's Witness comes to the door, she not only knows how to wield our Glock (just in case) but she knows how to wield The Sword.

And I can wrestle through hefty theology and always have a loving, compassionate, concerned sounding-board to turn to from which to receive Biblically-grounded feedback.

She's my soul-mate. A huge part of my soul- indeed, by God's Grace, the consuming desire of my soul- is God! I want her to be able to share in my passion for Him.

I want her to love it as I do my best to wash her in the water of The Word. And I want her to sharpen me too.

Point 8

A godly woman with whom I would want to spend my life with loves kids and knows how to handle/raise/teach them.

That little chocolate-bearded, runny-nosed brother. A nuisance? Wish you could just stick him outside and get back to your Austen novel? (OK, that was just mean.)

Or when you look into the teary eyes of the dirty little kid who scraped her knee, do you see the soul of one more citizen for The Kingdom of Heaven? Do you see a legacy of thousands and tens of thousands of human souls coming from this one child who will be affected by the way you respond, right now, to this needy little person?

Are you too soft to wield the rod? Are you too hard to cry with them when the puppy dies?

Can you raise them in the nurture and admonition of The LORD- from having enough of a spine to rule the house instead of being ruled by the house to having enough of a heart to let them tell you the rambling and apparently endless story about the bug they chased around the backyard, not because you care at all about the dragonfly but because you care about them?

Are you patient enough to teach math and energetic enough to carry the baby on the family hike? (Which only assumes that I'm carrying the heavier backpack, or I'd be glad to carry him for you. :-)

Do you love- LOVE kids? Do you see them for the treasure that they are- a soul waiting to be shaped? A treasure that will be stolen by the world if not seized by The Kingdom!

Do you look at a kid pulling off a first-class "puppy dog face" and say "how could I say no to that?" Or do you look at him and say with a smile "I love you too much to say yes."

Can you change a diaper and a worldview at the same time?

Check back next Monday for the third and final installment in this thrilling series. :-D

Music: Without End (An Epic Christmas Arrangement)

2011-12-23T15:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a suite of Christmas carols woven together into an epic-film-music-style whole. This is my Christmas gift to y'all, on the same terms as my last one. Just send me an e-mail at gabriel AT resoundingmusic.com and I'll send you an mp3 of this piece. I probably won't get to sending 'em out until after the weekend, though- need to be with the family. If you feel led to share this, it's greatly appreciated. :-)

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there shall be no end..."

Without End by gabrielhudelson

Merry CHRISTmas!

Thoughts on Biblical Femininity - Pt. 1

2011-12-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

I've written about Biblical manliness more than once before. But today I'd like to talk to my sisters in Christ.

I was reading the blog of the Botkin sisters (an excellent blog which I would highly recommend- these young ladies are an excellent source of wisdom and by turns convict, encourage, and inspire me), and I came across this quote:

“What takes a girl from someone a man likes to be around, to someone
he wants to spend his life with? I see a lot of lists by girls about
‘my husband must be such and such.’ But it seems all I ever hear from
guys is ‘a godly lady.’ What does that mean to them?”

Well, here goes.

:-)

I started this planning to post it all at once. It's kinda (way) too long to do thus, though, so instead I'm going to shoot for publishing a part of the whole list once a week- probably every Monday.

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with...

Is about her Father's business and her father's business. And she isn't waiting for me. I will explain.
Is very intelligent- and not just in a sharp, high-IQ, witty way, but especially in a studious and wise way.
Is prepared to learn, to change, to repent, to forgive, and to submit to my leadership.
Is striving to be like Christ. Not because it makes guys like me pay attention, but because it's right.

Point 1

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is about her Father's business and her father's business. And she isn't waiting for me.

If homeschooling, family-integrated, skirt-wearing Christian girls had to be summed up in a book, it would be..?

Pride & Prejudice. Of course.

I know, it's normal for guys to not like Austen novels, the Twilight series, and so on. But usually the perspective is that it is normal for girls to like these things- indeed, that it is good for them to do so. I disagree, but it is not the purpose of this post to discuss the merits and problems of romance novels and "chick flicks" in-depth. There is one salient thing about them, though, which applies strongly to my point.

(For said in-depth discussion, I'd highly recommend the talk Jane Austen & Vampires by the Botkin sisters. Yes, them again. I promise, they aren't paying me for posting all these links. At least not yet.)

Books and films like Pride & Prejudice model, for girls, a life spent at tea and dancing, at pointless nothings, waiting for prince charming to come.

I'm saddened when I see "good girls" who are proud of their infatuation with everything Austen. When I see girls wrapped up in the fake, the shallow, the transient, the make-believe. In the hope of marriage. In the "what I want my husband to be".

Oh my sisters, please be wrapped up in what your Husband Christ wants you to be right now.

Your life doesn't begin- or end- with marriage. Marriage is neither the commencement of your real duties as a woman, nor is it the conclusion of your life story after which comes only the epilogue.

Instead of waiting for the arrival of your spouse, be about your heavenly Father's business, sculpting yourself to please your eternal Husband, Christ.

And what does that look like for you here and now? I don't know exactly. But it ain't sippin' tea and watching the horizon for a silhouetted steed bearing a knight in shining armor.

What are you doing right now that is advancing the Kingdom of God on this earth?

I don't doubt that often the answer is "I'm preparing to be a wife and mother- learning to keep the house and raise the kids".

Amen and amen. That is hugely important. But it's not all. There's So Much More. You as a daughter in your father's home can be a warrioress or a china doll. There is a world to be conquered, and you can be helping your father (or your brothers) do that right now.

It can be disheartening seeing examples like the one I just linked to. You may be thinking "but I don't have globetrotting brothers of awesomeness. My dad just delivers mail. My brother is more interested in conquering the World of Warcraft than the world which wars against the God who crafted it."

Grow where you are planted. Talk to your dad! Ask him how you can help him! Study theology. Yes, that may mean reading a book written 200 years ago which weighs more than your little brother. Study music or graphic design or auto mechanics or filmmaking or electricity. Apply yourself to practical, profitable, real-world pursuits. Being a daughter Joyfully At Home affords you myriads of practical Kingdom-building opportunities. Cultivate the mind and body and talents that God has given you. I don't know the answer for your specific situation. I do know Who does. Seek His Face, not the face of prince charming.

Your time in the household of your father is precious. Please don't waste it. Also please note that I'm not advocating by "real-world pursuits" that you "get a job." I firmly believe in the power of stay-at-home wives and daughters to advance The Kingdom in practical ways. May God give you wisdom as you seek to find those ways! Maybe it's selling crafts, or writing books, or teaching piano (each of which, actually, are examples from people I know). Whatever it is, though, it's not twiddling your thumbs until Mr. Darcy shows up.

So, to sum up, be content where God has put you. (Phil. 4:11)

Use your single years wisely, being a good steward of the time He has given you. (Eph. 5:16)

And be ready for marriage, not waiting for marriage. (Matt. 6:33)

A question which might give good perspective: "If God doesn't have it in His Marvelous Plan for me to get married (it is possible!) then what can I be doing to expand His Kingdom right now so that I don't find myself, at the end of my life, an old maid, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?"

Point 2

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is very intelligent- and not just in a sharp, high-IQ, witty way, but especially in a studious and wise way.

She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
(Pr. 31:26)

I don't want to marry a girl who has spent her life just doing dishes and changing diapers. Those tasks that I just mentioned are very important and very Kingdom-building, but that's not all that Kingdom womanhood is about. I want a girl who can look at a dirty diaper or a stack of dishes or a little boy with a bloody knee and a messy face and see the Kingdom of God being advanced. But I also want a girl who has wisely invested her youth and who has a wealth of knowledge to pass on to our kids- and to me!

To make it practical, I'd like her to have:

A firm knowledge of Scripture and be able to apply It to many situations.
A good arsenal of knowledge, wisdom, stories from her past and her parents' past and her grandparents' past, proverbs and quotes from wise men and women, ready to pull out and apply at will.
Practical knowledge of real-world stuff ranging from auto-mechanics to storytelling.
A firm grasp of the basic things that our children will need to know so that she can teach them well- basic math, basic music (especially for my kids! :-), basic literature- a second language is a plus- etc.

I'm being practical, here, and the danger with that is that it's easy to be legalistic, or at least to be accused of such. But my sister says that practical is helpful, so there it is. And these practical things, though they will vary in degree and application between you, my sisters in Christ, are still founded on Biblical principles- like the value of meditating on God's Word (Ps. 1), the importance of wisdom and knowledge (Pr. 9), the beauty of a legacy, the importance of remembering the journeys of our fathers (Deuteronomy, Proverbs), the worth of a woman who is "making her arms strong" (Pr. 31), and so on.

Being a keeper at home doesn't at all mean mean being fat and dumb, washing dishes, wiping noses, and sitting around snacking in front of the TV with an occasional shout at a kid or two.

Point 3

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is prepared to learn, to change, to repent, to forgive, and to submit to my leadership.

We're human. We're imperfect. Even the woman who God has stored in His Perfect plan for me- the perfect girl for me- isn't perfect. And I, the perfect man for her- I'm not perfect either.

So we both need to be able to repent and to forgive.

God has called me to be the leader in the home that I hope to start one day. A godly woman will recognize and desire this. I won't be a perfect leader, and she won't expect me to be. She will, however, expect, exhort, and inspire me to be a great leader.

Quick note to my brothers reading this- it hit me one night recently that as a husband and father I will have a daughter of The King submitting herself to- obeying- me. That's a huge responsibility. Guys, if you take this lightly, don't come courting my sisters.

I'll slug you.

Now returning my address to my sisters: As a wife, you need to be ready to change and grow with your man as The LORD leads. This might make you uncomfortable sometimes, but we as Kingdom households are not on a gondola ride- we're on an epic, Kingdom voyage. Seasickness comes with the territory, but you need to be ready to take it like a sailor.

This also may mean differences of opinion with your parents/siblings/etc. LORD willing, throughout the pre-marriage process any disagreements will be discovered. If they're important enough, then the train wreck will be stopped before it started. If they're minor, then hopefully the marriage process will have the blessing of both families, knowing that the foundations are solid, and the disagreements can be overlooked.

But you must remember that as your husband this man is now your man, your head, your leader. You have to be prepared to follow him to the ends of the earth.

Example: if your husband becomes a credo-baptist when you were Presbyterians, then you need to submit to his leadership even if you're not sure he's right. And you need to support him in front of the kids. Or maybe he wants you to wear head-coverings, while your father didn't believe that that was the proper interpretation of Scripture.

"Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord." - Eph. 5:22

Submit to him as you would submit to Christ. You must be prepared to do this.

(By the way, if he tells you to rob a bank or help him knock off an old rival- please don't. Obedience to him is subject to The Word of God. But when it's a grey area, he is your leader. And if you accept your place at his side wholeheartedly- what amazing peace and security. God's design is unbeatable.)

Point 4

A godly woman whom I would want to spend my life with is striving to be like Christ. Not because it makes guys like me pay attention, but because it's right.

I'll close with this one for now. It's something which my sister has discussed with me previously. It's kinda tough to communicate this, seeing as how you are reading a list of things that a guy is looking for in girls, but it's crucial.

If you're trying to be Christ-like because straight-laced, homeschooled, Christian guys like me look for Christ-like girls, you are missing the whole point.

Your obedience to Christ must be motivated out of fear of and love for God. If it's motivated out of fear of and lust for man- repent! Pray that God will change your heart. (1 John 1:9)

But don't be satisfied with being a good girl who checks the boxes and looks good. Oh LORD I pray that You would make such a girl transparent before I or any brother of mine commits his life to her! If your passion for Christ only runs as deep as your passion for this guy you like, then what happens when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed and you're just not very passionate about the guy today?

More importantly- if what you do for Christ isn't done out of faith- if what you do for Christ is really just done for man- it's sin! (Rom 14:23)

Anyone who seeks godliness apart from God is doomed to failure. Every time.

Any woman who seeks godliness to impress the guys is no godly woman at all.

If you think your husband will make you happy, will bring you joy, will give you fulfillment- you're wrong. Even the best man can't do that. Instead of him bringing you joy, you will bring him misery. If you make him your idol, he will always fail to measure up to the deity you want him to be.

But if you both are seeking first The Kingdom, what harmony and unity and love will result! The more you love Christ, the more you will love each other. A man with his whole heart given to Christ will love you far more than a man with his whole heart given to you. And a man with his whole heart given to Christ knows that it works both ways.

This takes us back to point 1. If you are waiting for Prince Charming instead of serving the King of Kings, then you aren't ready for Prince Charming in the first place.

Because a real man is looking for a woman who has already given her heart away.

To Christ.

Bearing this in mind, I hope that this list has encouraged both my sisters and my brothers, not in manliness or womanliness, but in Godliness.

Stop by next week for part 2. :-)

Sin or Statistics?

2011-12-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

This young man's boldness convicts me, his faith inspires me, his message encourages me. But the fact that the church in this nation which will gnash their teeth at this message which comes straight from The Word of God saddens me. Oh for repentance! Oh for reformation!

Please watch this. Give ear to The Word of God thus spoken so boldly. Wrestle with The Truth- submit to It- and pass it on. Our nation needs to hear this. Homosexuality isn't wrong because of statistics. It's wrong because God says so.

True relevance comes when the Church submits to God and obeys His Word- not when she tries to hide it under a bushel.

What this young man says isn't popular. It doesn't submit to the gods of the marketplace. But it's true. And it needs to be said. May we not be found lacking the boldness to say it.

Music: Brotherhood Montage

2011-12-09T09:42:00.001-08:00

Something I wrote for a film that I'm working on, set in the Civil War era.

Oh, and there's a hymn in there somewhere, if anybody wants to try to find it... :-)

Brotherhood Montage - "Sons of Georgia" by gabrielhudelson

Music: Private, I

2011-12-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

This piece was written for a comedy featuring two young detective wannabes. Not a genre I usually post, but definitely quite fun. Enjoy!

Private, I by gabrielhudelson

Happy Thanksgiving! / Shameless Commercial Time

2011-11-25T09:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, this is a day late- I was writing it on Thanksgiving Day and then I stopped to go be with the family. :-D

We have much to be thankful for, do we not? What are some of the things that you are thankful for? I'm thankful for... hmm...

(not necessarily in order)

Godly parents
The Word of God
The Election of God
The Love and Grace of God
The Sovereignty of God
Great siblings
A Thanksgiving Day feast
My grandparents
An excellent computer with professional software
Music
God's provision
Our next house (we're planning on moving at the beginning of next year)
The Law and Justice of God
The people that support my entrepreneurial endeavors

...and many more things.

But as a gift of appreciation to those in category 14, if you are a Facebook user you can get a free mp3 of my music.

If you aren't a Facebook user... well, you follow my blog, so I might just send you one anyway.

;-)

Just comment below with the title of the piece you'd like and then send me an e-mail at gabriel@resoundingmusic.com.

To all of my readers, if The LORD leads you to pass on my music, I would greatly appreciate it. Whether you share my blog, tweet a link to my website, embed a video from my YouTube channel in a blog post, "like" my Facebook page (as linked above), or follow my Twitter account, this young entrepreneur will be very grateful.

Back to my Thanksgiving gift to y'all, here are the pieces to choose from:

Resounding Music - Gabriel Hudelson by gabrielhudelson

On Slipp'ry Terms

2011-11-21T07:41:00.000-08:00

"Tolerance is the virtue of a man without convictions." - G.K. Chesterton

Discrimination. Tolerance. Diversity. One's bad and two are good, right?

Absolutely! Sort of. Maybe, because it kinda depends. And stuff.

You know?

I recently read on the Christian Science Monitor (not a site I frequent often) about how "[c]enturies of British royal discrimination came to an end... after Commonwealth leaders agreed to drop rules that give sons precedence as heir to the throne and bar anyone in line for the crown from marrying a Roman Catholic."

That word, that d-word, "discrimination", is so powerfully loaded in today's culture. Any time discrimination is ended, we should be glad.

Right?

Wrong.

In other news, I was reading through "Teaching Tolerance" magazine a few weeks ago. What a read! Every once and a while I even found things that I agreed with!

But what is the Christian perspective on "tolerance" and "diversity"? Jesus said "love your enemies." God has chosen and redeemed sinners from all walks of life and all depths of sin. So we should just accept everyone as they are.

Right?

Wrong.

And here's where it gets tricky, and the deceitful and un-taken-captive thoughts of this world will pull the wool over our eyes, if we aren't careful.

What's wrong with this sentence?

"We're working towards a world that is full of peace and tolerance for people of all races, genders, sexual orientations, and religions."

How about this one?

"We are proud to announce that the discriminatory policies of the military against blacks and women have been repealed, and that now both African-Americans and the daughters of our country are free to join our nation's armed forces."

I'll give you a sec to take those sentences captive before I point out what one of my big problems with them is.

"He who defines the terms, wins."

Tolerance, diversity, and discrimination can all be good things OR bad things depending on how they are defined.

But it gets even more tricky when the definitions given mix apples and oranges.

Race, Religion, Gender, Sexual Orientation. These four so often are said in the same breath.

But they are totally different.

Race: A matter of birth.

Something you have no say in.
Something you are born into.
Something that does not change your status towards God in that you are still made in His Image (though there will be plenty of spiritual inheritance from your forefathers which will either help or hinder your growth in The Grace and Knowledge of God).
Something that gives no Biblical justification for discrimination (that is, discrimination against a certain race as being inherently less valuable. This kind of discrimination is not Biblically acceptable. Gen. 1+2)

Religion: A matter of Truth.

Something that you must choose.
Something that, while you might be "born into" or "raised into" it, is not an unchangeable part of you.
Something that very much changes your status towards God in that you are either believing His Truth or believing a lie and walking in rebellion to Him.
Something that does give Biblical justification for discrimination- in fact, Scripture commands us to discriminate against false teaching, to preach The Gospel, to proclaim that God is the only God and Christ is The Only Way and Truth and Life. (Jn. 14:6)

Gender: A matter of birth.

Again, something you have no choice in.
You cannot change it (well, technically you can- kind of- today, but you shouldn't change it, at any rate.)
This also does not change your status toward God. He created male and female in His Glorious Image.
But this category is different from race in that there is Biblical justification for good discrimination. What does this look like? It looks like difference in roles- not difference in value. The husband lays down his life for his wife- the wife lays down her will for her husband. The men fight. The women keep the home. The man is the head of the home, the wife is his helper. So on. (Gen. 3)

Sexual orientation: A matter of Truth

Something you have a choice in. And if you're going to argue that you were born a homosexual, I must reply that God does not make provisions for that in His Word.
You can change your "sexual orientation"- for better or for worse, it is a choice you make.
This does change your status toward God in that it is an area of obedience (just like any other area of moral decision that He has addressed in His Law).
This is an area which is Biblically discriminated against in that homosexuality is Biblically condemned. It's a crime on the level of murder or adultery. So sexual orientation isn't just a choice like red socks or blue socks- it's a choice like whether or not to murder someone. That's how Scripture presents it. (Lev. 18:22)

Interestingly enough, it seems that very few take issue with discriminating against murderers.

So to go back to the sentences above:

"We're working towards a world that is full of peace and tolerance for people of all races (non-moral issue- we should be tolerant of other races), genders (non-moral issue- we should be tolerant of the opposite sex), sexual orientations (moral issue- you will either obey God or you will rebel against Him), and religions (moral issue- you will either obey God or you will rebel against Him)."

"We are proud to announce that the discriminatory policies of the military against blacks (no Biblical difference of role between black man and white man) and women (plenty of Biblical difference between the roles of women and men) have been repealed, and that now both African-Americans and the daughters of our country are free to join our nation's armed forces."

See how this mixes categories? See how it compares apples to oranges? Hopefully this will better arm you to take those thoughts captive as you read the next liberal tolerance magazine promoting such hoggidy-washidy.

What about racial profiling?

Well, there's a difference between saying "You're black therefore you are inherently less valuable than me" and "You're black, we're inner-city and I've seen a lot of inner-city crime being committed by black people so I'm going to be careful until I get to know you."

There's a difference between "All Arabians are bad" and "Most terrorists are Muslims, most Muslims are from the middle-east, so if I see a guy with a turban and big black beard boarding my plane I might switch flights."

There's a difference between "Mexicans are unworthy to come to America" and "Most Mexican drug cartel members are... um... Mexican."

Duh.

The first example in each case is a wrong thought process. Someone's race doesn't change their inherent value before God, so it shouldn't change their inherent value before us.

But in the second case it is simply a examination of the "fruits" of a certain race- watching the patterns and simply being wise and using common sense. If I'm looking for good Mexican food odds are I'll look for a Mexican chef. If I'm looking for illegal immigrants from Mexico- odds are I'll be looking for Mexican people! (Which isn't to say that I agree with our current immigration policies- far from it!- but another topic for another time.)

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his dream speech, hoping for the day when his kids would be judged by the content of their character, not the color of their skin.

I still don't think that dream has been realized. What a group of people does will be used- should be used!- to evaluate individual members. Maybe the individual is better or worse than the reputation of those with whom he lives, in which case he can prove himself and be respected- or despised- for it.

But, today, when we do judge people (or a people group) by the content of their character we are criticized for being discriminatory.

Examples:

Homeschoolers: Smart and respectful but dress funny
Tea Partiers: American flags and small government
Dogs: Slobbery
Tennesseans: Confederate flags and banjos
Texans: Sweet tea. Like, really sweet tea.
New Yorkers: Wild accent
Blacks: Very athletic; also prone to crime
Whites: Can't dance or jump
Mexicans: Probably illegal
So on.

(Side note: Isn't it interesting that I can insult whites all I want and it never feels weird, but the moment that I say that blacks as a class are prone to crime I feel like an edgy hater?)

Are there legal Mexicans? Absolutely. Are there athletic whites? Sure. Smart, upstanding blacks? Most definitely. My "economics professor" is one of them.

But the stereotypes are there for a reason. Instead of bemoaning the stereotypes and trying to duct tape every mouth that might speak according to those societal prejudices, perhaps we should focus on fixing the root issues that led to the stereotypes. Things like insanely high fatherlessness in black communities. You take the fathers away from white families and watch the crime skyrocket. These things have causes. But instead of trying to stop everyone from noticing the fruit, someone ought to fix the tree.

Back to the initial concept of slippery terms. I have one for y'all to try.

I'll leave you with this gem- you can tear this one apart yourself, and let me know how the thought-capturing goes in the comments:

"They should also know how symbols like swastikas, nooses and Confederate battle flags can offend and anger other students." - Teaching Tolerance article

(Oh, by the way, I feel very discriminated against by the Teaching Tolerance magazine. The amount of white males shown in the pictures in the magazine is nowhere near proportionate to the actual percentage of the population which we make up. It's almost like they're judging us or something.)

Music: The Other Side of Midnight

2011-11-18T08:30:00.000-08:00

Psychological thriller with a touch of action. Let me know what y'all think! I have a story for this piece- what's yours?

I'm imagining someone fleeing. Her name isn't Alice, and she's certainly not in Wonderland, but there is a sense of the fantastical in her quest. The landscape is foreign and barren and cold. It's dark and she's lost- but not lost in the sense of making a wrong turn- lost in the sense of being alone in the world, or even being thrust into a world that is not your own.

Why do they want to capture her? Maybe because she found something she wasn't supposed to. Maybe because she wasn't supposed to be here.

At any rate, she finds a house. Like a dream- maybe it is a dream- the gate opens for her. The door opens, too, and she steps inside quickly, gasping for breath. Maybe- maybe somehow this house holds the key to her return home. She keeps onward- down halls and up stairs. And then something catches her eye- it's a door. In this cold and dark house such a bright and clean door seems out of place. There's a clock atop the door, and it says 11:59.

Suddenly, with a great crash, the door downstairs crumbles into the house. Shouts and footsteps. Down the halls, up the stairs. She steps nearer to the door. The clock turns. The door clicks and begins to slide open. Just as her pursuers step into the hallway behind her, she runs, through the door, to the other side of midnight.

The Other Side of Midnight by gabrielhudelson

Oh, and which image do you like better? I went with the white one.

Music: Shadows in the Fog

2011-11-10T13:25:00.000-08:00

This piece was actually begun as underscore for Ponder Pictures' "Brothers II" (working title), but we didn't keep it and so I took it and turned it into a stand-alone piece.

The story in my head:

Prologue- defeat and death, a wasted battleground covered in the slain.

Now, a small, battered group of men trudges through the forest- constant fighting, cold, misty weather, incessant marching- they are worn out. But still they march on. Soon enough, they begin hearing things- seeing shadows in the fog. Their leader stops them and looks around. The enemy closes in and we realize how close to defeat they really are. The leader, in the midst of the struggle, has his own reverie- remembering something, I don't know what, but something important. Maybe you can tell me what it was. At any rate, it invigorates him, and he encourages his men to stand fast for just a little longer. The battle presses in around them, and everything appears to be nearing an end.

Yet it's not over, for now we see someone else. He's running, looks like for help. Or is it to rescue? Ah, a few others are behind, rushing forward. One by one, they burst through the fog onto the battlefield, without hesitation, without regret, without even a moment's thought, one by one shouting a battle cry and throwing themselves into the fray. This gives a much-needed surge of strength to the drowning remnant. The battle's final end is now just as clear in view as before, but clearly different, and with but a few moments' struggle the battle is ended- the enemy scatters- and our men are left to count their dead and to prepare themselves to fight another day.

What do you think? What's your story?

Shadows in the Fog by gabrielhudelson

Music: Because I Love You

2011-10-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

How's that for another excellent image by my sister and Genesis Effects?

Love it.

Yes, this piece-of-the-week is a love theme. I really enjoy this kind of music. The scene I'm envisioning in my head is obviously romantic. I believe that romance is a good and Godly thing to portray in films if done properly. (For example: having married couples play the romantic parts, having the romance that's written into the film follow God's Law, and not defiling the viewer with scenes that are unnecessary and inappropriate.)

I'd love to see more God-honoring romances in modern films!

So I'm thinking maybe a wedding, or the reception of a letter, or even just an reunion of husband and wife after a long absence- they're finally together again. I think I like this last one best. They're finally able to see each other after months or years apart. And the embrace/kiss/reunion, that would happen at right about 2:42. What does this piece make you picture?

Because I Love You by gabrielhudelson

Book Review - Red Rain

2011-10-24T10:57:00.000-07:00

Watch the book trailer here.

Red Rain is a recently-released sci-fi novella by Aubrey Hansen- her first published work, actually. I read it last week (actually, I read the finished version for the first time, though I had read a rough draft previously before agreeing to score the trailer).

The Worldview

The Good

The worldview in this book is obviously a big selling point, as it is a Christian book. But that could be said of just about any "Christian" book, couldn't it?

I doubt it. Red Rain isn't just a story with a "sinner's prayer" slapped in there somewhere. It's constructed on the worldview of Christianity. And while there's never a "gospel presentation", the whole book is a presentation of the Gospel lived out.

The heroine is feminine- strong, but very clearly female.

The relationship between the heroine and her family is a very good one, beautiful to behold. She is submissive to her father, and honors and obeys him. The stereotypical free-willed girl and oppressive father are totally absent here- what a relief.

Just because there's no "pray-a-prayer" scene does not mean that this book is weak on Christianity. To the contrary, it is quite distinctively Christian, but doesn't have to rely on a cheap and forced "gospel" presentation to make it so.

The book shows homeschooling as a good thing. Oh yes.

Altogether, from a worldview perspective, very good...

The Bad

...though not perfect, of course. The thing that bothers me most about it is the possibility of spiritual pacifism and isolationism coming through. I don't know what Aubrey believes on this subject (and it wouldn't surprise me if I find out shortly after writing this review! :-), but the book could be interpreted to say "if they'll let us keep our religion and our Bible when we're in our house, that's all I ask." This must be reconciled with The Great Commission and The Dominion Mandate.

Any other worldview concerns aren't really even worth mentioning, as I recall.

The Art

The Good

Well, I was given an e-book for my involvement in the project, but we bought a paperback because I like those better. Plus, it was signed, so it might be worth millions someday. :-D

And it looks very nice. A bit simplistic on the front and side covers, but professional and clean. As for the inside- quite nicely done.

Now for the real art of the book- the story. The characters were very engaging and easy to visualize. The dialogue scenes were, in my opinion, some of the best parts of the book. The dialogue is well-written and engaging, and there are a few points where it's so heartfelt it's heartbreaking. The protagonist is very endearing and the villain is satisfactorily villainous. The book is also complemented well with a small (it is a novella) host of supporting characters that are memorable and believable. Aubrey's writing style is very enjoyable, moving from funny to poignant with ease.

The story was excellent. My family and I have talked about this. It seems to me that so many homeschoolers write stuff, but that they rarely take the time to learn their craft and craft their art so that they move from good stuff to good stories. This is a pet peeve of mine.

Aubrey, however, has apparently done her homework. The story was twisty, bittersweet, not quite resolved yet satisfying. Very nicely done. My heart wouldn't break if there were a sequel. (Just thought I'd join the crowd, Aubrey. ;-)

The Bad

There were a few lines that kept popping up that I thought were painfully cliché and/or over-epic. Not that I read or watch a lot of sci-fi, so that could be just me, but a few phrases seemed too forced- like they were supposed to be epic but just ended up cheesy.

There were a few weak scenes, and a few religious inclusions that seemed forced- not because they didn't belong there, but perhaps because they could have been better integrated into the story.

My last critique (for now, mwahaha) is that it seemed rushed. It wasn't terribly so- just a bit fast. I wished that there had been a little more time taken explaining and developing. Yes, it's a novella, but just a few pages more might have gone a long way.

Altogether,

If you're going to read fiction, this one is worth it. Its combination of good worldview and good story is very much worth the price and time. It lacks the last bit of professional polish, which might be expected from a first book. It also delivers very well on tension and gripping, bittersweet fun. Will I read it again? I doubt it. But, counting the rough draft, I read it twice, and enjoyed it both times. Will I have my kids (LORD willing, one day) read it? Probably. Would I recommend it?

Most definitely.

Learn more about and/or purchase Red Rain here (you might still be able to get a signed copy!)

4/5

Music: The Remnant

2011-10-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Was this piece inspired by the Bourne films? Not exactly, though the piece has some similarities. Inspired by a trailer scoring group notorious for their epic music, I wanted to write a piece that was consistently intense yet satisfying- and didn't go much beyond 2 minutes in length. Did I succeed? Well, you tell me!

So why the picture? Well, I think it fits the genre, and the title. I'm envisioning a few, beaten and battered faithful, tenaciously defending their last stronghold as it falls around them. Do they win? Well, you can tell me that too. :-D

Enjoy. :-)

(Check out the nice job my sister did, helping me with the text, on the YouTube version of this piece.)

The Remnant by gabrielhudelson

More Thoughts on Biblical Masculinity

2011-10-10T12:39:00.000-07:00

A continued exploration of some of my thoughts from my recent post on this subject.

A friend of mine was discussing this through e-mail with me and we talked about the distinction between personality traits and character flaws- a very important distinction.

So what is the difference between a quietness that is OK- or even admirable- and a quietness that is weak and unManly? What is the difference between (another discussion with another friend) a man having a perfectly manly desire to stay inside and do computer work and a man being a mouse who can't handle a good, rugged hike?

God has given us different personalities.

God has also called us all- all of His sons, that is- to be men. Manly men. To obey Him, serve Him, advance His Kingdom.

So to the degree which our personality traits hinder our obedience to Him- to that degree our personality traits are character flaws.

You may be a quiet warrior or an outgoing one, a musical warrior or an outdoorsy one, a blogging warrior or a fishing one.

But as a son and ambassador of The Most High God- you must be a warrior.

No matter your method, you must slay the dragons.

So, to make it practical. If your quiet personality means you talk less and listen more, that's probably a good thing that we could all learn from. If your quiet personality means that you don't evangelize, don't meet new people, don't truly love others, then your quiet personality is now more than that- it has gone into the realm of sin, because it is preventing you from doing what God has called you to do.

On shyness. I don't think shyness is ever a good thing. Quietness can be Biblical, but shyness is a manifestation of love of self. So instead of being shy, we should turn our attention from ourselves to others, and start loving God and loving the people He has placed in our lives. (1st and 2nd greatest commandments)

On to my next point. Hear ye, thou wimps.

"The glory of young men is their strength, and the honor of old men is their gray hair." (Pr. 20:29)

Note to Mr. Hiccup: If a girl is showing you up (or beating you up) in physical contest, either she had better be quite the man or you had better be quite ashamed. Fortunately for you, young sir, Astrid is quite the man.

We are to be the protectors of the "weaker vessels"- that adjective is Scripturally applied to all of womankind, though the passage in question speaks specifically to the marriage relationship.

As young men, we should be strong. The stronger vessels.

So, my brothers, what are you doing to be strong? To be a good steward of the body that God has given you, of course- that goes for my sisters in Christ as well!- but specifically to be strong. Ruddy. Healthy. Able to protect and serve.

Do push-ups. Run a few miles. Something.

If your natural smallness means you aren't the fastest kid in the Church or the record-holding pusher-upper, fine. That's how God made you. Learn to use your mind. Hiccup is a good example of this- he can't throw the iron ball thingies, so he invents a machine to throw them for him.

But if you take that to be an excuse to be pale and wan, with bent shoulders and limp wrists, then you had better invest in some P90X or something.

Point three in my post addresses the girlyman syndrome.

This is something I've done myself in the past, and I regret having done so. I want to warn my brothers lest they too fall prey to this condition.

The girlyman syndrome is likely to happen when a young man hangs out around girls a lot. Note that it doesn't have to be this way. Not at all. It just takes a man of superior vision to be able to retain Godly masculinity even when he spends most of his time with those of the fairer sex.

A godly young man can be thoroughly manly when spending time with sisters in Christ- pure, masculine, respectful, chivalrous, edifying, and downright a pleasure to be around!

But the girlyman tries to be like the girls he admires or hangs out with (or is infatuated with). He'll read the books they like, and at least act like he enjoys them, just to please them. He'll listen to the music they like, he'll eat the same foods, he'll- well, the list goes on. You get the idea.

He's the kind of guy who says that he's not insecure about his manhood, therefore he can proudly carry around Pride & Prejudice or wear pink or collect stuffed animals.

Neither said book nor said color nor said pets are my issue. My issue is a man who is, ultimately, fearing (wo)man instead of fearing God, and who is acting out of regard for others instead of vision for The Kingdom (Mat. 6:33).

This is no true man at all.

Sadly, it can be very endearing to the young ladies since this young man is sculpting himself in their image.

And they might be Godly girls. A young man made in their image might be externally a pretty straight-laced and Godly fellow. (Maybe I should put a comma after "pretty". :-)

But the reason for his Godliness isn't true repentance and worship of God, nor the working of The Spirit in his heart, but rather a fleshly desire to please others.

Such sculpting in the end only results in a girlyman, not a true man seeking conformation to The Image of Christ.

These might be hard words for some. Know that they are spoken in love and with a smile! I hope this post edifies both brothers and sisters in Christ. Brothers- if you find yourself falling into these categories, and can see why that is Biblically reprehensible, repent and reform! Sisters, perhaps this will better arm you to look for the right things in men instead of being attracted by a man who molds himself to your will just to please you. Perhaps it will also prepare you to encourage Godly Vision in your brothers.

Men. We need to be devoted to a cause higher than ourselves. That cause must be The Kingdom of God. And for that cause we must be prepared to forsake all else.

For The Glory of God.

Music: Score from the iDSLR Spoof

2011-10-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

The piece of the week is from Jeremiah Warren's recent iPhone spoof video.

This release is remarkably timed in light of the recent death of Mr. Steve Jobs, a man who, though I know very little about him, nevertheless unquestionably changed many things about the world we live in, and who I respect as an entrepreneur.

Especially since my music is made on a Mac.

Truly man in all his glory is but a breath.

(Here is an excellent article by Mr. Doug Phillips on the death of Steve Jobs.)

iPhone 5 iDSLR spoof music by gabrielhudelson

Music: We March as Brothers

2011-09-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

This one is the composer's cut of the credits music from Ponder Pictures' upcoming short, working title "Brothers II". Please pray for Spencer Weaver and crew as they continue to work on this film!

A bit of trivia for my much appreciated blog visitors. Can anyone identify:

1. The wind instrument at 1:37 and another score in which it features prominently?
2. The piece of music that the director gave me to style the opening "Brothers' March" after?

:-)

Seriously, you all are much appreciated. I thank people in the comments all the time, but I am just now thinking about how much I enjoy getting y'alls responses.

ANYWAY.

We March as Brothers - "Brothers II" by gabrielhudelson

Music: I Don't Believe in Guns

2011-09-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

As with last week, this week's piece is from a project that I'm currently scoring. Here's the teaser trailer (which I did not score).

Enjoy! I need to get back to work... :-)

Introduction / Main Titles / First Victim - I Don't Believe in Guns by gabrielhudelson

Music: A Peek Into A Project

2011-09-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

This piece of the week is a bit different. Rather than being composed for its own sake, this is actually from a film score in progress. Today's Piece-of-the-Week is my initial title concept which I wrote for Ponder Pictures' next film, working title being "Brothers 2".

Don't the EWQL bagpipes (which will probably not be used in the actual film) sound excellent?

Early Concept from "Brothers II" by gabrielhudelson

1 Cor. 6 - on effeminacy

2011-09-10T14:34:00.000-07:00

Paul, being intolerant again...

"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Cor. 6)

The Greek word for "effeminate" there can be translated "soft" or "fine".

I really was shocked (in a thrilled "why haven't I seen this before!" way) to realize that "effeminate" is in this list.

Has anyone else noticed the fad of girly, soft young men lately? I'm getting tired of it. I even see it among homeschoolers. A gentle, quiet softness that isn't just manly meekness- it's girly. And it's disgusting. And it's unBiblical, most importantly.

And it's so fashionable, it seems, today.

I'm not advocating boorish, vulgar manhood- just manly manhood.

Any other men out there who agree? Who desire to have a bit of thunder in their step, lion in their voice, iron in their grip, determination in their stride, fiery vision in their eyes?

Of course, this strength must be tempered by meekness. Strength under control for The Glory of God.

But I can be meek and still be very firmly a man.

May it be so. By God's Grace, for His Glory.

Grrr.

Music: Inevitable

2011-09-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

My piece of the week comes this time equipped with a 3D globe render from Genesis Effects, the family effects division. I pulled out good ol' EWQL Symphonic Choirs on this one.

Inevitable by gabrielhudelson

(Whoa, I didn't know I could embed like that... awsem!)

Music: The Road Home

2011-09-01T10:48:00.000-07:00

This piece I wrote as a kind of audition for a potential client (sans-harmonica and with a few differences :-), and if you feel led you could pray that God would grant me favor in the client's sight.

However, it is also a stylistic stretch which was good for me- and it's my POTW. I'm envisioning a man- not quite a hobo, but having long been lost, tired, and wandering, very weathered, coated in dust and sweat, finally making his way down the last long stretch of dirt road, through the cornfields that he knows, and coming home.

What do you think? Does the piece sound good? Does it tell the story well? Is it interesting? How could it be better?

The Road Home

MUSIC: The Fall of Jerusalem (work-in-progress)

2011-08-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't think the picture is temporally accurate, but you get the idea.

:-)

This piece is inspired by the book of Lamentations. As the title of this post says, it's not finished, but I wanted to get a Piece-of-the-Week up, and this will give you a chance to give input on how I should proceed with the piece!

I've also been enjoying working with the new EWQL libraries- you can hear in this piece a duduk from Ra (I think it was...), a solo violin from Gypsy, percussion from Stormdrum 2, good old Symphonic Orchestra orchestra, a female voice from Voices of Passion, and more.

Enjoy.

The Fall of Jerusalem (in progress)

Lots going on!/MUSIC: Farewell to the Piano

2011-08-17T20:39:00.000-07:00

There's a lot going on here at the Resounding Music studio. Praise The LORD, I have multiple scoring opportunities presenting themselves. We're also working on the Big Mac, the computer that I use for my music- it's needing some doctoring. LORD willing, it shall be up-to-spec shortly.

So, because of all that's going on, I wanted to do a quick POTW that wouldn't consume lots of my time but would still be... well... a POTW.

This is a piano piece by Beethoven. The performance is unedited- and imperfect. My apologies, but I need to turn the perfectionist in me off and get on to other work!

The title? Farewell to the Piano. What a heartbreaking title for such a simplistically beautiful piece. I wonder what inspired Mr. Beethoven to write it...

And no, I'm not saying farewell to the piano. :-) I used the EWQL Pianos library for this.

http://soundcloud.com/gabrielhudelson/farewell-to-the-piano

Red Rain Trailer - Final

2011-08-13T12:44:00.001-07:00

No piece of the week this week- praise God, I've been very busy.

However, the Red Rain trailer is now live, with all the ingredients assembled- check it out here.

Text by Aubrey Hansen- of course, she wrote the book, too. :-)

Narration by Grace Pennington- very nice emotional rendering of the text, Miss Pennington! Oh, and she also provided the sound effect.

Text by Nechet Hudelson- awesome 3D pull-away at the end there, sister.

Music, sound editing, and final mix by yours truly- Gabriel Hudelson

MUSIC: Red Rain Trailer

2011-08-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

My piece for this week is the score to a book trailer that we're now putting the finishing touches on. The plan is to add narration and SFX, but for my YouTube channel I uploaded one which is just the music and the trailer itself.

Here's the trailer

Didn't my sister do a great job on the kinetic typography?

Oh, and brownie points to whoever can name the kind of scale that I used at the beginning.

Now, before we agreed to do this trailer, I read a rough draft of this e-book-to-be, and it was a pleasure and a breath of fresh air to read. Very worldview conscious, and full of glorious modeling of Biblical family life. It was also a good story. I love it when good art and good worldview are combined.

There were some rough spots, but it was a rough draft. I look forward to reading the finished version if ever I get my grubby mitts on it. Nevertheless, the meat of the story was a delight to behold- and it was quite the enjoyable journey, even in rough-draft form. I would definitely recommend that you get yourself a copy when it comes out, and if the trailer leaves you wanting to learn more, check out the author's website:

aubreyhansen.com

MUSIC - The Rescue

2011-07-29T11:06:00.000-07:00

Why a poster from The Rocketeer? That's right... this piece is another one which draws from the style of a film composer that I admire- in this case, James Horner (it also weaves in elements from a certain unfortunately-named but excellent trailer scoring group).

I'm interested in hearing all y'all's thoughts in the comments. There's one thing in particular that I'm not sure that I like about the piece- but I'm not sure that it's necessarily a bad thing either. One of my previewers mentioned it, and my sisters agreed- it's not very consistent in tone. Is that a good thing? Bad thing? Well, I look forward to hearing your answer to that question.

Oh, and I did use a few modes in here- there are touches of Phrygian, and some sweeping passages in Lydian which actually kinda just happened that way. It's really neat being able to recognize it, though- praise God, I'm learning!

Also, I think this piece contains my most sweeping, romantic, Hollywood style big strings theme yet.

So. Here it is.

The Rescue

MUSIC - Mixolydia

2011-07-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

My well-overdue piece of the week is a continuation of my journey through the modes. Much gentler than "Hero", this one is inspired by Desplat's score to "The King's Speech". I wanted it to be polite and relatively dispassionate.

Before I post the piece, I shall post a pondering.

Pieces like this are much less driving and exciting than pieces like Hero. I find it not at all surprising that while Hero has been on YouTube for (roughly- YouTube's estimate) 2 weeks, and Lydia for (same) 3 weeks, Hero has been viewed 110 times, and Lydia 58.

Why?

So having thrown that out for you to think about- and to comment on below ;-) - I shall now without further ado post the link to

Mixolydia

(This is also an excellent opportunity to say- praise God for all the views! The LORD has been bringing more work my way, and I'm quite excited about it. I've been very busy, and hope to continue to be so, so I don't know how consistent my posting will be, but praise God- it is He Who gives power to make wealth. Deuteronomy 8:18)

REVIEW: True Grit

2011-07-11T22:30:00.000-07:00

Both of 'em, that is. And pardon if this review isn't as well-organized as would be nice... I'm busy right now- praise God!- and am really just trying to hack through this to get it out there, as I know some have been looking for it.

I'll get it out there right now. I liked Jeff Bridges' portrayal of Rooster Cogburn better than John Wayne's.

Whew. Glad I got that one off my chest.

This is another one of them thar compare-contrast reviews. I'ma gonna tell ya which one o' these here two pictures (that would be films fer you east-coasters) I liked better, and why I liked (or didn't so much like) either one 'tall.

The Characters

Mattie Ross

The headstrong hero of the film, Mattie is set on avenging her father's death.

Boy does this one give me a lot to ponder in the worldview section, but for now I'm comparing.

I definitely liked Miss Ross the newer, excellently acted by Hailee Steinfeld, over her predecessor.

I have to wonder why they went with the short hair in the old one.

The thing that worries me most about the film- not because I'm downright against it but because I'm not sure whether I'm downright against it- is the fact that Mattie Ross is out for vengeance against the murderer of her father. In the new film she tells her mother that that's what her now deceased father would have wanted. I really appreciated that line. She's trying to honor her father. She also tries to get the law to do its job- she hires a marshal. She's not just out to kill- she's out to see that justice is served. And if the law won't do it, she appears to want to do something reminiscent of the role of the Biblical "avenger of blood". It also appears that if she had had a brother old enough to do it then she would have gladly yielded that role to him. She's not a man, nor does she want to be, and that's a good thing.

She's not exactly principled in some of her dealings with the townspeople as the film starts out- I mean, come on, your father did buy the horses, and just because you have a good lawyer doesn't mean that you should threaten $300 out of someone that doesn't owe you $300. Excuse me, that would be $320.

La Boeuf ("La Beef")

On this character I much prefer Matt Damon's version. Of course, I came into the film already a fan of his acting, so it's no surprise that that would be my conclusion.

He too is a flawed character, but his flaws are pretty obviously flaws. I really enjoyed watching Jason Bourne play somebody with a heart and some quirks.

"Rooster" Cogburn

Now for Mr. Cogburn. He's a drunkard, but this is portrayed as a weakness, if a point for some humor throughout. He's not a moral man- in the new one, he's twice divorced- his language is occasionally colorful and his methods aren't compassionate. "The love of decency does not abide in you," he quotes his former wife. In both films, he definitely has flaws which make him an interesting character. The one that worries me most is the Jack Bauer syndrome- while this probably is rather accurate in a Western story, he has no qualms about using threats, shooting first, or breaking promises to dead men. We have to be careful- just because they have the badge and are the "good guys" doesn't mean that they are above the law.

The Art

The Coen Bros. film was very well done. There were a few parts where I thought the score failed to deliver- it lacked a bit of punch at a few parts that really needed punch. That said, I liked the score overall. The cinematography was very good, though I was hoping for a few more "big sky" shots.

It's a very enjoyable film. The mix of humor and story is very pleasant, and the acting is first class.

The ending music, a rather unattractive rendition of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms," was a bit disappointing. Love the use of hymnody in the score, but I could have done with a better version of the ending song perhaps...

There's a few parts in the film of very graphic violence which might cause concern, as well as a smattering of cursing- I think the cursing was worse in the old one, but the violence was most definitely more graphic in the new.

Is graphic violence bad? I don't think so inherently, but in case it bugs you behold- you have been warned. :-)

For more detail on non-family-friendly content I'd refer you to the Kids-In-Mind review here.

The John Wayne version is older. It lacks the polish of... newer films. So for a film of its time I think it was very good, but as far as the art goes I like the new one a deal better.

The Worldview

This is a tough one. Right off the bat I'll mention that the newer version of the film had a much stronger flavor of Christianity- from the opening slide with Proverb 28:1 ("The wicked flee when no one is pursuing...") to the hymns woven into the score to Miss Ross' references to Scripture and the free Grace of God.

And this I like.

But anybody can stick a Scripture or two in their film.

Something that I really enjoyed in the John Wayne version that I missed in the newer True Grit was the way that Mr. Cogburn repeatedly referred to Mattie as "Little Sister." While this phrase and variations thereon came up a few times in the new version, I really enjoyed the protective and familial relationship between Wayne's Cogburn and Darby's Ross.

The ending I liked better in the John Wayne version. In the Coen Bros.' film, we actually see Mattie grown up. She says she never had time to "fool around" with marriage, seems a bit bitter, and is overall a disappointing end to a character that I had really become attached to throughout the course of the film.

Some of the other worldview issues I already addressed when speaking of the characters.

Oh, one more- in the 2010 film Mattie *SPOILER* shoots an unarmed Cheney. Now, Cheney was worthy of death Biblically, and who knows how many variables would be going through Miss Ross' mind, but I don't know right off if she was right to do so, instead of turning him over to the magistrates.

Altogether,
I enjoyed the newer version a good deal better, and would recommend it over the version with Mr. Wayne.

True Grit (2010) - 4/5
True Grit (1969) - 3/5

MUSIC - Hero

2011-07-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

While Batman is not my ideal for a hero- he doesn't live according to God's Law, nor execute justice according to God's Law- nevertheless, the picture is appropriate since my latest piece draws inspiration from Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard's score to Batman Begins.

Enjoy, and please share as you feel led- as a young entrepreneur, I really appreciate the promotion.

Hear the piece here.

Book Review - Basic Economics

2011-06-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

I consider Mr. Thomas Sowell to be my economics professor.

It's that simple.

Basic Economics is no small book, and it might appear to be frightening judging by the size.

It's not.

It's basic. In case you couldn't guess by the title.

And it is very much worth your read.

The Worldview

The Good

This book is basically an exploration of God's Laws as made manifest in economics- just the way that He designed His creation to work.

The Bad

If Mr. Sowell recognizes this, he doesn't point it out. It's written sans the fear of God- which is the foundation of wisdom.

I don't know what Mr. Sowell's religious convictions are.

But I know what my religious convictions are.

And so, reading through this book, coming from my fear-of-God perspective, I am able to, or at least desire to see all of the knowledge contained herein through the lens of- if it's true it's true because that's how God made it.

That's the big thing- this book doesn't acknowledge that what is is because God made it so.

There are other minor things that I am not "for", like women being in the "work force" and so on, which are taken for granted here, but that isn't my big issue with the book's worldview.

The Art

The Good

While I'm sure there were a few mistakes (I think I even caught a problem in one of the mathematical equations! Oh yes! *feels important*), it's a book by a human. Overall, it was very polished, readable, well-organized, attractively designed, and user-friendly. Mr. Sowell pours forth a wealth of examples to illustrate his points, and while I'll readily admit that there were still a few points that took me multiple reads to get, or even that I just downright didn't get, overall it is definitely an economics textbook for the common man. It also isn't concerned with pushing an agenda, and seemed to me to give a very balanced and honest (which equals a pretty conservative...) view of economics.

Ultimately, I want a Biblical view of economics- and as that's not what Mr. Sowell set out to give me, it's my job to filter this book through The Bible.

But for what he set out to do, he did very well.

The Bad

None worth mentioning.

The Content

Was downright excellent. Like I have said, it lacks a Biblical foundation, but when we bring the foundation along we can recognize that Mr. Sowell has built a really nice house to place thereon.

He covered so much so well, and there were so many "AH! I get it now!" moments.

The book discusses exploitation, monopolies, international trade, price controls, and so many other very practical topics.

For example, I now have a more practical understanding of something that I would have objected to Biblically all along- rent control. When the state steps in and tells private businessmen how much they may charge for rent, I already object to this because Scripture doesn't give that jurisdiction to the state.

But after reading Basic Economics I can also play it out for you- rent control comes in, so the incentive for landlords to care for their property goes down. The demand for rental properties goes up because, for example, a single young man, who in a free market would stay with his parents instead of paying $1,000 a month, now rents a flat for $500 a month. So there is less housing available. At the same time, it becomes less profitable to build housing for the poor, so scarce resources that would have been allocated to making more middle-class housing now are used to make upper-class housing which is exempt from the rent control.

So the policy that was supposed to provide cheap housing for the poor actually increases demand, decreases quality and supply, and everyone is worse off for it- landlords, renters, and the society as a whole.

Scripture is sufficient. We could have known it was wrong all along. But a book like this gives a wealth of knowledge that lets us see God's Word played out practically.

Some excerpts:

"As we have seen in earlier chapters, earning a rate of return on investment that is greater than what is required to compensate people for their risks and contributions to output is virtually guaranteed to attract other people who wish to share in this bounty be either investing in existing firms or setting up their own new firms. This in turn virtually guarantees that the above-average rate of return will be driven back down by the increased competition caused by expanded investment and production by either existing or new firms. Only where there is some way to prevent this new competition can the above-average earnings on investment persist."
"While government regulations may be defended by those who create them by referring to the benefits which such regulations provide, the economically relevant question is whether such benefits are worth the more than $840 billion in aggregate costs that they impose. In the marketplace, whoever creates $840 billion in costs would have to be sure to create more than $840 billion in benefits that customers will pay for. Otherwise that producer would risk bankruptcy. In the government, there are seldom any incentives or constraints to force such comparisons."

Altogether,

I would very highly recommend this book.

Buy your copy on Amazon here

I'd also recommend getting a good shot of practical wisdom from Mr. Sowell on YouTube.

MUSIC - Lydia

2011-06-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

My piece for this week continues my exploration of the modal scales.

This one was written in the Lydian mode- hence the title- and, while being included with Phrygia in what I would like to complete as the "Modal Suite", this one is much lighter and less imposing- emphasizing, perhaps, the exhilaration of discovery and the sadness of having to leave what was just discovered, rather than the horror of finding oneself stuck in a hostile otherworld.

The story I'm envisioning: you have just discovered a new world- whether you've fallen down the proverbial hole-into-wonderland or have landed on another planet- and you excitedly begin to explore this new world. Then, as the piece climaxes, you realize you must return home, and while the solo piano ends the piece you think back on what you have seen.

Do you have a better one? Tell me about it!

Lydia - from the Modal Suite

Book Review - The Heart of Anger

2011-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

I just finished The Heart of Anger, a book by Lou Priolo which is full of "practical help for the prevention and cure of anger in children".

Here are my thoughts.

The Worldview

The Good

Wow, what a joy to read a book that is so thoroughly Scriptural, in a blatant sense- Mr. Priolo makes no bones about his foundations being laid upon God's Word, and he denounces using man's wisdom as our guide for counseling.

The Bad

Mr. Priolo definitely doesn't come from the same perspective that I do in some areas. While we agree that Scripture is sufficient for all of life and Godliness- 2 Tim. 3:16- and this is huge!- I'd still suggest that some of the things that he accepts as normative need to be reformed in light of God's Word. Things like dating and public schooling are presented as normal in this book. I don't think that God's Word leads us to these things, so they're worth mentioning.

The Art

The Good

Mr. Priolo is fun to read and the book is quite accessible and understandable. The cookies are on the bottom shelf. He also uses lots of diagrams and illustrations that help with understanding.

The Bad

The grammar and editing in this book was less than perfect, and a bit disappointing. The cover design was a bit cluttered, too.

The Content

Was rich. Delicious. Highly recommended. Mr. Priolo covers many areas that need covered. He talks about manipulation- and how to deal with it, righteous and unrighteous anger, naming issues Biblically, house law (including the difference between Biblically directed rules and Biblically derived rules), idolatry and its implications for anger, and much more:

The appeal process: "The basis of an appeal is the presentation of new or additional information (preferably supported by a biblical desire and reasoning) that your child believes you as his parent have not considered in making a particular decision. Your child presents the new information along with its biblical justification/benefits (i.e. why the Lord might be pleased with a change of mind/decision) and without any further pressure allows you to reevaluate your decision. This process allows parents to change their mind without having to sacrifice parental authority. It also trains children to communicate desires biblically without resorting to disrespect, manipulation and other manifestations of sinful anger." (From Chapter 12)
What is manipulation? "To manipulate is to attempt to control. For a Christian, manipulation is using unbiblical means of controlling or influencing another person. More specifically, it is often an attempt to gain control of another individual or situation by inciting an emotional reaction rather than a biblical response from that individual." (From Chapter 9- after this quote, he goes on to give the example of Martha from Luke 10)
Diagnosing spiritual problems: "The only divinely-approved diagnostic manual whereby Christians may accurately judge thoughts and motives is Scripture. Christian parent, you must learn not only how to draw the thoughts and motives out of your child, but also how to diagnose those thoughts and motives; "not in words taught by human wisdom (i.e. defense mechanism, reaction formation, love hunger, codependency, etc.), but in those taught by the Spirit (i.e. pride, blameshifting, idolatry, bondage, etc.) combining (interpreting) spiritual thoughts with spiritual words." (1 Cor. 2:13)." (From Chapter 7)

His persistent use of Scriptural terms to diagnose spiritual- psychological- problems I found immensely refreshing.

Altogether,
I would highly recommend this book, to parents, parents-in-training, believers preparing to counsel other believers, or even to parents (or anyone!) struggling with their own anger issues. The Heart of Anger offers a wealth of Biblical advice on anger and what to do about it, and while it's specifically and practically applied to child-rearing, God's "commandment is exceedingly broad"(Ps. 119:96), and I'd be surprised if the principles and Scriptures expounded upon in this book didn't have a wealth of applications elsewhere.

Buy your copy on Amazon

4.5/5

Dad, I remember...

2011-06-20T18:55:00.000-07:00

Dad, I remember...
(A collage of memories for Fathers' Day, in honor of my Dad)

G. A. Hudelson

The time we had those frosties,
Almost cold enough for snow,
Outside Wendy's with no shirts on,
We'd call that naked, now!

Then there was the time that you
And friendly Uncle Bill
Were playing shuffleboard and I
Suddenly felt a thrill

And you carried me inside
And saved me from the bees-
I remember shoveling gravel,
Breaking a window, cutting trees,

Debating hefty topics,
Making films and building nations,
Crying on your shoulder as
I feared for my salvation,

Studying and praying hard,
Striving for the vision
Of the children who are yet to come,
And who must make their own decision,

To follow in the footsteps of
The vision that you've forged,
A choice to remain faithful
To the covenant of our Lord,

A choice made only by The Grace
Of the Sovereign God that chose to place
Together all us Hudelsons-
Oh that this would be the case!

The times when we'd work out with Tony-
That was quite the exercise-
Wakeboards, Latin, and shooting hoops-
You were too skilled, to my demise-

The times that we rejoiced and cheered,
The days of rest and celebration,
Ebenezers of remembrance and
Moments of commemoration

The times I failed to honor you-
The times that I'd repent-
The times that you would do the same,
Modeling a godly heart that was rent,

Those times that we were happy and
Those times that we were sad-
And as I look back on it all-
I'm glad that you're my Dad.

I love you Dad.

MUSIC - Home at Last

2011-06-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

A piece from a short by Children of Light Productions called "Wisdom in the Wilderness". This one's from the archives- I wrote it a good few months ago at least- and I praise God that I can even now hear ways that it could be improved! But it is what it is- enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1znd6-X36M8

Some Questions for Christian Fantasizers

2011-06-13T21:00:00.000-07:00

I have multiple internet and personal Christian friends who enjoy the genre of fantasy, some of whom also write fantasy themselves. Many of the latter congregate at http://www.holyworlds.org/ , and I find this from their (old) front page very encouraging: "We want to above all advocate writing that is consistent with a Biblical worldview and which encourages us to dedicate our lives more fully to God."

It is for people like these specifically that I write this post. We agree that The Foundation is and must be Scripture, and that is a huge first step. I hope to here pose a few questions, and I pray that God will use my thoughts here to edify His children and bring us (especially me!) to a better understanding of His desire for Christian fiction.

For starters, I want to say that I believe that Christians should be the best storytellers out there. We should be the best at everything (so long as it is lawful and God-honoring). From garbage men to novelists to film composers to public speakers to astronauts, Christians should be the best of the best. Why? Because our God has authority over everything- Matthew 28:18. He made it all, He holds it all together, it's all for His Glory, He claims it- Romans 11:36.

So we should be excellent. We should be the best. However, we must be sure that what we are pursuing excellence at things which please God. And so, applying this premise to fantasy, I come armed with questions, behold!

Important definition- by fantasy, I mean the creation of worlds, alternate universes, which don't actually exist. I don't mean sci-fi, though some things carry over betwixt the two.

Also note - I am not saying that Christian fantasy is bad, necessarily. I don't know. I'm asking- I'm exploring. It doesn't really matter what I say anyway- may God lead us into His Truth.

Many proponents of Christian fantasy, from what I've seen, hold up, as the two great triumphs of said genre, J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy The Lord of The Rings and C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia, so these two will be the staple examples of the worldview that I'm questioning.

On to my questions!

1. Is it OK to create a fictional world in which something which God's Law/Word forbids is not forbidden?

I say no! May it never be! 2 Tim. 3:16 and Psalm 119 come readily to mind. If we deny God's Word as the foundation for morality in the worlds we "create", how can we really call it Christian fantasy?

And I say that this means that sorcerers, witches, spells and magic, when cast as being good things, do not belong in Christian fiction. Harry Potter isn't OK. He's a hero who's studying sorcery. Gandalf is a huge problem. He's a good guy and a wizard who shouts incantations at snowy mountains. This is contrary to Scripture- Deut. 18:10. How about Aslan's "deep magic"? I'll leave that one to be pondered.

Now mind that I don't mean to say that Christian fantasy, or Christian stories of any genre, shouldn't include sin. But to "create" a fantastical world in which something that God calls sin is no longer sin is to have created a place where we may run to hide from God and His Reign over our lives, is it not?

Which is, of course, folly, and unScriptural on a number of levels.

Somebody stop me if I'm missing something here.

Another note - I'm not saying that watching or reading Lord of the Rings is sin or anything like that. It is worth watching on a number of levels, for analysis as a cultural classic and as a study in excellent art especially. My issue is whether this is truly God's Best for Christian fantasy.

2. How does the fact that man is created in The Image of God play into our fantasies?

OK, question 1 I wasn't really asking. I'm pretty firm there, though I'd love to hear (Scripturally-based) rebuttals. But on this one I'm honestly wondering.

A. Is it OK to create a fictional blend between man (or woman), who has been created in The Image of God, and a beast, an animal, which has not been created in The Image of God?

What do we do with centaurs and mermaids? See note #3 with my problems as to their modesty, but I'm pondering an even deeper issue that I've never even really thought about before just recently.

We know that man is made in The Image of God (Gen. 1) which separates him from the beasts, the animals. We also know that we were created to reproduce after our own kind, as were the animals. Blending man and beast is certainly not a Scriptural pattern- is it a Godly one?

Note #3 - I have another problem with centaurs and mermaids- they are (often) naked. "But it's only the top half!" I don't see such a distinction in Scripture. And if Ariel is wearing seashells, she's still revealing a LOT. Let's be honest- sure, she's a (remarkably shapely) fish from the waist down, but she's an almost nude woman from the waist up. Is this modeling Christian patterns of dress or protecting the purity of the viewers or readers of our stories?

B. Is it OK to create things like hobbits, elves, and dwarves, which are both obviously not beast and are by their very definition not man?

Obviously we don't see any such thing in Scripture. Frodo and is like another species of human- but Scripturally humanity started with Adam, and man is the only creation made in Imago Dei. How does this weigh in?

C. What about talking animals?

This one I'm not as bothered by. After all, both the serpent in the garden and Balaam's donkey spoke, so such things aren't Scripturally unprecedented.

3. What about the whole concept of fantasy? "Creating" something beyond what God has already created?

I don't know about this one. Whatever we do must be subject to God's Law/Word, including the worlds that we "create", but beyond that... may God give us wisdom as we seek His face. A few thoughts, though- nothing is truly beyond what God has created. Even our fantasies are bound by His Natural Law. I am amazed at how many fantastical creatures still conform to the basic template that God gave us in nature.

If we ever get to a point where we believe that our fantasies are real, there is most certainly a problem there. God has created reality for us, and that is where we belong. (Pointed glance at Avatar)

Also, we are created in God's Image, and part of that includes a desire to create, to produce, to "fill the earth and subdue it". So again I do not say that fantasy is inherently bad- simply that we must be careful, as with everything, to subject our fantasies to God.

It's something I have failed at before, and probably will in the future. Yet we repent and press on. May God's Kingdom be advanced further in our world and in all the worlds we make up.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

MUSIC - Phrygia

2011-06-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

I've recently been learning about modes- scales that are different than the normal major and minor scales that we're used to. (Well, actually, they include the major and minor scales but have 5 others as well.)

So I enjoyed putting the theory into practice. Since some of the modes have a rather otherworldly sound, I think of these pieces as musical journeys into fantastical realms. :-D

The first piece (and only one, so far) is entitled Phrygia.

Composing this piece (in the Phrygian mode), I noticed that this mode seems to remove the bitter-sweetness that occurs in natural minor, leaving only an eerie and dark scale remaining.

See if you can hear the difference.

Phrygia - from the Modal Suite

(Want to read more? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrygian_mode )

Is it a Horse? - on the Necessity of Cutting

2011-06-08T13:53:00.001-07:00

Better a good 2 minutes than a boring 5...

But it's such a beautiful piano solo. That theme is worth repeating, isn't it? The director loves this shot! The crew took all day to get it- I have to cut this shot in. My mythical world is so neat that I'm sure everyone will want to read a lot of description of it, right?

And so on.

Whether you're a composer, an editor, a writer, or any other kind of creative artist, it's important to know when to cut- when it's too much.

When you're no longer putting something in because it needs to be in there, but rather because you want it to be in there.

Or maybe just because you can.

DaVinci (I think it was?), when asked how he could carve such great statues, responded thus, and I paraphrase shamelessly: "I simply cut away everything that's not a horse."

So I ask you to ask yourself- is it a horse?

Does it really need to be in there?

Composer- does that gorgeous but repetitive solo fit the arc of your piece, or does it slow it down? (Confession!)

Author- did the reader really have to know all that?

Editor- yeah, it's a gorgeous shot, but please, on with the story!

As I hack away at my piece of the week, Phrygia, I am reminded yet again how important it is to differentiate between the essentials and the accidentals, the wheat and the chaff, the story and the frills.

Trim the fat. Make it meaty.

Cut, cut, cut.

You may just be surprised how much better it is for your efforts.

"The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things." - Pr. 15:28

Illustrated Guide to Common Film Diseases

2011-06-06T13:14:00.000-07:00

The Hudelson Illustrated Guide to Common Film Diseases,
using illustrations from both films that I have seen and have not seen, or at least not in a while.

The Cool Bad Guy Syndrome (CBGS)/Heroicus Ruffianus (HR) - Any villain or confused hero is susceptible to this deadly line-blurring condition. Symptoms found in villains include the ability to be remarkably funny while engaging in abominable deeds, occasional acts of kindness that make us like them through their evil, or even simple good looks. Symptoms found in heroes include devotion to good ol' American values without any Objective foundation as well as the ability to break some Commandments while keeping enough of them to make them likeable. Often heroes suffering from CBGS/HR will be womanizers or drunkards, but still have enough of a conscience that they are cheered- which increases the danger of the audience's contraction of the disease. This condition also manifests itself in situations where something that should not be made light of is joked about or made to be cute. As you will see, this disease is very common.

Prettygirliaetis (PGA) - This disease manifests most commonly in beautiful teenage women. It is characterized by naiveté, strong-willed attitudes, girlish conduct, and the ability to woo anyone using the eyelashes and smile. It is not rare for these young women to find themselves rebelling against their parents or God-given guardians. Victims of PGA often find themselves accompanying males of less than upstanding character- often struggling with CBGS/HS- and usually end up turning said males into their noble lovers by the end of the film. They also almost always escape from harm because of their lovely appearance and winning personality, except for the one or two times where their noble lover rescues them. This disease is very dangerous because it can connote to viewers a distorted view of reality.

(The little mermaid and Aladdin's Jasmine would also make excellent illustrations of this point, from what I recall, if they were more decently clothed.)

The Wimpy Hero Syndrome (WHS) - Usually only found in white males, victims of WHS are usually klutzy and incompetent, while the skills and talents they do have are despised by their authorities and community. Nevertheless, by the end of the film their use of whatever skill or talent they do have makes them popular and successful. Those suffering from WHS often find themselves infatuated with women suffering from Tomboyalisis (see below).

[A note as to my robotic illustration- Wall-E shows great heroism in the end of the film, which I much appreciate. Nevertheless, his relationship with Eve is another illustration of this stereotype.]

Tomboyalisis (TBA) - This one is very, very common among young female film characters. Symptoms include beating up on males with WHS, always having the right answer, being remarkably strong for being so thin and shapely, being the most popular person in the community, and in general being a better man than most of the males on set. Nevertheless, young women with TBA often find that they have an irresistible attraction to young men with WHS by the end of the film- and then take the initiative in the relationship, playing a remarkable and often disturbing mixture of the man's and woman's parts.

Wiseinowneyetis (WNOI) - This is a common condition in teenage-or-younger characters. Often cast as the hero, those suffering from WNOI often have additional struggles with WHS. They're commonly- actually, almost always- at odds with their parents. In fact, they're at odds with almost every tradition their community has ever known. And they're usually right, by the end of the film, thus encouraging the transfer of their disease to the children watching.

The Spineless Man Syndrome (SMS) - Almost always coupled with the Bearded Woman Syndrome, this deadly disease is typical in white males with more than 0 children. Men suffering from this disease usually show symptoms in one of two ways- either by spending a lot of time on plush house furniture watching sports, or by failing to take the Biblical role of leader in the home. Usually suffering also from Henpeckerie's Disorder, these poor fellows are mostly helpless bystanders in the affairs of their home- and worse, they often don't care.

The Bearded Woman Syndrome (BWS) - Usually found in females married to victims of SMS, the Bearded Woman Syndrome leads to quite ugly results- women who try to play the man's role in the home- taking responsibility, putting their foot down, wearing the pants, earning the bread, nagging their husbands, and so forth. (We do have unconfirmed reports that there have been rare cases resulting in the growth of actual facial hair, but we can neither confirm nor deny such symptoms at this time.)

Henpeckerie's Disorder (HD) - Most commonly found in husbands and fathers suffering from SMS, HD usually manifests itself in the afflicted man gradually becoming apathetic, impotent, and miserable. Research has indicated that men married to women with BWS are up to three times more likely to suffer from Henpeckerie's Disorder.

Stupidgaeitis (SG) - Found in many male characters in family films and especially comedies, and very similar to the Wimpy Hero Syndrome, symptoms of SG include an initiative-free, nowhere-going infatuation with pretty girls (who in their turn, again, often suffer from TBA) , total ineptitude at most things useful, and often either geeky knowledge of one or two things or exceptional physical strength at the expense of any intelligence whatsoever. Usually victims of Stupidgaeitis are not respected in their community, and though they provide comic relief they are far from model men. This disease very, very rarely will make an appearance in a female, usually an older aunt who struggles with her weight.

Parentus Withitus (PW) - The poor adults that suffer from this condition are constantly attempting to build their relationship with their children by proving that they are "cool". This may manifest in a variety of ways, including wearing flat-brimmed baseball caps sideways, speaking with ridiculous use of slang, or trying to "hang" with the "in-crowd", thinking all the while that it really impresses the younger generation. The result is usually that the parents in question make fools of themselves, and the children (who often themselves struggle with Wiseinowneyetis) end up despising their parents even more, which only continues the downward spiral of disintegrated families. It is not uncommon for one parent, having been exposed to Parentus Withitus, to then undermine the authority of the other parent in an attempt to win the affection of their child. This further damages the authority structure of the family and causes breaks in relationships, leading to spoiled children with increasingly deadly levels of WNOI. My mother noticed this particular facet of this disease in a Tide commercial which went something like this: a man saw a mini-skirt (or "sk") in his home and promptly threw it away. The man's wife, seeing the sk in the garbage, took it out, washed it- with Tide of course- and gave it to their daughter. Later, the daughter kisses her father goodbye and traipses off thus clothed (or perhaps thus unclothed), while the father stares in shock and the mother winks at her daughter.

Any other illustrative suggestions on this or in any other category are much appreciated.

Patriarchus Tyrannicus (PT) - This is a saddening condition which causes the father to, while possibly not even doing anything wrong, appear to the audience as an evil tyrant. The child/children, usually suffering from one or more conditions above, are vindicated rebels by the end of the film, and while usually both parties apologize it is the tyrannical patriarch that was the bad guy all along. Very sad to see.

Youngus Hottius (YH) - This deadly disease can be found primarily in young males, who seem to instantly win the affection of any woman they come into contact with using soft glances and softer speech. While usually they stay faithful and devoted in the film, this disease, once spread into the real world, infects with deadly amounts of real and unexpected consequences. This disease causes such horrifying mutations that we shall spare you pictures of the victims of Youngus Hottius. Simply naming the young Russian from Fiddler on the Roof should suffice.

Pooris Animalis Syndrome (PAS) - This often infects the audience, and causes us to pity the animals and despise the humans hunting them, when the humans, in fact, are doing nothing wrong, and are indeed taking dominion of God's Creation as commanded in Genesis. Of course, to assist in the contraction of PAS, the filmmakers often make the hunters evil in other truly disturbing and sinful areas. Audiences should be aware of this environmentalist disease.

The diagnoses for all of these diseases is remarkably simple. Take regular, large doses of Scripture, coupled with prayer, a few sound spankings, and plenty of sleep. Detox using supplements of repentance. Healing is almost certain. And be sure to pass this list around, because few are aware of these diseases- and because I like getting more readers to my blog. :-)

By the way, we're actually very excited when we find characters in film not suffering from these diseases- sightings are very rare, and very precious.

We'd like to see more.

(P.S. - I'm currently reading a draft of an e-book called Red Rain by Aubrey Hansen - http://aubreyhansen.blogspot.com/ - and am thoroughly enjoying the lack of these diseases in said book so far. Stay posted for updates on that one.)

MUSIC - Slapstick Etude

2011-06-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen, it's Thursday- which means that it is Piece of the Week day!

This one is the score to an action-comedy that I composed for recently. Please enjoy, subscribe, comment, rate, and all those beautiful social-networking things. :-D

Slapstick Étude

MUSIC - Friday at Noon Soundtrack Available for Purchase!

2011-05-31T11:07:00.000-07:00

Praise The LORD, my first CD release is available for purchase at a two-week kick-off price of $8.00! Buy your own copy at fridayatnoon.com/shop!

This album contains just over an hour of music, including extras not heard in the film, and it ranges from soft piano lullabyes to the weeping of a solo violin to the intensity of orchestral action music. Here's the main theme - Track 1 from the album, entitled "Someone Will Pay."

Resounding Music Commercial

2011-05-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

Here it is, a commercial for my work as a composer, which we did over the weekend for a Christian Filmmakers competition (and then re-uploaded later in a better version). Thanks to my sister for filming- and filming well!

I'm trying to do a piece of music weekly- this will count as my piece for last week. :-)

Resounding Music - Your Movie, My Music, Our Story

REVIEW: UP

2011-05-24T18:13:00.000-07:00

Currently my favorite animated film, I will readily admit that this one usually chokes me up. More than once.

Disney/Pixar's UP is, in my opinion, a masterpiece, beautiful on a number of levels. But behold, I getteth ahead of myself. (Be forewarned- I'm trying to be tactful, but I'm not afraid of spoiling plot points. :-)

The Worldview

The Good

UP is full of good stuff to admire. First and foremost on my list of refreshing worldview points is the portrayal of marriage, children, and family life as a good, fun, and enjoyable thing. How precious and how rare.

We also see in the scene with Mr. Fredricksen and Russell the breakdown of the family in the current generation- but instead of being shown as normative , it's shown as just that- a breakdown, and a sad one at that.

The moral of the film? Maybe that adventure isn't something "out there" that we have to go hunt down. Rather, we should find adventure in (insert my Christianity) obedience to God and in enjoying the life that He has given us.

We can also learn in a similar but separate vein that it is a waste to hold on to the past. Let us say with Job "The LORD giveth and The LORD hath taken away- blessed be The Name of The LORD!" There's a time for weeping, but then we must press on. Mr. Fredricksen does this in the film.

This film almost goes against the standard Disney "follow your dream" stuff. The beginning sets up for this dream of going to Paradise Falls, but by the end of the film that dream has been forsaken in favor of seizing the short time that God has given us to invest in real pursuits.

Ellie's a bit of a tomboy in the beginning, but as an adult, from the little we see, she's very feminine and modest.

And I just want to say again how much I loved the portrayal of family. You can see my favorite 4 minutes of the film here- it's kinda a spoiler, but I hope it will make you want to see the whole thing, if you haven't.

The Bad

There's one semi-crude moment.

Something that isn't necessarily bad but is a stereotype that should be addressed and perhaps exposed is that again the woman has the energetic, go-getter personality, while the man (at first) is a shy introvert. I'd like to see more bold manhood and gentle, quiet womanhood (1 Pet. 3) modeled.

There may be some disrespect for the elderly- making jokes of things that happen in old age. However, it may be said that so much of good, clean humor is simply the exaggeration of stereotypes and common problems of any age group. They do it with kids, dogs- "point!"- and with the elderly. But we must be careful that we remain respectful of our elders- that must weigh in. (1 Peter 5:5)

Also- this might have been my biggest issue with this film- we see a bit of a green-peacey leaning in that Muntz is the bad guy because he wants "the bird". But for a man to desire to capture a beast to clear his name isn't a bad thing- indeed, I would say it's a good thing! Take dominion! Now, Muntz has other character issues that make him truly a bad guy- but that's kinda the point. I'd like to see a good man taking dominion. Yes, he should be a righteous man who "regardeth the life of his beast", but that doesn't mean a man who never catches or kills animals. Beware these hints of environmentalism. Let us steward well the earth that God has entrusted us- because we fear and love and worship Him!- not steward the earth that created us because we fear and worship "Mother Nature".

The Art

The Good

Most of it. The animation? It's Pixar. Some of it I found a bit simplistic compared to other animations, but it's beautiful overall.

The story? It's Pixar. Top-notch. It has been said that "story is king", and I love how Pixar films seem to consistently have a good story, insistently interesting and usually with a touch of sweetness. UP was no exception.

The music? It's excellent. Excellent. The perfect blend of just the right old-timey feel, sounding like something that would be played on a record player, and simply being downright beautiful. The music told the story excellently. Bittersweet, adventurous, small and lonely, bright and shining- and at home in all of 'em.

The Bad

No comment. This was a beautiful film.

Overall,

Like I said, Pixar's UP is my favorite animated film. It's beautiful artistically and refreshing theologically. I'd give it a 5/5, and highly recommend it.

MUSIC - Goodnight, Sylvia/The Kidnapping

2011-05-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

This is track 6 from the score to Friday at Noon.

Interestingly, the kidnapping part is still lonely, semi-improvised piano music. I don't know why I did it this way then, but in retrospect (I think it was Dad who pointed this out) I like how it focuses on the sorrow of the loss and the depth of the dilemma instead of the "make-you-jump" fear of a kidnapper in the house.

Click here to listen on YouTube.

BTW - the CD is now in the duplication/printing stage!

REVIEW: Inception

2011-05-17T14:16:00.000-07:00

"By popular request..."

Inception. A film that has become a cultural phenomenon in my limited experience. This film, a long and wild journey that easily confuses and certainly warrants at least a second viewing, has a poster full of infamous names, from the director Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight, Memento) to the star Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, Blood Diamond) to the composer Hans Zimmer (Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Prince of Egypt). It's certainly a polished film technically and artistically, and one to be reckoned with in the simple scope of impact that it has had on our culture.

The Worldview

The Good

I really appreciate the treasuring of family that we see in DiCaprio's character, Cobb. His driving desire is to get home to his kids. He loves his wife. His kids love him. And I love it!

Ariadne (Ellen Page) is consistently non-combatant. Her relationship with the hero is refreshingly non-romantic. She looks like a girl (as opposed to looking like a man), and she plays the woman's role- she's the hero's helper.

The film ponders the power of the idea- which is huge. Ideas truly do transform lives.

The film also shows our hero enjoying god-like power in a dream world, but ultimately being unsatisfied knowing that it is all just that- a dream!

My favorite character would be Tom Hardy's Eames. I love his consistent ability to just drop everything and do what needs done. He has a very rugged manliness to his character.

The Bad

The dark side to our hero's love of his family is that he's willing to do whatever it takes- he's willing to be pragmatic, to violate principle to accomplish his goal of family unity.

Ariadne is unprotected and alone, working with a bunch of single guys. Happily, the furthest this goes is when Arthur steals a kiss, a problem in itself, but- of course that's the furthest it goes. It's a movie.

Saito, the man who hires our heroes to perform Inception, gives his reason for wanting to do thus as preventing a company from having "total energy dominance". Sounds good, but it's a lawless way to go about protecting one's business.

The language I would say was pleasantly minimal, even in the unedited version. However, in the scene where Cobb's wife dies, he bellows out repeatedly The Name of Christ, which is Not. A. Good. Thing. It is, however, simply another testimony to the truth of The Christian Faith, but another discussion for another time.

The modesty- could have been worse, but could have been better. Cobb's wife is usually in a dress (very happy!) which is usually rather low-cut (not so happy). And then there's the "lovely lady" that Eames poses as, who I personally thought had a face that looked plastic, but she certainly wasn't modest.

Nihilism is something that I've heard criticized in this film multiple times. I look forward to hearing Mr. Kevin Swanson's take on it from his Generations radio program, however, as it stands right now, I did not see nihilism preached. I can see how it would be taken that way, though: We can't know what reality is. We can't know anything. It doesn't matter. Enjoy what you have.

As far as this issue goes, I took away something more like this: We belong in God's reality, the world He has created for us.

The Art

The Good

The special effects/set creation. This film is stunning visually. The spinning hallway... I'm sure it's been applauded over and over again, but I'm going to applaud it one more time! Very impressive.

The acting was good all-round. There were a coupla parts that I thought could have been improved- maybe. But that is very seriously on an opinion level.

Good directing- Mr. Nolan isn't my favorite director, and I would have enjoyed some more striking and wild shots for such a wild concept, but nevertheless it was all certainly industry-standard. I loved the shot with the line of sinks in the bathroom. Very artistic.

Good sound-design, definitely. Some excellent slo-mos and accompanying audio effects.

And now would seem to be a good time to bring up a concept that I haven't heard of before but I find quite interesting- "the audience character". In Inception, the audience character would be Ariadne. She knows no more about the film or the protagonist than we, the audience, do. And then, as she learns about the dream world and Cobb's past and so on, we get to learn with her- a very effective and enjoyable teaching technique!

The Kinda

Hans Zimmer's score. What can I say? It fit very well, and is a study in epic, tense music. Classic Zimmer. But it's not very musical. It's great for running to, but I don't find it musically rich.

I've come to a point where I consider Mr. Zimmer to be a great sound designer, though there are other composers that I would go to for great music. I think this film is a great illustration of many of the things that I dislike and many of the things that I admire about the works of Hans Zimmer.

EDIT- a comment from Sam Klejwa on my thoughts on the score: "I’m a bit taken aback that you didn’t like the score. Especially when you know that the whole score is meant to sound like a slowed down version of the french song played throughout the film, “Non, je ne regrette rien” (translated, it means “No, I regret nothing”), which is ironic because Cobb (as is repeated through the film) is “filled with regret”. That type of forethought and intricacy is something that cannot be seen in most scores. Plus “Time” blows me away."

This is indeed an amazing amount of intricacy that deserves mentioning. And I do agree that "Time", the 12th track on the Inception album release, is simply gorgeous.

The Bad

"You're waiting for a train..." This bit of dialogue that keeps coming up honestly seems like an attempt at epicness that... well, fails. It sounds like it's supposed to sound good.

The story of Inception really bugs me. It is a fascinating concept, but I found it to have multiple inconsistencies- or at least aspects that I'm not understanding. I would have appreciated "a little specificity", as Arthur (Gordon-Levitt) put it. I also thought the going-back-to-the-beginning-at-the-end, which Mr. Nolan apparently likes to do, was more forced here than in The Prestige.

Overall,
Inception is a film that is amazing artistically and very impactful culturally. The worldview is complex and needs to be seen in light of God's Word. The language is enough that I'd recommend an edited version. It's worth watching for filmmaker, and it's definitely a fascinating ride, but I haven't really enjoyed it, mostly because the story consistently bugs me. Maybe I just need someone to 'splain to me how it works.

3.5/5

Friday at Noon - Original Motion Picture Score

2011-05-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

We're working on the CD release of the musical score to Timepiece Family Media's Friday at Noon- composed, of course, by yours truly. LORD willing, it will be available for purchase soon- stay tuned! In the meantime, here's track 18 to wet your whistle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qGFrEzbZ8o

Pictures from April

2011-05-07T15:31:00.001-07:00

The two pictures I entered into our Photo Group last month, one illustrating the effects of different apertures on the depth of field- see how the background behind the lights blurs as the aperture gets larger? (Aperture gets larger as the f/# gets smaller)

The other is a shot of a lizard with some intense blur which is straight-out-of-camera, though I messed with the colors and such in PhotoShop.

REVIEW: The King's Speech

2011-05-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of the better films I've seen in a while.

The Worldview

The Good

The family relationships in this film were beautiful to behold. After a steady diet of films modeling rebellious teens, feministic women, and either tyrannical or weak fathers, this film was a breath of fresh air. The king's daughters treasure him, his wife supports him, and he, speech impediment and all, is still a loving, kind, but strong Dad. There are a couple possible slight hints of feminism, but overall I really enjoyed the relationship between the king and queen. She was an encouraging, supportive, and strong helper to her husband- he was a loving leader who in the end faces his fears and successfully broadcasts.

The speech therapist, too, has a great relationship with- *gasp*- his teenage son! Wow! Indeed, his entire family was again a refreshing model of love and unity as a household. There was one son who had a bit of 'tude, but even he can't help but smile at his father's Shakespeare interpretations.

The older brother of our hero is an immoral and loose man- but he's also portrayed as a confused and weak man, at best. Handsome, yes, dashing, and able to speak much better than his brother- but without anywhere near the depth of character, and the film brings that out well.

I was really happy to see the portrayal of a healthy, close relationship between two men without a bunch of allusions to homosexual perversion. They were not only both married, but they were very much in love with their wives and families. They were just good friends! Refreshing- and it's sad that it's such a rarity anymore.

We also see the simple power of speech being illustrated. "Like apples of gold in settings of silver..."

Again, this film was simply a breath of fresh air from a worldview perspective.

The overall sermon of the film? I guess it would be something like we need to conquer our fears and do what needs to be done, and friends can be very helpful in this- all very true!

The Bad

The swearing is what gave this film its R (which is now a PG-13- apparently an edited version was released?). Looking at a site like Kids-In-Mind the film looks like it must be littered with filthy language. As it is, there is one scene with highly concentrated swearing- the king-to-be is with his speech therapist and the speech therapist starts him swearing, presumably to loosen him up. Colin Firth then rattles off a stream of curse words, with his therapist's encouragement, in a rant that ends with him looking bashful and the boys in the other room asking their dad if everything is OK. There are a few other curse words throughout the film, but that's the main part, and it's cast in a highly humorous light. Definitely not the same as an angry Jason Bourne or Will Hunting swearing throughout the film.

Which brings up a good question that I ponder... would God laugh at that scene? I know I did. I thought it was hilarious. Maybe I shouldn't. May God continue to refine!

Really, without that scene, a few other curse words, and some mild discussion of adult themes, the film could have been PG, easily.

The worldview of modern psychology seeps in through the speech therapist. He seems to blame much of what has happened to the king in his past for what he's going through now. While it is good for us to realize just how much we affect our siblings and children, ultimately the king is responsible before God for living in fear. Be careful lest we say- rightly so!- that his parents, his siblings, his nurses were cruel, and then conclude that it's their fault. It is still his responsibility to respond to life from a God-centered perspective. They did wrong, yes. It's not an excuse for him to shirk responsibility as well.

There were a couple parts that were a bit irreverent to God- especially their line on the poster, "When God couldn't save The King, The Queen turned to someone who could." Not good, not funny. Fear God and tremble before you say that He cannot do anything. (In fact... who are you to say that God didn't save the king by sending the someone who could?)

Probably my biggest issue, though, was that when the king- not the king whom the film centers on, but his older brother, who held the throne for a short time- is living an immoral life, and wants to marry a divorced woman, which as the (unBiblical) head of the Church he is forbidden to do, the comments of the heroes of the film are along the lines of "I don't care who you carry on with at night so long as you do your kingly duties in the morning." That's not OK. What you do at night is just as much a part of you (maybe more!) as what you do in the day. All of it must be submitted to God.

The Art

The Good

Wow. Lots. The cinematography was striking, distinctive, and beautiful- the sets grand and believable. The use of the fisheye lens was very effective and fitting to the story- it made the king look all the more awkward and lonely.

The score by Alexandré Desplat was beautiful and fitting. Much enjoyed by yours truly.

The acting was excellent. Colin Firth really sold his part.

It was definitely a first-class film, artistically.

The Bad

Honestly... there was very, very little about this film, if anything, that I didn't like from an artistic perspective.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. With cautions as to the language being given, I still heartily recommend it. 4.5/5

MUSIC - White Hat Dark Sky

2011-04-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

A piece for open skies, shimmering horizons, and a lone rider with a gun on his hip.

White Hat Dark Sky

Daniel Tekunoff, guitar - http://www.guitarmusicaz.com/home.php

REVIEW: Megamind

2011-04-24T23:00:00.000-07:00

This one should have been called Tangled.

Megamind, by Dreamworks, is a wild, weird film. Some of it, like the poster at left, is downright hilarious. Some parts are remarkably well-done. Otherparts- less so. Overall, the film left me disturbed and feeling... dirty. So. Into the "labrynthian mind" of the film. (shameless SPOILERS ahead)

The Worldview

The Good

I really enjoyed the exchange between Megamind and Metro Man when Metro Man was trapped in the observatory. "You can't trap justice! It's an idea..." Nevertheless, this idea must be founded on God's Word, or it's just... well, a good idea.

We also see that we are responsible with what we do in our lives- it's not destiny's fault. It's not up to fate. We are to be judged by our actions. This is an important thing to understand, and a good moral.

The Bad

The counterpoint to above point- this film brought out some serious humanism/Nietzscheism. It begins blaming many events on fate- it's because of fate that Megamind is a bad guy. It's because of fate that Hal gets blasted with the superhero potion. Happily, this is later on reversed, but is replaced with the philosophy that we are masters of our own destiny, which is only a good moral if understood as our responsibility in the light of and in subjection to God's Sovereign Will and Providence.

The Super-Intelligent E.T. Philosophy. This is a school of thinking rooted in evolution with quite dark repercussions for us the viewers. "If we evolved then surely other intelligent life has evolved elsewhere in the universe!"

So we get Metro Man, who can violate the laws of nature at will (which is only explicable by the supernatural, and yet that power is transferred to someone else via Metro Man's DNA...), and we get Megamind, who has, basically, supernatural intelligence. These gods descended from Olympus then duel for the fate of mankind, and we, like ants, watch helplessly.

Metro Man and Megamind act like actors in a over-rehearsed play. They're not really scared. They're not really hurting anybody. Megamind doesn't expect to win, and when he does, after the first thrill of success, he realizes that he now has nothing to live for (amidst an existentialist discussion with a toy bird. More on that in a sec). Metro Man later calls Megamind "little buddy". This is odd. Is Megamind really a bad guy? He's the hero, but he's in jail, and he breaks out amidst some "b-b-bad to the bone", and yet the hero acts like his pal. This is blurring lines seriously.

It is during Megamind's duel with Tighten, however, where we really see the "gods from Olympus" syndrome. Towers are broken, buildings are burned, cars are smashed, and while they don't show it we may assume that many are killed. This is very dark and, ultimately, unScriptural. Let us rejoice that we do not have a fickle and capricious God ruling over us. These creatures with "god-like power" (yes, that was in the film) are not bound by man's (or God's moral or natural) laws, and they break them with impunity. There's no hope for a righteous man to stand up and bring justice. We just have to hope (pray, maybe, to our... benevolent aliens???) for another Metro Man.

Megamind, who is the hero by the end of the film, during his bad-guy stage at the beginning was playing darts with peoples' cars, desecrating property, stealing art, and enjoying every bit of it. He never repents, he just... changes. Kinda. Never is what he did shown as anything more than funny, in a superbly evil sort of way.

Existentialism. What is is. The existentialist believes (as I understand it) that there is no God, there is no judgment to come, there is nothing beyond the physical, there is no ultimate and inviolable Law. This gives way readily to pragmatism, where the ends justify the means, and paints a bleak picture of a world left to chance and the whims of the strong.

There is also some eastern mysticism in the film. Yin and Yang- where there is bad good will arise. This leaves us with "bad guys and good guys are two parts of the same whole." Everybody has some good in 'em, right? Well, except for Tighten, because we have to make him bad enough that the audience will be glad when he loses. And even he, in the end, is apparently having a blast in jail.

The good guy can't kill the bad guy- good guys don't do that. They take 'em to jail. How is jail Scriptural? The civil magistrate should punish the villain according to God's Law- and sometimes that means by death. Interestingly enough, when we're talking "gods from Olympus", the civil magistrate can't do this. The police are helpless. We need Batman, or Superman, or Metro Man, or somebody who's awesome enough to take down the bad guy- whatever the cost. More pragmatism. (And there's another reason I like Bolt- he's not anything more than just a man who did what's right.)

Irreverence, toward the elderly in the minor way of the lisp in Hal's "Space Dad", but much more destructively in Metro Man, when he walks on water, and Megamind- "Who is this man whom we have infused with god-like power?" Not only does the film act as if God does not exist, but it really creates gods out of its hero/villains.

And there's another problem. The Cool Bad Guy Syndrome (CBGS). It was even worse in this one than with Flynn in Tangled.

From the trailer: "All men must choose between two paths. Good is the path of honour, heroism, and nobility. Evil... well, it's just cooler." Um- I'm sorry. Evil is evil. Evil will be destroyed in the wrath of a just and holy God. It's not OK for us to portray it as cool.

The crude humor. It wasn't dealt out in spades, but they gave some good spoonfuls. For example, when Tighten (Hal), enjoying his new-found superpowers, is giving himself a wedgie and saying "look, I can hardly feel it!"- I'm left with a feeling of ugh. They could have taken the exact same well-acted vocal line and shown Hal banging his head off of the wall- "look, I can hardly feel it!"- and it would have been more hilarious and far less dirty. A desire for holiness doesn't mean that we can't enjoy hilarity- though it will take more work to create humor that pleases God. I have been convicted recently over my sense of humor, which is sometimes not as sanctified as I think God would have it to be. I'm also grateful to people like those at HeuMoore Productions who make hilarious films without crudeness, and speakers like Mr. Ray Comfort and others who model dignity while still being quite funny.

And, though I know that I'll have readers who disagree, we have another model feminist. Roxanne, shown in plenty-tight-enough (but more covered up than some of her other wardrobe choices in the film) clothing at left, is apparently out making a career for herself as a reporter.

Yes, I am a proponent of home-keeping mothers and bread-winning fathers. Yes, I'm a proponent of male headship. (Oy, I just can't stop stepping on toes.) Does this mean that women should sit at home knitting all the time? No. But Miss Roxie should "get married, bear children, keep house, give the enemy no occasion for reproach." Why does this seem like such an onerous calling? Maybe because we've watched one- or fifty- too many Megaminds.

She's hanging out with the cameraman all the time. He goes bad when she denies him. There's a good moral to be drawn here. Spend enough time with someone, you will tie heartstrings, most likely. Be careful with whom these strings are tied, and how tight you allow the knots to become!

I would have loved it if she were married to the cameraman... there's helping her husband.

Short hair again. And you say, "What's with the short hair? Leave it alone already!" Well, I have no desire to offend! Yet I cannot remain silent because I might hurt feelings. Paul says "if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her", and I want to embrace that as much as I want to embrace that it would be shameful for me to grow a three-foot-lo

ng ponytail. If someone can give me Scripture to show me otherwise- please, bring it to the table! As it is, I'm tired of this being modeled as good-looking for women- normal for women- feminine. Period.

The Art

The Good

The animation of the fishbowl was very neat looking and impressive. The falling scene at the beginning was a great shot as well.

The story was very unique and full of different twists on old themes. I really enjoyed the freshness of the concept.

The voice acting and sound design was good.

I've been noticing a running theme of cute characters in these animations. Dug in UP, the frog-chameleon-nuance in Tangled, Minion in Megamind, Rhino in Bolt, and so on. Very smart move by the filmmakers. They nailed the cute character in this one. Minion is admittedly adorable.

And some of the humor was both clean and hilarious. Some great scripting, hilarious stereotypes, and excellently-acted banter between heroes and villains.

The Bad

The animation wasn't bad, but I wouldn't consider it great, and our main characters had a touch of animé that I didn't enjoy.

The resurrection of the fish I have mixed feelings on. It made more sense than the resurrection of (SPOILING another film now) Flynn in Tangled, but it also seemed more forced. Again, the death of Minion would have added some gravitas to the end. Could have been a heartbreaker. Instead, it wound up a semi-cheesy, rather predictable, and underwhelming joke. Here we have the fish acting like he's dying, Megamind acting worried, the fish gasps his last- and then Megamind tosses him into the fountain and laughs about his acting, and then we admire the fish's cute face. It seemed to be... just odd. Uncomfortable. Too stark of a contrast, maybe? There were multiple moments of such inconsistency in Megamind's character that bugged me from an artistic standpoint. If Minion's theatricality had been referenced and experienced a few times previously, this might have made more sense.

The score was unique. The main theme was weird. I like it, but I don't know if I like that I like it. The rest of the score fit well, but something about it bugs me.

The source music. Ugh. The film was filled with rock songs from days gone by. It seemed to, at least in parts, be an attempt to parallel the Joker's behavior in Tim Burton's Batman. Again, how fitting that rock music be associated with pride, destruction, and all-around evildoing. This not only cheapened the feel of the film, but it made it darker and more disturbing than it would have been without.

Altogether,

I wasn't impressed with the film. While the story was a neat and fresh concept, the worldview was disturbing, and it felt overall B-grade. I wouldn't recommend this one. 2.5/5

MUSIC - On The Other Side O' The Brae

2011-04-21T10:26:00.000-07:00

Enjoy Celtic music? This one might make you smile. Enjoy, and let me know what you think.

On The Other Side O' The Brae

REVIEW: Tangled

2011-04-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

This is a film that I've heard a lot of controversy and debate over, so I was excited to see it for meself. Review, here I come- and SPOILERS, here I come as well.

The Worldview

The Good

Rapunzel's father and mother love their daughter and want her to return. When she does, we learn that she, basically, carried on her parents' vision for the kingdom.

Flynn, by the end of the film, has repented of his thieving ways and asked Rapunzel to marry him. He also gives his life for Rapunzel's freedom. Rapunzel, in turn, was willing to give her freedom for his life. "No greater love..."

We see Flynn go from a man who values the shallow, to a man who would give his life for the woman he loves- a decision, albeit, not made on The Foundation of God's Word, but the right decision, nonetheless.

I loved seeing Rapunzel doing all these homemaking tasks, and having a blast at them.

And we also get to enjoy a pleasant amount of good, clean humor. I am really enjoying the lack of crude jokes in the animations I've seen of late.

The Bad

Another film with magic in it. Drops from the sun and magic incantations to draw healing powers from Rapunzel's hair. And the sun emblem all over the city makes me think "sun-worship," even though we see nothing in that direction.

Rapunzel and mother Gothel could both use dresses that were a bit looser and a bit higher-necked up top. ("They're animation!" Right. So it shouldn't be that hard to animate a more modest top.)

Now for some less obvious issues.

The film creates a dangerous hypothetical situation that causes us to cheer for Rapunzel when she chooses to rebel against the woman who she believes to be her mother. Situational ethics, again. "Well, if she hadn't rebelled, since Gothel stayed ever-young because of Rapunzel's hair, Rapunzel would have been locked in the tower ad infinitum!" Yeah, see what I mean. Dangerous hypothetical. They're easy to create- Jack Bauer (of the popular TV show 24) must shoot his (innocent) boss or the terrorists will blow up 2 billion people. His boss is a jerk- OK. Go for it, Jack! Well, Jack, what if it was 2 people? What if it was a choice between your daughter or 25 people? If we don't ground our choices in God's Law-Word, we're left to being lost in the labyrinth of our own depraved minds.

No. Rapunzel shouldn't have disobeyed the woman she believed to be her mother.

No. Jack shouldn't kill his boss. I don't care how big the threat.

Obey God, and trust Him to deliver.

It is a wisdom issue, definitely, how far obedience is to be taken, and how late into the child-now-adult's life. But for Rapunzel to leave home to pursue her dream is wrong in multiple ways.

I've heard the use of the tiara analogized to Rapunzel's virginity. I think it's a stretch, though one that is visible if looked for. Mother Gothel says that the tiara is all that Flynn wants and when she gives it to him he will leave her. Take that at face value and it sure sounds like a sermon for chastity- which is disobeyed with happy consequences when Rapunzel "isn't afraid" to give the tiara to Flynn anymore later on, and he tells her to keep it. But in the context of the film, they didn't play that up very much.

"When will my life begin?" Miss Rapunzel, your life has begun already. I understand the desire for advancing. That's good. So is contentment. This line in the song stated her theme very effectively, but was rather a downer in the midst of her celebration of homemaking.

The Disney Dream Theme drives me up a wall. Do you have a dream? What's your dream? Follow your dream! Will it be as good as I dreamed? And then I've heard Christians talk about how wonderful of a theme it is. I'm sorry, but I must respectfully disagree- you'll have to help me see how this is a redemptive message.

What's my dream? (I prefer vision. More manly.) To build The Kingdom of God. To have a family. To compose awesome and excellent music that testifies to The Glory of God. Ultimately, to conform my vision to be more like God's Vision for me.

Are those good dreams? I think so. But dreaming isn't good for dreaming's sake. And if all we are is dreamers who hope that everything turns out as well as we dreamed, then we've missed the point of investing our lives in Something Eternal that isn't subject to the fluctuations of our emotions. "Living your dream" isn't the highest goal in life, but I fear that that's what Rapunzel seems to think.

This brings up two other points:

1. Flynn. And his vision, or lack thereof. He's a vain, happy-go-lucky rascal who commits grand thefts and leaves his thief comrades to be caught by the king's soldiers. And when he meets Rapunzel, she's the one with the vision. He's her helper who helps her achieve her vision. She's the proactive hero- he's the guy who's stuck with her. Now, we've already discussed how he repents at the end- which is good! He learns to value deeper things than his beautiful nose. Nevertheless, he's still another example of the "Cool Bad Guy Syndrome".

2. The pub full of ruffians that Rapunzel transforms into a group of loving, singing, joyous brotherhood-of-man types. 'Cuz they, too, have a dream. (And I gotta say, I loved all the stuff about concert piano-playing. Though Mozart lived in the 1700s, so that threw me for a second...) Well, I find this interesting modeling as well. We already know that mother Gothel says Rapunzel can't handle herself in the real world. And we also know (this is Disney, after all) that Rapunzel is perfectly capable of handling herself in the real world. Right?

Well, if the real world is that a restaurant full of low-lifes can be transformed into an ecumenical meeting hall for dreamers of all shapes and sizes by a girl singing- she sure can. But that's not actually the real world. Rapunzel wouldn't last long in the real world. Sure, it allows for some hilarious stuff. But your average 18-year-old girl who sets out to pursue her dream today may find herself in a lot more trouble than Rapunzel does. Criminals aren't really just loving people who haven't ever been able to express their dream.

The haircut at the end. It was a great twist in the story, but a horrible twist in the worldview, in the eyes of yours truly. Rapunzel now looks like any 2011 teenage girl who happens to be stuck in a dress. Why does it rub me so wrong? Did Flynn do the right thing? I think so. It just grates on me, because of our culture, I guess, that they gave her such a modern, egalitarian haircut in the end- after seeing her with yards and yards of gorgeous, feminine hair the whole film long. Modeling, again.

(Quick question with regards to story consistency- why hadn't the dead brown hair grown any since it was cut when she was a baby?)

And while we're talking modeling, I think probably my biggest issue with the film is that we have one young, handsome, fiendish guy and one beautiful, childish, naivë girl hanging out together day-in day-out in all kinds of secluded spots. Problem.

The Art

The Good

The story. Very well told. Very exciting, wide-ranging emotionally, fulfilling, classic Disney. The twist at the end was a great story point.

The animation. It was good. Maybe not great- I still like Pixar better, and Owls still takes the cake- but it was good. The hair looked beautiful.

Another Snyder rule- "A Limp and An Eyepatch". They gave the minor characters that would be tough to keep track of certain things that made them readily identifiable. Very smart. Be it a hook on the concert pianist or an eyepatch on one of the twins, I didn't struggle with remembering who was who.

The score. Mr. Menken did a great job with the mickey-mousing, and the score on the whole was enjoyable.

The Bad

Couple of things. First, this film broke one of Mr. Blake Snyder's Immutable Laws of Screenplay Physics- the Double Mumbo Jumbo Law. I can swallow one piece of magic per film. Sun-drop causing magical golden hair? Fine. I'll take it. Carry on.

But wait- this magic tear thing at the end? Where'd that come from? They broke the Double Mumbo Jumbo Law, and the result was a less satisfying climax as well as a scene of Velveeta.

It was a great twist that led to Flynn's death, but I think the story would have been better, albeit sadder, if he had stayed dead. Or something. Yeah, him staying dead would have gone over like a lead balloon for all the kids in the audience. Granted. But bringing him back from death by her tears was a stretch that was painful for this viewer.

(It is worth mentioning that the original story does involve Rapunzel healing her husband's eyes with her tears.)

The other thing that really bugged me was the use of non-fitting music. "When will my life begin," regardless the lyrics- why do we have a pop song in a fairy tale again? Why did they do the music like this? Knights (well, a thief, actually), castles, a beautiful maiden in distress, and electric guitar. Odd one out? Howzabout a drumset?

They did another montage later. And then there was the credits. "That was really super. WAIT! No, it wasn't..."

I don't like musicals, from a story perspective. It's odd. It's unrealistic. And it's telling, not showing. I love musicals from a musical perspective- when the music is good and fitting to the film. The pop songs in Tangled disturbed me "on a number of levels".

I don't like the title, either. I know there's a connection between "Tangled" and "Long Hair", but that appears to be where the connection stops. My little sister suggested "The Lost Princess", and I think that title does a much better job describing the film in a way that makes me want to see it.

So this film was OK. If you're watching it for fun, it's fun- plenty of laughs. Don't shut your mind off, though. There's more of the same tired old bad worldview, and there are also some good things we can pull from it. I wouldn't consider it anything amazing one way or t'other.

3/5

MUSIC - Saying Goodbye

2011-04-14T10:05:00.001-07:00

My latest composition, a bittersweet romance for strings.

Saying Goodbye

OR on YouTube

Batman Saves The Cat

2011-04-12T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is a three-in-one review. I'm going to be commenting on, comparing, and contrasting three things- a book, Save The Cat, by Blake Snyder, and two films, Chris Nolan's Batman Begins and Tim Burton's Batman from 1989. And you say "um- that's a weird combination..." Right. Well, just hang on.

(Batman? Really? If you question the appropriateness of what I review, please see my statement on Questionable Films, and shoot me an e-mail if you want to discuss it.)

I'll start with Mr. Burton's 1989 work, starring Michael Keaton.

What I liked:
This film was one of the most artistically and aesthetically amazing and beautiful films I've seen in a long time. The set design was amazing- the directing was stellar. I still have one dutch angle (An angle that is off-kilter- not level. A powerful but easily overused artistic effect.) seared in my mind that is the kind of shot that is worth the whole film. From a visual perspective, this film amazed me. It translated comic book into film so well that while it still had a very strong comic flavor it was not at all overdone or garish. I loved it.

The score by Danny Elfman was also very appropriate, and while I wouldn't consider it an excellent score I would call it very good overall, especially for the film. The weakest part in the score was, I think, during a romantic scene- it wasn't very beautiful music, there, I thought. I enjoyed the opening credits, and would recommend the score itself as a good purchase.

What I didn't like:
Batman was a heathen. Our hero and heroine sin. Blatantly. And there was something in this one that seems common in most superhero films that I've seen- the woman is purposefully sensualized, by the costuming, by the angles, all of it. The romance in this film was thoroughly unBiblical and completely unnecessary. This was the big problem in the film for me- the sensual packaging of the girl in the film, and the immorality modeled by the hero. Yes, the corrupt officials are immoral too. But they're the bad guys. They're supposed to be.

And, of course, in this godless worldview, we're left to... *drumroll please* humanism, relativism, and at best situational ethics and man-made "laws". If Batman can be a fornicator and a superhero at the same time... well... obviously we lack an Objective Standard of heroism.

If you are considering watching the film and would like to know the content in more detail, feel free to e-mail me. I won't go into that here.

If you do go out to buy Elfman's underscore, take care not to buy the CD release of music by "Prince". These songs are played by the Joker on a boom box that he or his henchmen carry around as they commit crimes of all sorts. Remarkably enough, this makes a huge and very true statement about what music like that of Prince says. Why don't we use Prince for Batman's theme and some big brassy fanfare for the Joker? Because it doesn't fit. But a psychotic lunatic criminal? While I didn't like the "music" and we turned down the volume, I think it fit... please ponder for a moment, my friends. Music isn't neutral.

And the film is dark. Very dark. Artistically so, topically so. The excellently-acted Joker is an excellently acted wicked man. It's a corrupt Gotham with a psychotic villain and a hero who suits up in (remarkably tight...) black. Careful. Bathe in The Light!

Also- it's funny how the graphics in 1989 look so cheesy now.

3.5/5, I wouldn't recommend it unless you are a filmmaker or some other kind of visual artist- in which case I would highly recommend it as a remarkable study.

OK, there's that one. Now for Nolan's prequel to the oft-mentioned Dark Knight.

What I didn't like (because what I liked will tie into the book I'm going to mention):

Bad guy: "I never knew! I swear to God!" Batman: "Swear to me." When I heard this, I didn't like it, but I was searching for some other meaning that it could perhaps encompass than the blasphemous statement that my Dad later explained it to be. That was an unnecessary and godless line. Not that the bad guy should be swearing at all, nor cheapening God's name by using It as a cheap stamp of assurance.

There's some swearing in the film, and plenty of violence. I was pleasantly surprised with the romance in this film. It played a very small part and only went so far as a kiss. Which it would have been even better without. The girl in the film is, overall, well dressed- there are things that could have been better as far as modesty goes, but this was the first superhero film that I've seen where it didn't seem purposefully eroticised.

There is a short scene involving women in swimsuits and some scenes with women dressed in party gowns- very nice from the waist down, but a bit lacking up top...

There are also multiple spots where we see through the eyes (and hear through the ears) of people affected by hallucinogenic drugs- they had fun with the graphics on those, but it's neat or gross or disturbing or demonic depending on where you stand.

We also see Batman being a vigilante law-enforcer. This is one of those hypothetical moral dilemmas that's tough. He rarely actually kills anyone... he saves Rachel, which is certainly OK for a non-law-enforcement person to do. He comes real close to killing, if he doesn't actually kill, multiple police officers in his attempts to escape capture. He definitely speeds... he's not out to break laws or fight police... it's a tough topic worth praying over. Same issue here in the Keaton Batman.

Now comes a big issue, and here it gets real tough. (SPOILERS ahead, but this isn't a film with any huge twists or anything of the sort)

Bruce Wayne becomes a criminal so he can understand the criminal mind, but later we learn that apparently the only (major?) crimes he committed he committed against himself- he stole from his own company. Huh. (I say major, because I don't think the fruit seller was a division of Wayne Enterprises.)

He wants to "turn fear against those who prey on the fearful", or something like that. He then goes to study under Liam Neeson's character who trains him into a fighting machine. And we get a mix of good and bad and wacky stuff here, all confused even more because (here's the

BIG SPOILER)

Liam Neeson turns out to be the bad guy. So... was what he said right? Wrong? A mix?

And what did he say? Well, here's a dangerous one- that right and wrong aren't such hard-and-fast concepts. I'm sorry, but as a Christian Theist who believes that God has spoken to all areas of ethics (and everything else, actually) in His Law-Word, and we are bound to obey, I can say that that's not true. IF he means that right and wrong are ambiguous, situationally-relative and subjective concepts. Or does he just mean that there are some less clear areas and contextual dilemmas? I don't think so, or he wouldn't really need to say it...

"If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely - legend, Mr Wayne."

A good theme if understood rightly, but stated like this it sounds pretty much egocentrical. True meaning comes from devoting oneself to The Higher Cause or Ideal of God's Kingdom.

Further, he (Bruce's trainer) talks a lot about addressing the fear within Bruce's self, and becoming fear himself, and becoming one with the darkness, and all this- very dangerous. The solution to our fear isn't sucking some hallucinogenic potion and then dueling a bunch of black-clothed ninjas. Nor is it turning inward and addressing our inmost parts. It's focusing on God, submitting to God, repenting of our self-focus and sin, and giving ourselves wholly to obedience to Him, regardless the odds and the consequences. Turn inward? Well, only if you plan on bringing what you find inside you into submission to God's Objective Standard which is true apart from yourself and your perception of It.

And now we make a smooth transition into What I liked:

While in training, Bruce is told to kill a farmer who it is said murdered someone. Bruce doesn't deny that justice demands the man's life- he simply states that it's not his place to kill the man, and that the man needs tried for his crime, not just beheaded by vigilantes. An EXCELLENT statement.

Bruce is upholding the Wayne family legacy. Though his father and mother are no longer with him, their family was close and loving, and he honored his father in life and honors his memory now. Very nice to see.

Bruce does push-ups. I wish he was wearing a shirt in that scene, but I loved that, and all the other exercises and training scenes. :-D

Bruce also had an awesome car. "I've gotta get me one of those."

I also liked his suit, which wasn't disgustingly tight and form-fitting.

And now a smooth transition into the artistic value of the film, and how Save the Cat ties in.

There were a few spots that sniffed of cheese, especially when Batman was on screen. Over-epic, methinks.

The music. Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard- how could I not like it? Well, here's how.

It was a very fitting and appropriate score, but the thing that I missed from Elfman's work was the melody. This one didn't leave me with anything but a very simple string part, a staple of action music, stuck in my head. I missed the Batman Theme- something big and grand and heroic that I could leave the theater- or living room- with. Though I'm quite glad there was no pop song in the credits.

As far as filmography goes, it was a well done film, no question about it. I missed the dramatic, comic flair and the distinctive sets of Mr. Burton's, but the graphics, stunts, etc. were much better here.

Now for the story. This was a classic example of Mr. Blake Snyder's story template discussed in his book Save The Cat!

I haven't finished the book yet, and there are some swear words and a few less-than-modest pictures, as well as- well, he just writes like a non-Christian screenwriter writing a book on screenwriting would, I suppose.

That said, he's very fun to read, and the book is excellent as far as information goes.

Lest I give away one of the best bits of information in the book, the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, I shall refrain from telling in detail how amazingly well the two correlated. Save The Cat! readers and owners who would like to see the film "beaten out", just e-mail me and let me know. I'll give you what I've got so far. :-)

But one can watch this film with the popcorn in one hand and the Beat Sheet in the other. I was.

Oh, and my favorite line from the film?

"What's the point of all those push-ups if you can't even lift a bloody log?"

Batman Begins: 4/5, great for studying story, well done, remarkably romance-free, and with plenty of action, but not without its issues.

Save The Cat: 4.5/5 - excellent book for screenwriters, cautions above being understood.

MUSIC - The Second Scottish Romance for Hammered Dulcimer

2011-04-07T09:38:00.000-07:00

For Christ, Kirk, and Covenant!

The Second Scottish Romance for Hammered Dulcimer

MUSIC - Sinking The Treacherous

2011-04-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed putting this one together. Take the title and run with it, and I'd love it if you commented on the piece and told me what story you're hearing.

(Hint- pirates, soldiers, rough seas, and maybe a captain's daughter...)

Sinking The Treacherous

Pictures from March

2011-03-29T18:15:00.001-07:00

Pictures by my sister and myself. All those without my RM on them she took- she got some good ones, methinks!

Now some shots from our photo walk:

REVIEW: Bolt

2011-03-28T18:50:00.001-07:00

I'm going to start off by saying that this is not a film about a dog. This is a film about a man, and it's honestly probably in my top 15 favorite films.

What do I mean it's not about a dog? No dog talks. No dog has the depth and range of emotions that humans have. Bolt does. Bolt is a man stuck in a dog's body, and the film is a story of a man's devotion to his woman.

So. The Film.

Bolt, by Disney animation, is overall a remarkable and well-done film. The animation is good- I wouldn't call it great. Not a rivalry to Pixar, and certainly a far cry from that in The Owls of Ga'Hoole. The story is one of the strong points- with a twist at the outset of the film and plenty of tension points thrown in for good measure, as well as some of the most hilarious and clean humor I've seen. There are some moments of distinctive cheese, but overall it is both hilarious and touching. I was choked up more than once.

The score is excellent. John Powell ranges from mickey-mousing (musical mimicry of the on-screen action) and comic parody/location scoring, to action packed, driving music similar to his work on the Bourne films, to heartbreaking and lonely piano themes, to a simply gorgeous, heroic, triumphant and adventurous orchestral motif that emerges a few times- all touched by a kind of homey feel that keeps the whole thing in perspective as really a story, not of some invincible super-hero, but of simply a good man.

It's Mr. Powell's fault that I got choked up so often.

The Worldview

Surprisingly good. There is 1 clear crude joke, and a few other possibilities.

The girl, Penny, is

*SPOILERS*

an actress, who apparently has no father and who disrespects her agent- a jerk. Which makes it all the easier for us to think that she was right to disrespect him. Not so.

We see plenty of working women, one of which is especially manly and feministic. Disgusting.

We also have very short-term vision in the family. The family consists of a single mother, a daughter, and their pets. A widow and an orphan, who act satisfied in their lives because of a few animals that they own. Sad, and bad modeling.

Fortunately, Penny, her mother, her agent, and most of the humans in the film play a small part in Bolt. The film mainly centers around the journeys of three animals.

The dog- Bolt. From him we learn a number of things. We learn that one doesn't need to have superpowers- one just needs to do the right thing. We learn that love and devotion and loyalty are good things. And while Bolt sadly has no concept of The God that claims his ultimate allegiance (remember, this is really a man in a dog's body), he still has a firm grasp of his duty to protect his family- his woman.

The cat- Mittens. Careful with this feline, as from her especially we receive a few insidious slide-ins about bad humans. Now, truly, "A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast," but I shudder at anything that even sniffs (har har) of environmentalism. "The cat has feelings too... in fact, cats are people too, you know." No, they aren't. Beware the "people are evil" messages in these talking animal films...

That said, good owners are shown as a good thing, and so they should be! Mittens also goes on a character journey from a tyrannical Guido to a submissive and respectful helper to our hero.

The hamster- Rhino. I love this guy. From Rhino we learn some great things about manliness. He's also hilarious. I love the vigorous spirit about him, the desire to do great things, the "It's a good day to die!"-ness that lets him do what needs done regardless of consequences to himself- and, indeed, realizing that said consequences, however violent, are glorious, for he did what was right whatever the cost.

Of course, he certainly shouldn't spend so much time watching TV, or worshiping movie stars- he leaves much depth to be desired. Nevertheless, he is a source of clean humor and some great inspiration towards manly behavior.

There was a montage in the middle and sketchy, pop-songed credits. Again.

The moral? You don't have to be a superhero. You just need to do what's right.

I really like this film. Highly recommended on a number of levels. 4/5

Pictures from Prayer Advance

2011-03-23T16:58:00.000-07:00

This past month Dad and I, along with some other men from our church, met with brothers from a sister congregation for a time of teaching and prayer in a beautiful desert location. Praise God for men of faith! The instruction revolved around "The Plan"- God's plan for the family, for the state, and so on.

Here are the two pictures that I liked best. Thanks for suggesting the second one, David.

MUSIC - A New Adventure

2011-03-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

A New Adventure

This is one of my latest works. I'd love to hear from you- what story does it tell?

I'm visualizing the end of a film, where the hero and his friends must part ways and go on to their destinations. It ends with the hero shouting "I'll be back!", right before the final chord.

What do you think?

Brave New World

2011-03-21T20:50:00.001-07:00

Today I finished Aldous Huxley's Brave New World.

It's not a long book, but it's full of theology.

The Good

Mr. Huxley brings out a significant problem with a utopian state, namely that when everything is safe, perfect, and pre-arranged by man, there is no room for innovation, for danger, for heroism, for accomplishment. Now I, as a Christian, may take this and say- of course! Great point! God has created man to take dominion. To go places. To do things. To make his mark on eternity. To, ultimately, advance The Kingdom of God with his life. "Man's chief end is to Glorify God and enjoy Him forever." The degree to which a man does this is, to a large extent, correlated to his satisfaction with life. Mr. Huxley doesn't have this as his basis for his observations, but nevertheless what he says is true.

The Bad

Mr. Huxley associates Christianity with savagery. This is not only a false association, but, honestly, a rather ignorant one. Beginning with Scripture and ending with the visible effects of Christendom on the life and culture of any nation, it is quite obvious that Christianity pulls mankind out of savagery.

The Ugly

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

The book contains a good deal of erotic content, which, while not as detailed as that in, say, Atlas Shrugged, is more pervasive- Mr. Huxley is using it to make a point. If the book were translated literally to screen, it would be rated R or beyond- let's put it that way.

That said, the book as a general rule stays away from detailed description, and, as it is both a famous and influential piece of cultural literature and a good story, I would recommend it for mature readers who like to think.

VIDEO and MUSIC - Blood Duel

2011-03-15T09:31:00.000-07:00

Jeffrey Griffith is an excellent young Christian stuntman whom I have been privileged to work with multiple times in the past. One of our recent projects was this video (which does contain some violence):

Blood Duel

I really appreciate how Jeffrey connoted, with minimal physical affection, that the film isn't about some flippant romance, but rather about the relationship between a husband and wife, as well as the true depth of character displayed by victory that goes deeper than that of fists.

I also went back over this score recently and made a few changes. Those interested may hear it below:

Dying Breath

You may say "what about all this blood and death in these titles? What worldview is this connoting?"

To which I reply- for a Christian, there are some things which I value so highly that I would for them sacrifice my life and my fortune, because of my sacred honor. Blood and death and gore- no, I don't love them. But I love the nobility, the courage, the fire-heartedness of a man who can press through the blood and death and gore and, if necessary, give his dying breaths to the cause of The Kingdom.

Maybe it's philosophical warfare. Maybe, as in the cases of William Wallace and George Washington, it's physical. Let us be ready, and wholly committed to serve Christ with all that we are!

"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death." --Thomas Paine

"And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight."

The Son of God goes forth to war...

MUSIC - Legacy Baptist Promo

2011-03-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

I went with the epic choir sound on this one:

Click here to view/hear

REVIEW: The Prestige

2011-03-05T15:00:00.000-08:00

I'm going to begin this review with the most concrete content issues, because if you haven't seen the film and plan to see it, watch it before you read my review. The twist in this film is crucial to the impact thereof. I'll list the content issues first, so that you can decide if you wouldn't want to see it anyway. It is definitely not a family (with little kids) film.

- a few shots of a man without a shirt
- multiple appearances of women who are not decently clothed- mostly in the form of magicians' assistants, also one or two nightgown shots. This consists of low cleavage and high skirts... I spent a lot of these shots using peripheral vision or simply watching our back door.
- semi-graphic violence- bloody fingers, screams, a shooting, etc.
- people drowning/drowned in glass boxes- very disturbing, and reoccurring through flashbacks, and through happenings, a few times, though it isn't something that we see the whole film long.
- somebody is buried alive- he doesn't die, he's rescued, but it's a scary thought...
- a woman hangs herself
- probably more stuff too...

For a more detailed review, see here: http://www.kids-in-mind.com/p/prestige.htm
Also, for our family policy on questionable films, please see here: http://allauthority.blogspot.com/2011/02/questionable-films.html

If you might still be interested in seeing the film- watch it first! Then read my review. I'll be spoiling the end, and it's a big spoil in this film.

That said, on to the review.

The Film
The Prestige is a fascinating, mind-bending, and disturbing film. The plot centers around two professional magicians, each attempting to be better than the other. Note- by magicians, I mean illusionists, not wizards. No, they aren't dabbling in the supernatural.

It was an excellently done film. Very well mood-controlled, great directing by Chris Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), great acting by Christian Bale, and all together simply a well done film.

The score was great for the film, though it wasn't anything special on its own.

The story is what really makes The Prestige worth watching. Chris Nolan's non-linear (not- well, not in a line. Showing things out of order.) storytelling style makes it tough sometimes to understand what's happening. That said, the non-linearity in Prestige was, in my opinion, much better handled than that in Inception, which I thought was a little forced. In fact, the whole story in this film seemed more solidly handled than that in Inception- but I digress.

At the end of the film we learn that (I didn't get this the first time) one magician was actually two men all along- two twins. What a wowing moment for the viewer! Then comes the next twist, made all the eerier by Michael Caine's excellent and monotonous narration- the other magician had been scientifically duplicating himself to create the ultimate magic trick- and then murdering the duplicates.

Other than the pop song in the credits (WHY?), this film was very well done, and from a filmmaking standpoint definitely ranks very high.

The one other thing that bugs me is- why didn't Michael Caine's character just open the trick lock when the girl was drowning, instead of smashing through the case?

The Worldview

The twist at the end has huge implications for the worldview of the film.

Overall, the film is pretty miserable. Neither of the magicians, the whole film long, are really very nice characters. And for that we may be grateful- the film tells a story, but we don't really have someone to cheer for. We like Christian Bale's character a bit more, but only at the very end do we realize that we can actually justify doing so.

When we find out that, all along, "Freddie" was actually two men, we realize that one man was the hot-tempered and violent one, and the other was the cool-headed one who didn't want to prolong the troubles. We find out that, all along, while Freddie's wife thought he was committing adultery (as did the woman he was committing adultery with), it was actually the two twins- one man loving one woman, and the other man another. We see here the consequences of deception and the consequences of a man working with a woman who is not his wife as his helper, though by the end we see that the real husband did stay faithful. (Kinda- but if they're both playing both roles... that presents a problem.)

We also have the issue of- if a man duplicates his body, would his soul be duplicated as well? I don't think so... ultimately, God gives life to every person. Mess with atoms all that it may, science cannot give life.

So, it's a fascinating film to ponder morally...

A very potent, and perhaps the most obvious moral of the film is that obsession brings only misery.

So in summary of the worldview- it was pretty bad, but wasn't really modeled as a good thing that it was bad. We don't really find ourselves cheering for either magician wholeheartedly (at least I didn't) until we discover at the end that the one brother, faulted though he be, is truly noble-hearted. The other two got their just desserts.

Another thing I like about the two Nolan films I've seen- in both, family is treasured! What a great thing!

Recommended for mature viewers, especially those who want to study storytelling. 4/5

Pictures from February

2011-03-04T12:51:00.001-08:00

My beloved sister Moriah and I have recently joined a photography group taught by a very skilled photographer who attends our church. As I take pictures for homework, I plan to post them here- perhaps add some color to my blog. :-D

This month we learned about refraction and the pinhole camera- studying the behavior of light. God's creation is awesome.

There's a story in this one somewhere:

If you look closely in the second one, you can actually see the front end of one vehicle, the top of a house, and the back end of another vehicle, upside-down in the drop.

("Are you watching closely?" Oh, wait, that's from a film I'm planning to review soon...)

Review: Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

2011-03-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

A WWII film set in Middle-Earth featuring owls and with a Chronicles of Narnia flavor to it.

Yeah. Whoa.

I was pleasantly surprised with this film. I went into it with low expectations- the trailer reeked of cheese. And the film delivered some cheese, I must admit. I can appreciate a story about talking animals, that’s OK, but the film often takes itself too seriously and makes the main owl too awesome a few times. The slo-mo and epic music were a bit much. (But, the slo-mo might have looked amazing in 3-D. I dunno. And I also know that some people really liked it... oh well. It took me out of the story.)

There was also some magic in the film.

That said, Owls had surprisingly, refreshingly original character arcs, and a remarkably good overall worldview. The story took me by surprise when what I thought would be the main goal of the film actually was more of a catalyst to the real challenge.

I thought their journey to get to the guardians would be the meat of the film, but it only took a very short amount of time, surprisingly. It wasn’t a boring film, either.

I'll break this review down into two parts- my thoughts on the film as such, and my thoughts on the worldview behind the film:

The Film

Legend had some of the most amazing animation that I have ever seen. I was amazed by the realism and the downright gorgeousness of this film. The detail in the eyes, the suppleness of the feathers, the ability to make the main character’s features memorable when they’re all owls- I was very impressed.

The sound-design and music were OK. It seemed a little rough to me- perhaps at a few parts the levels could have been tweaked better. The score was not one of my favorites, especially with the over-the-top wailing in some parts. It had some neat dulcimer, though.

The story was the big weakness of the film. This could have really been an excellent film if they had spent more time developing character and simply letting the audience take in the story. A lot of it happened too fast and/or too randomly. I could feel that something just wasn't that great when I first saw the film- many thanks to friend and fellow filmmaker Aubrey for unpacking a lot of the why behind what I felt. Maybe I'll be able to pinpoint it better next time. But, to analyze this in-depth is not the purpose of this review- suffice it to say that the story could have used more work.

The credits- another pop song. WHY? WHY OH WHY? *grrrr*

This is a pet peeve of mine. Of all the things to NOT let the composer score, why would you withhold from him this chance to rhapsodize on the themes from the film? And why would you want to leave the audience with a pop song? Give them something grand and deep to walk out of the theater to.

The Worldview

The worldview of this film, though imperfect, was very refreshing.

The brother who honors the father and his stories is the good guy, the one who dishonors his father is a bad guy and ?dies? in the end- or at least almost dies.

Family is portrayed as good. The legacy of the forefathers is portrayed as good (pointed glance at Fiddler on the Roof). Good big brother loves and protects his little sister- bad big brother doesn’t. Good big brother respects mom and dad, bad one doesn’t. Good big brother treasures the tales of the past, bad big brother doesn’t. Good big brother honors the heroes of days gone by. It does bother me that he didn't go home after being lost and talk to his parents, though. Maybe we can say he had no choice? Or perhaps he knew that that was what his father would want him to do.

The two brothers disobey their parents once- a very overused tactic for getting kids into places they shouldn't be- and good big brother also disobeys orders twice later at the revelation of new information. That said, good big brother obeys, on the whole, even when he doesn't want to- he's not the young guy who ignores the older warrior's exhortation to remain home.

One owl in the film talks about how there is no glory to war (where I disagree with him), but the refreshing part about it was that, instead of doing the trendy “war is bad” sermon, the wise old owl continues by explaining that we fight because it is right, not because it is glorious. That amazed me- I loved it.

There is a severely underdeveloped romance between two owls in the film.

The jokes were, overall, very clean. The word “hell” was used to describe war.

The “pure ones” (bad guys) were a stark parallel to the Nazi regime- powerful stuff.

Altogether, I’d definitely recommend this film, especially on a worldview basis. 3/5

MUSIC - The Story Machine

2011-03-01T10:31:00.000-08:00

On a more light-hearted note (har har) than some recent posts...

A semi-recent composition by yours truly for a promotional video filmed by a fellow Christian Filmmaker:

The Story Machine