Has society's creative run out?

I saw a preview for the new Where the Wild Things Are live action movie the other day and on the website where the trailer had been blogged about was a comment, which alluded to the idea that society's creativity has burnt out.  Initially I disagreed with the writer of the comment, but in someways I can see what they mean.  If I consider the last several movies I have seen in the theater (Slumdog, The Wrestler, Watchmen, and Milk) two of them are directly taken from a book or graphic novel and arguably the other two are not original pieces (as they were based on someone's life).  Consider all the big summer blockbusters that are lined up for release this year: Transformers 2, GI Joe, Wolverine, and Harry Potter.  There isn't a much original material there.  Even if story is original the characters are not as many of these are sequels.  I feel like now more than ever we hear about movies being remade.  Particularly distressing to me is when movies that were released in my lifetime are already being considered for a remake such as Karate Kid and Friday the 13th.  This practice is not unique to movies as I have recently heard about new police dramas and hospital dramas.  How different can they be from Grey's Anatomy, NYPD Blue, and ER?

The economy strikes close to home...

Ok neither of us have lost our jobs and our apartment hasn't been sold.  I did find out on Friday that the local small movie theater that is a 5 min walk from our place is closing down on Sunday.  Friday at work I was distracted and bummed most of the day.  I have heard of plenty of small local business, restaurants, cafes, and bars that have closed but the Parkway was different.  Even though we didn't go that often the few times I did go it really made me happy.  More than anything it was just knowing that it was there that made me very happy.  One of the comments that I read on a blog about the reasoning for the close was that they are losing money, because no one wants to go out after dark in Oakland.  I feel like that is a mischaracterization of Oakland.  I'm sure after the events of today many more people will be thinking that.  Interestingly I don't feel unsafe at all in Oakland.  Of course there are areas that I don't go to, but that will be the case anywhere.  Anyways back to the point at hand...it's hard to see a good well respected neighborhood business suffer the effects of this economy.

Lessons from the Point #3

While tutoring one of the kids in the Homework Room at the Point the other day I was asked a question I don't think anyone that young has ever asked me.  "Would you ever hit a woman?" the high school sophomore asked.  When I responded that I would never think to do that another student even younger (about 10) turned in disbelief.  She asked again and when the answer didn't change she asked me to swear to God, which I did.  What amazed me was not that the kids were asking me this question, but rather the disbelief and shock that someone would answer the way I did.  Clearly what seemed like the "normal" answer in my mind was not that "normal" in their minds.  I know I shouldn't be that shocked, because when I consider that this kids come from abusive families and addict parents their lives are a far cry from my own upbringing.  When the conversation turned to the recent abuse of the singer Rihanna by her then boyfriend Chris Brown the sophomore justified Brown's actions by saying that the rumor was that she had given him an STD.  I would have expected this kind of thought process from a high school boy, but this was a girl and she was very serious.  She said, "I would have beat her ass so bad if she gave me an STD."  I found this particularly troubling that girls in this community could justify domestic abuse on the grounds of punishment for sexual indiscretion.  I didn't get to make a statement that I strongly believe in that it takes an incredible coward to do what Brown did to Rihanna and I have no respect for someone that behaves that way. 

Interestingly the next day at the point I witnessed the development of abusive behavior as one of the young boys was making fun of a high school age girl.  She went to chase him and he ran under a table.  She reached under the table and pulled him out by his hair.  She then proceeded to drag him along the floor by his hair until she finally let go after being reprimanded by the lady who runs the HW Room.  In situations like that I know I should step in and say something, but I'm not quite at a point where I can discipline these kids as many of them don't even know who I am.  In any case I'm grateful there was someone who has more experience at the Point than me in that situation.  However, what I realized was that the teenage girl was very likely mimicking was she had seen or even possibly experienced in her own house.  The boy didn't seem troubled by it at all, which made me wonder whether he was used to this being the youngest in this group and also potentially from an abusive home. 

Tournament time...

I wrote a post last fall about the awesomeness of the fall because of college football.  My excitement for the fall is only matched by the second week of March every year when the conference tournaments in college basketball start up.  Unlike college football where I follow the teams through the whole season I get most amped up for basketball during the tournament.  Call me a fair weather fan if you will, but I just can't get into regular season basketball. 

Anyways I do think that the NCAA tournament is the single best sporting event of the year.  I don't think there is any other yearly event that can compare.  For that matter I don't think there is any other sporting event that compares.  Sure the World Cup is awesome because people around the world are into it, but it's every 4 years and more importantly they have a round robin stage.  Of course there is the NFL playoffs, which are yearly and are single game elimination, but there is too much of an opportunity for a dynasty.  Even more than in college football teams gain and lose key players very fast in basketball, because the players only have to stay on for one year.  I love it because for 3 weeks on Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon (for the championship) there is only one thing to think about.  People argue that they don't know the teams and the players, but that's the beauty of it...you don't need to know them.  During the first weekend of play (first and second round games) a few years ago we saw sooo many games come down to the last second. 

Well there it is.  My two favorite times of year: September to January and March. 

Do not fear death.

The HyWy and I were talking about a Thought of the Week she read recently, which among other things said, "do not fear death."  Interestingly we both had two very different interpretations of the thought.  Hers was more relevent to the thought as she had read the rest and had more context.  Mine was centered around the phrase, "do not fear death," itself and did not connect as much to the rest of the thought.

The HyWy thought that the reason we shouldn't fear death is because we don't know when it will occur.  In some sense death could be around the corner at any time.  When we wake up in the morning we don't know whether we will finish the day.  When we go to sleep at night we aren't guaranteed to wake up.  This isn't meant as downer though.  Rather it's meant as a way to live your life to the best of your abilities.  At the end of the day one should be able to look back on the day and think that they made the most of what the day was.  That doesn't mean that I can go to sleep thinking, "Shoot I didn't visit all the places I want to in my lifetime," because that isn't practical.  At the end of my day yesterday I went to bed knowing that while I might be unhappy in some areas of my life I was happy with all my interactions with people that day and there were no "outstanding debts" or unfinished business. 

My interpretation of the passage was that we as individuals do not know the full picture.  In our limited perspective birth is the beginning and death is the end.  However, we don't know whether there are other planes of existence which we will continue on to or from which we have come.  This life may just be temporary stop in a larger existence for my soul.  In the Christian belief structure there is Heaven (or Hell) and arguably those are the next planes of existence.  Similarly in the Hindu or to some extent Buddhist belief system the next existence is another physical form, but the soul moves forward.  So perhaps it isn't death that we fear, but just the unknown of what happens after that.  I don't believe that we simply cease to exist. 

The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes

On the plane for our last trip I started and finished an amazing graphic novel, which is the first in a series of 10 graphic novels (or 75 comic books) by Neil Gaiman.  The series is the Sandman series.  The premise in the first graphic novel, Preludes and Nocturnes, is that an occultist performs a spell in which he intends to capture Death.  By capturing Death he intends to force Death to give him its powers giving him endless life.  The plan goes awry when he gets Death's younger brother, Dream.  With that as the teaser I think the writing for this series is truly profound and goes far beyond what I would expect out of a graphic novel/comic.  As an aside I tend to use the term graphic novel and comic interchangeably.  I know there are significant differences, but in my mind at this point in my life they are very similar.  The drawing style is not as refined as other comics are, but I think that leads more focus to the writing though it could also be to force the reader to use their own imagination to develop a better picture of beings and places from other planes of existence.  One of my favorite lines occurs when Dream is trapped in Hell with his exit blocked by thousands of demons.  Lucifer comments on how Dream has no power in Hell and that he will be defeated by the demons.  Dream responds that the existence of Hell depends on the dreams of those trapped in it about Heaven.  I'm eagerly awaiting the arrival of the next copy from the library.