Merry Christmas!

I'm really looking forward to a break

I'm trying to see my work for what it is: God's good will for me right now. But I'm really looking forward to having a break from school (work) and school (education). Five days from now I hope to look back at this post and praise God that I made it through this week unscathed and that I am finished with this season.

First Tron Legacy Poster

Yes.

Sukashi, Episode 1

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

25 Years of Usagi Yojimbo

One of my favorite comics is Usagi Yojimbo. There are so many reasons why I enjoy Usagi. A few of those reasons are: the fantastic black and white artwork, the beautiful landscapes, the cleverly crafted anthropomorphic characters, the depth of historical research about feudal Japan, and the creative premise which has proved to be a wellspring of good stories.


Another thing that I enjoy about Usagi is the talent and graciousness of his creator, Stan Sakai. Stan is a guest at Comic-Con every year (he is 56 now) and is always gracious about doing sketches and signing autographs. He is the creator, author, and artist of Usagi Yojimbo.

In my mind, a good story needs good characters and a good plot. This is what I look for in a story whether that story is a comic, a book, a movie, or a TV show. Is the story compelling? Are the characters well-developed and interesting? Something that always seems to get in the way of this is a lack of creative control. TV shows often have a rotating cast of writers, most mainstream comics only keep artists and writers for 6-12 months before moving them to another project, and movies have the pressure of big budgets and the ever present, looming consideration of "the average moviegoer."

But Usagi Yojimbo was birthed in the mind of Stan Sakai and has been written and drawn by Stan for 25 years. Because of the quality of his work, that is something to appreciate. The story is consistent and consistently satisfying, even though it is currently on issue 124.



I thought of Usagi Yojimbo because I saw an article on "25 Years of Usagi Yojimbo." Follow the link to check it out. And if you're interested in reading Usagi, borrow one of my paperbacks. If you are interested in collecting Usagi, there will be a 2 volume slipcased hardcover collecting the first 7 paperbacks (the first 50 or so Usagi comics) in 1200 pages. This has been delayed until the Fall of 2010 and is up for pre-order on Amazon.


If you like a good story and enjoy beautiful artwork, you may appreciate Usagi (even if you don't ordinarily read comics). This may sound like an advertisement, but I promise I receive no commission from Dark Horse Comics or Stan Sakai...perhaps I should though!

Less Waiting, More Moving

Minutes after my last post, I got the call that we are closing escrow today and we'll have the keys tomorrow at 4:00. Yippee!

Closing this week...

Our escrow is supposed to close this week...any day now...it could even be today...

We've been doing lots of signing and waiting, and not nearly enough packing. Lord willing, we might be moving on Saturday. Yay!!!

Things Progressing Slowly

Things are progressing for our purchase of this condo, albeit slowly. We were supposed to close Escrow on October 26th (next Monday). The sellers are purchasing a property of their own and due to some things slowing that sale down, it looks like it's going to be around November 13th and we'd be able to move in around the 15th of November. Thank you to those who have offered to help us move. We'll still need your help!

Even though it's taking longer than we thought it would, we're thankful things are moving along!

AL & NL Championship Series

So who is excited about MLB's final four? Game 1 of the NLCS begins tonight and the ALCS begins tomorrow (unless it's raining in NYC which is likely). Go Angels!

Here are some cool logos to get you pumped:

Back On Track

One of the contingencies for our purchase of this condo is that the current occupants successfully close escrow on their new property. Yesterday I found out that their new property failed to appraise for the price they were selling it at.

When I had a voicemail from our realtor this morning, I thought it may be a call to let us know that the occupants are not going to be buying this property and thus, our purchase would be a no go. Thankfully, the good news is that they have worked something out with the sellers and we are back on track to purchase the condo (though we may close escrow a few days later than expected). I'm so thankful to God!

New Toy Story 3 Trailer

Click here to see the full Toy Story 3 trailer in HD (Quicktime).

Loan Approval

I found out today that our loan has been approved and I can't help but praise God. This is one hurdle down, with only one real hurdle left (the appraisal next week). It looks like God is graciously providing a new home for us!

New Doctor Who Logo

I used to watch Doctor Who on public television when I was a kid and even went to a convention with my dad and sister. "NERD!" Doctor Who is a long running science fiction show that began in 1963. That's a bit deceptive though since it hasn't been produced consistently since 1963. The show more or less ended in 1989 and a revival was attempted in 1996. However, the '96 crummy TV movie was unsuccessful in relaunching the series. Finally, the show was successfully revived in 2005 and has been produced ever since.

One of the things that helped Doctor Who to endure so long was the ability to keep the same protaganist and change the actor. The Doctor is a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. When he dies, his body regenerates and thus, the show goes on. In a world where everything is spoiled on the Internet and is hyped in advertising, "Whovians" know that the latest Doctor is going to die soon. That means a new Doctor and a new logo. I have a strange interest in logos. Well, this is the new logo:


I love the theme song for Doctor Who. You may have heard it before without knowing that's what it is. Here are all the different variations of the theme song from the beginning of the show to the present. The latest theme song is below:

Reserved Excitement

I'm so incredibly excited about moving into our new condo. But at the same time, I am not allowing myself to be too excited. This is not really a conscious suppression of excitement, but something that seems to come naturally. Where does this come from?

I'm about to get all psychological right now. Ready? Go!
I think the pain of disappointment creates a fear of experiencing that same pain again. As some sort of defense mechanism, we try not to set our expectations too high so that we won't be disappointed when things don't go our way. I suppose people do the same thing with friendships and relationships (they've been hurt by people close to them so they don't want to be close to anyone anymore out of a fear of being rejected, etc). I've never taken a psychology course. That's painfully obvious isn't it?

And so, I've said to myself "I won't allow myself to be completely excited until I have the keys." I'm not sure if this is really the right way to think about things. After all, my Father takes care of the lilies of the field. How much more will he take care of his children?

Today I'm reminding myself of the Father's care for us by reading Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I want to direct all my expectations towards him and the place that he is preparing for his people. Even if there are disappointments here, God will use them to make us more like Christ. He is using those painful things to prepare us for the day when the words "disappointment" and "pain" will only be used when we talk about how thankful we are that we don't experience them anymore.

1st Post!

Have you ever seen someone say "1st post!" in the comment section of a blog or website? I'm not really sure if being so glued to your computer that you can respond to something in less than a minute should give you bragging rights.

This is my first post on this blog. I decided I want to have a place to post things that is not as public as Facebook (I have far more friends on Facebook than friends in real life) and I can't handle the expectation that Twitter creates (I don't have something interesting to say every two hours and even if I did, I doubt I would tweet it). So a good old fashioned blog will do just nicely (you know things change quickly when a blog is old fashioned!). There is no pressure to post on a blog like this because A) It's fairly normal to post infrequently on a blog, and B) No one is reading it anyway, so who cares? One warning: my thoughts may seem more or less random but perhaps my mind is organized that way...or perhaps I should say it's simply disorganized.

I'm reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories." This particular publication has been rebranded to attract attention in light of the recent movie. The Benjamin Button story is simply one of many stories in this collection of short stories, which is itself a collection of two collections of short stories, one of which is itself a collection of 3 collections of short stories. So kind of like a Matryoshka Doll of short stories. I think the thing I enjoy most about F. Scott Fitzgerald's writing is his style. He has a compelling storytelling style that creates concrete images in the mind, and in a way that is usually interesting. Have you ever been reading a story and the author is describing the setting or the characters to you, and you think to yourself, "Oh, this is the part where he tells me about the characters and the setting 'cause this is stuff I have to know. It's kind of boring, but I won't understand the story unless I pay attention." Fitzgerald is fairly consistent in always being interesting by using metaphor and relating the character's experiences, perceptions, and observations in a way that is both abstract and grounded at the same time.

Also, many of his stories are hopeless, depressing, or have some kind of ironic twist or cycle. I wonder what a conversation with Fitzgerald would have been like?