in the open space: God & culture

During a rushed and hushed pow-wow while Fake Locke/Smoke Monster/Man in Black is off talking with Jack, Sawyer fills Hurley in on his plans to escape Fake Locke and get off the island. Hurley asks if they’re going to tell Sun about those plans, and Sawyer indicates Kate is already taking care of that. Hurley: What about Sayid? Sawyer looks over at Sayid, who’s sitting by himself, his eyes blank and, well, souless. Sawyer: Sayid ain’t invited. He’s gone over the Dark Side. Hurley: Yeah, but you can always bring people back from the Dark Side. I mean, Anakin— Sawyer looks at Hurley likes he’s crazy. Sawyer: Who the hell’s Anakin? This scene is from “The Last Recruit,” one of the final episodes left in the story that is Lost . It was a rapidly paced episode that reminded me of a chessboard approaching endgame , when after eons of strategic preparation pieces are now flying around and off the board in preparation for the inevitable showdown. Among other things, we continue to watch b

What a wildly wonderful world, God! You made it all, with Wisdom at your side, made earth overflow with your wonderful creations. --Psalm 104:24 The Message If you have time on this Earth Day, read through Psalm 104 , an ancient text that (among other things) illustrates the intricate and impressive interdependence of this planet and its inhabitants. "We do well to marvel at the creation," writes Howard R. Macy in the Renovare Spiritual Formation Bible , "and bless God for the power, wisdom and generosity we see in it. It can help ward off complacency, self-sufficiency, and even a false sense of entitlement. We do well to remember that each moment, each breath, is a gift." (Image: mine)

In the recent “Upgrade” episode of Smallville , Clark has been infected by red kryptonite, which (as Chloe wittily puts it) turns the young yet-to-be Superman “into the bad boy every girl dreams of—in her nightmares.” Working with Chloe, John Corben ( Smallville’s version of Metallo) tracks Clark to the Fortress of Solitude, which Clark has just revealed to Zod. When Corben approaches Clark with a piece of sharp, dagger-shaped green kryptonite, Clark weakens and collapses. Corbin walks over and stands above Clark, informing him that “someone who cares about you sent me here to save you.” Clark sneers at him. Clark: And this is my lucky day to be saved? Corben (kneeling down next to him): Take it from someone’s who been there. We don’t always know when we need saving. Corben stabs Clark with the green kryptonite and his eyes flash red as the red kryptonite’s infection leaves him. Corben has freed Clark. Smallville is in its ninth season and was just renewed for one more—and scenes

Over Spring Break, the kids and I drove into DC to see the famous Madame Trussauds museum of wax figures. Heh, and what a trip it was. I'd seen photos of the wax figures before, but this was the first time I'd seen them in person. While some of them were notably wax, others were remarkably life-like--especially the figures of Morgan Freeman and Julia Roberts (below): Heh, when we got to the guy below, my 11-year-old daughter looked up and asked, "Who's that ?" But when we got to the guy below, her eyes widened and she immediately recognized him, exclaiming, "Hey, Mom! That's the guy from all those movies you like so much!" Heh. She's right. In case you are wondering, Trussauds wasn't all movie stars. It also displayed figures of presidents, historical figures and media personalities. Lincoln was sitting in the famous theater booth (with an empty chair beside him for you to sit in), Rosa Parks sat in a chair next to an empty bus bench that i

Every couple of weeks, my husband and I try to go out on a date. We hire a sitter for the kids and go shopping, take in a movie or go out to eat (sometimes all three). Last weekend, we doubled with another couple and saw (appropriately titled for the evening, at least) Date Night , a comedy starring Steve Carell and Tina Fey as a married couple whose own date night turns into a comedic nightmare of epic proportions. The film deserves its PG-13 rating and critics rightly peg the plot as contrived and over-the-top, but they’re also right that Carell and Fey are fabulous together (and I hope there are more films in which we can see the two of them together). As the film wrapped up, though, it dawned on me that it bore some interesting similarities to another film we’d rented a few weeks before, Couples Retreat , which stars Vince Vaughn and Malin Ackerman as a married couple who experience their own misadventures along with several of their friends. Not only do these two movies bear simil

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been asked by more than one person what it is about Lost that attracts me and so many others. Why, they ask, are you so enthralled by a series about a bunch of people who crash land on a mysterious island besot by smoke monsters, polar bears, electromagnetic fields and many other forms of weirdness? I’ve thought awhile about it, and while there are many aspects of the six-season-long series that are critically noteworthy (from its character development and the actors who portray them to the themes it explores and the skill of its storytellers) I’m becoming more and more convinced that a huge draw of the series lies in the power of story—in particular, the fact that Lost tells a larger or grander story in which individual stories take place. Story plays a powerful role in our lives. In our real-life relationships with each other, so much of who we are is communicated in our personal and individual stories—both those we share together as well as those we

We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise. --Paul of Tarsus (Romans 5:2)