Unpop Culture

“Patience is a virtue.” Now there’s a cliché that should be avoided like the plague. Er…yeah. I guess the saying “patience is a virtue” is a cliché because most people are prone to minimize its importance. At least, I know I am. In all honesty, patience is something I have consistently refused to cultivate in my life. Now, in His providence, God has declared my refusal to no longer be an option. If I was God and I looked at Cap, I would say, “Oh gee, he’s having trouble trusting me. I think I’ll make things easier for him.” That would be the extent of my “wisdom.” God’s wisdom, however, is exhaustive. And based on a gazillion factors I can’t readily see (and may never readily see), He has decided to make things worse. I’ve been suffering from a particular physical ailment for the past couple years or so. It might be a form of psoriasis, although it doesn’t exactly fit the dictionary definition of that particular disease. I have yet to visit a doctor for a diagnosis because of insurance...

I saw this movie on opening weekend (I just haven’t had a chance to complete a review until now). I mean, why not? I’m a big fan of Harrison Ford, I’m a big fan of suspense thrillers, and I really liked the trailer. Unfortunately, I was rather disappointed with the actual movie. If I had to sum up the film in one word it would be “predictable.” That’s a problem, because Firewall is meant to thrive on keeping the viewer in suspense. The movie isn’t boring, but it’s hard to be emotionally involved in a story where you can always tell what’s coming next. For those not familiar with the plot: Harrison Ford stars as Jack Stanfield, the head of security for a bank that’s on the brink of a merger. Jack’s not the biggest fan of this business move, but that soon becomes the least of his worries. It’s not long before he meets businessman Bill Cox (Paul Bettany). It turns out that Bill’s associates have infiltrated Jack’s house and have taken his family hostage. In exchange for his family’s lif...

On Monday I posted about my struggles in trusting God’s providence. Shortly thereafter I came across an mp3 file I had downloaded from the New Attitude website but had forgotten to listen to. It’s a message by Bruce Ware entitled, “Why Do We Trust God?” The message was outstanding! Mr. Ware described how there are three legs to the stool of faith: (1) God is all-powerful, (2) God is all-wise and (3) God is all-loving. God is all-powerful . Some say God does have power but He has chosen not to use much of it because He has given us power and He doesn’t want to interfere with it. Daniel 4:35 tells us otherwise: “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing [in other words, what can all the inhabitants do to inhibit the power of God being exercised? Nothing!]; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’” God’s power is undiminished. If He chooses to act, nothing ca...

When I got back from my lunch break today, there was still some snow melting on a few of the cars parked outside the station. I decided to make a snowball and wreak havoc on some poor helpless soul inside. As I headed indoors, I knew I had to be selective in acquiring a target. After all, radio stations have a lot of equipment that requires electricity. Snow and electricity don’t mix well. My best bet was to ambush someone in the hallway. Unfortunately, the victim I chose caught wind of my intentions (I guess me running towards him with a battle cry tipped him off) and he dashed into the safety of a room filled with expensive equipment. Not an expression of mature masculinity, in my opinion. I then decided to attack whoever was in the kitchen—one of the other few places to safely dispense snow projectiles without ruining company property. Alas and alack, no one was in the kitchen. The next best thing to do was wait. Shaun, the nighttime DJ for Love 89, doesn’t come in until mid-afterno...

This is probably going to come back and bite me in the rump later, but what the hey? While watching my two-year-old niece yesterday, I was reminded of an interesting truth: I cry in movies. In fact, I am most likely to cry watching children’s movies. Why? I have no earthly clue. Well, I do have an hypothesis. It may have all started back in 1989, when I saw The Bear in theaters. I cried through the entire thing. Somehow, in some way, a gateway was opened that night and I have never been the same. So my niece wanted to watch Beauty and the Beast , which I haven’t seen in years. She loved it, I loved it. She laughed, I cried. She kept asking me to explain what was happening in the movie and I’d open my mouth to answer, only to find myself choked up. I’m telling you, I’m more likely to weep during Homeward Bound —the ultimate tearjerker—than a more serious film like Schindler's List . There’s just something about the innocence of a children’s story that makes all tragedies (l...