by Tiffany Lucus
The church I have been attending is doing a study on marriage. We are officially in week 3 of a 5 week study. When I heard about this I was excited to participate with people in a church environment. Marriage is something that I have very strong opinions about (especially after having a failed attempt at it under my belt).
By Brian Robinson and Ian Ebright
Brian: Anyone who knows me well knows that I am really not a nostalgic person. Every year, I abhor the lazy (we-are-really-on-vacation) magazine editions that recount the year. “Remember back in March with this happened?! Wasn’t that something!?” Um, no, and I don’t need you to remind me of it by printing a picture that you used back in March and calling that an issue. Ugh.
Unless you are talking about movies. Now, THIS is a list worth having! Why? Because with movies, unlike ‘moments’ (“Best Celebrity Meltdown”? Really?) you can always go back to watch movies, get a reputable list of them and make your own subjective decisions about how right or wrong the list may be. I really can’t tell you who is at the top of the decade’s top ten list of ‘Corporate Gaffes’, nor do I want to.
So, what follows is my thoughtful guess as to what the top FIVE best movies are of the decade. I can do ten of them, but really, why invite a fight?
Ian: As I’m sure is the same with Brian, these are not what I think are the most Important or Revolutionary (in terms of groundbreaking) films, but rather my favorites, for whatever reason. Another decade, another list. Let’s do this.
by Brian Robinson and Ian Ebright
Ian: It looks like Brian and I took different routes on designating the worst of the 2000s. While Brian focused largely on the most amateur or recklessly assembled films, I am tend to be more appalled by movies that seek or claim to be something lofty but go horribly wrong. With that being said, here are our lists of the greatest offenses committed against the world of cinema over the past 10 years.
by Ian Ebright
As we reach into 2010, with many of us hoping and praying for personal or circumstantial change in our lives and our world, I thought it would be a good kick-off to briefly think on some great quotes from history- in this case, words from Leonardo da Vinci.
by Brian Robinson
Well everyone, here we are again at the end of another year of movies. And essentially, it’s deja vu all over again to me; another year of wasted opportunities and half-hearted efforts from our friends in the movie business. Although to be fair, this was the year for all the ‘Strike Baby’ movies to come out. Remember there was a protracted writer’s strike in 2007-2008 that made sure we would all get poorly/quickly written movies delivered to us in 2009… and in that sense they didn’t disappoint. Most movies this year from “Hollywood” felt premature, underdeveloped and better left dead. But, that sure as hell won’t stop me from picking my favorite ten movies for the year, will it? It’s just too much fun to try to identify who went above and beyond every year.
by Ian Ebright
When I was in my early twenties, my good friend (and The Broken Telegraph’s own) Brian Robinson used to assure me that I’d need a personal organizer when I got older. He had his own at the time, and it was thick and professional looking. I used to roll my eyes and tease him for being too forgetful and rigid when it came to keeping track of all of that, and then I’d remind him that I, by contrast, had everything “to do” stored right up in my mind.
But since then, adult life has begun and it’s only confirmed Brian’s prediction. With the amount of managing that goes with marriage and parenting I can’t imagine being without a personal organizer (don’t worry- there is no huge leather-bound book with tabs in my possession. Google mail and calendar work perfectly). But sorting life doesn’t necessarily mean living it well. Marriage makes time even more sparse and parenthood makes it a precious commodity. What about all of the interests and needs that exist because of, and in addition to, adult or family life?
by Brian Robinson
When I told a good friend of mine that I was going to write a little about the state of American race relations in 2009 she replied, “Can’t you write about something light?” Now, it wasn’t a slam on me, race or racism and whether or not it exists in our country. It’s just something that most Americans just don’t want to talk about very much.
by Ian Ebright
I was a kid when Desert Storm began. My older brother was in the Army and stationed in Germany at the time. There was a possibility that he was going to be deployed to the theater (Iraq, not Regal Cinemas). So we were concerned, but at the same time, I really liked watching CNN’s reports from Baghdad and so I was a bit hopeful that he’d go and bring back some good stories. The TV, as you remember, aired those iconic laser-like bursts of green shooting at different angles into the night sky, and it all became a genuine thrill for me. I had begun not only to smile at war, but to quietly like it more than any Christian was supposed to admit. The fact that people were dying on both sides was of little concern; what was far more important to me was the fact that I was entertained.
by Ian Ebright
One of the toughest things about blogging is knowing how much to share. It’s easy to focus on external gripes in a world gone wrong, but too much of the blogging community has become an outlet for complaints that don’t serve a greater purpose. The other end of extremes is broadcasting every little bit of personal drama but I find that approach to be narcissistic. I have always intended this blog to be a place where I, along with friends, could be honest about our insecurities and struggles while also speaking loudly about important issues on the outside. That was a lot easier for me before June 12, 2009. That was the day that I can safely say my old life died.
by Tiffany Lucus
I was recently watching TV with my husband when I saw a commercial come on for a local carpet cleaning company. The commercial claimed that their carpet cleaning services were around for children, pets…and husbands. I found this peculiar so I asked my husband what they had meant by that. His reply was “honey, don’t you know, we are all just a bunch of buffoons that can’t do anything without somehow screwing it up or making a mess?”
My first thoughts about this were humorous; thinking that my dog’s poop and children require constant attention so messes don’t end up on the floor; since my husband does not do or require any of the aforementioned things I was still kind of at a loss. As I thought about it further I became almost sad. I was so disappointed that my husband felt that society had placed husbands as just a bunch of idiots incapable of doing anything correctly except going to work every day and collecting a pay check. Almost like a monkey performing assigned tricks.
by Ian Ebright
My friend Eugene Cho and his wife have just launched a nonprofit to fight extreme global poverty. I know that almost sounds cliche these days, when global advocacy and charity at times seem to be more of a PR stunt, but this is different. One Days Wages is a grassroots organization that uses social networking sites and community to address the problem of extreme global poverty in specific ways, by asking that everyone give one day’s wages on their birthday to an existing charity that the org is partnered with.
by Ian Ebright
I’ve had a hard time understanding why the American people have largely disconnected from our government’s torture policies and practices during the Bush Administration (some of which continue to this day under Obama, but that’s for another post). Perhaps it’s because it can be difficult to believe that leaders in our own country would explicitly order something so vile. Or maybe it’s because people have accepted the un-American argument perpetuated by Dick Cheney and others that torture was either effective or necessary, and therefore morally justified. Many people including myself have argued that those kinds of arguments are inhumane and demonstrably false.
I came across two articles over at Andrew Sullivan’s blog and absolutely had to share them with you. I’d like to point out that Sullivan is a conservative in pursuit of justice for the Bush administration’s offenses, so his torture posts (based on government documents and investigative reporting) cannot be dismissed as merely partisan. I’m asking each person who sees this to read both brief articles.
by Brian Robinson
Halloween usually leads moviegoers to ask each other the same question every year: “What’s the last really scary movie you saw?” This is the time of year we go looking for that elusive good time shock at the movies, and you can be sure Hollywood is ready to charge us for the opportunity to find it. And, as any showman will tell you there is nothing like a good gimmick. This year’s gimmick is being employed for the movie ‘Paranormal Activity.’ If you haven’t heard of this movie yet, I can guarantee you will.
by Brian Robinson
I don’t know if you noticed, but ‘The Russkies’ are back! Not the ones who have been trying their hands at a capitalistic society for the past twenty years, but those old fashioned hammer and sickle Communists! Didn’t you know that they have finally done what Lenin and Marx tasked them to do…take over the American government?! EEEKK!! They have wormed their way into every facet of our government and are here to eat your children. At least that’s what the loudest mouths on TV and radio are telling me. Isn’t it true that the louder they are the more right they are? Or at least, more ‘truthy‘?
by Ian Ebright
These are times when truth is more likely to be viewed as a nice idea rather than a prompting to take action. Truth and integrity are so often abused, and get used like an advertising slogan designed to win favorability. We say we value honesty and transparency, but there is so much scheming taking place to keep the truth hidden, watered down, and locked away from ourselves or from others. That is because the truth is like antidote to the poison of control. Lies are the last, best chance for people who want to manipulate the public’s perception of their selves and their plans. But is that sustainable? Will ritual dishonesty prevail?
