Messages From After Earth

To Be Or Not To Be? (That is REALLY the question)

This morning on the way to work, I heard 97.3 KLLC radio personality Hooman Khalili talking about the new movie, After Earth. I recently saw a promo of the movie and being a Sci-Fi/Action movie sort of guy, it really looked interesting. Of course, being a Will Smith fan only made the movie more appealing to see.

For those who may not be familiar with the movie, it’s set 1000 years from when mankind was forced to abandon Earth after a series of unknown cataclysms. The population is moved to a nearby extrasolar world know as Nova Prime. The movie centers around a crash landing back on Earth.

Good Grief Charlie Brown! Busted for Stalking?

The man who did the voice for Charlie Brown has been arrested for stalking. What’s next?

If we imagine Peanuts as real people, let me see if I can predict what might become of a few members of the Peanuts gang:

2012: Apocalypse Interrupted

or, 2012: The Year We Make Confetti

I was on an errand for my mother when I first found out.

Purchase a loaf of bread and bring it home – that was all I had to do. When I think back on those occasional grocery missions, they were neither necessary nor urgent tasks. I used to think it was her way to make me stop pestering her about wanting  to ride my bike somewhere, anywhere.

But, I think she was trying to teach me some responsibility and independence…”and don’t forget the change!” 

But, education is about more than the 3R’s as this event bore out.

An Abortion Reality TV Show

In this reality TV show, the audience decides whether the participants get an abortion or not. In some sense, the pro-life creators of this show are trying to raise awareness. I must agree with the author of this article, Kathleen Parker, who sums up this refuse very succinctly, “You can’t get there from here.”

Click HERE for the full article

McChurch

I really liked this article by Father Paul Ward. It is worth a read and reflection.

Editorial (1/14/10)

McChurch

That is neither a real name nor a real word, but an expression I coined to convey “commercial Catholicism,” or even “consumer Catholicism.” Not only in America, but in many other places as well, the Catholic Church has largely gone the way of pop culture. That is, it became an object of the market.

The Avatar Challenge: Can We Separate Style From Content?

I have been wondering about this movie for some time now. Admittedly, I have not seen it. I will confess this right up front. Simply looking at the previews made me recoil a bit though, giving me reason to consider waiting until it comes out on DVD.

So much of what Hollywood puts out is part of a bigger agenda. Friends of mine who have seen it said it scored high on the “wow” factor. When I asked them if it seemed anti-American, their response was fairly universal: “Yes, I guess it is, when you think about it.” I guess they were not thinking when they paid good money to be “wowed” with the latest special effects, all the while being seduced with subliminal messages designed to tear down all that we cherish as good.

Then, I stumbled across this article that gives another angle critical of the movie in a way that is perhaps even more disturbing. It is a subliminal message that erodes and degrades the human being as a unique creation. I am fond of many of James Cameron’s works. I am sure this one rates high on entertainment value through its use of the latest and powerful effects technology. My deepest concern is whether most can “separate style from content” in a critical way. I like a good chocolate bar once in a while, but you can not live on it; it nourishes neither the body nor the soul.

Clikc here for the complete story:  Vatican Says Avatar No Masterpiece