iaian7 - blog

On the art of writing, and Twitter

John Einselen — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 22:23:22 GMT

140 characters demands of an author a certain degree of terse eloquence. Regrettably, it often ends as merely terse; eloquence forgotten. – @iaian7

Such grievous pomposity aside (who quotes themselves so brashly?), it’s an important topic as communication moves online, and oratory fades.

I often wonder if in the pursuit of brevity and clarity, Twitter’s limitations could spur greater creativity, or even mastery of a language?

While one might decry (and rightly so) the short-form nature of the internet’s vast inanity, does the meticulous word play prove profitable?

Far more should be said, but as show of form I’ve kept these paragraphs precisely 140 characters. Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

New server

John Einselen — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:30:08 GMT

Maybe not much of a visible change, but I’m switching the site over to a new host. GoDaddy has been surprisingly good (especially considering the price I paid and the amount of traffic this site generates), but it’s time to consolidate my hosting plans, and I need a server that supports IMAP. GoDaddy doesn’t, and the IMAP access at HostNine isn’t remotely reliable (host for my other sites, such as symboleffects.com, johneinselen.com, and greenteadiary.com). At the suggestion of Ryan Keberly (The Snowsuit Effort) I’m giving DreamHost a try.

Iaian7.com will have some downtime this weekend, but should be back up and running by Tuesday!

Trailers

John Einselen — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 02:43:35 GMT

Rian Johnson’s first full length film, Brick, made waves. It was a dark, brutal film noir based on, and filmed in, his old highschool – it also contained no foul language. Rian’s next film stars Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, and Rinko Kikuchi, in The Brothers Bloom. The trailers released so far hint at a similarly incredible mix; old-world characters, style, and panache, in a completely modern-world setting. I cannot recommend it enough, check out the latest international trailer on Apple.com!

Two foreign films have released trailers recently; The Lemon Tree is about a Palestinian widow and the Israeli official next door; the story, and performances, have won international accolades already. In Departures, a musician accidentally discovers (and grows to appreciate) the Japanese traditions of funeral preparation, in what is called an “astonishingly beautiful” and “sometimes comical” look at sacred Japanese heritage.

How could I not mention the long string of teasers and trailers for the upcoming Star Trek? While I’m still unsure of how it will all come together, there are some great actors involved (Zachary Quinto of the TV show Heroes and Simon Pegg of Shaun of the Dead,), and it promises to be a fantastic adventure ride.

On the animation front, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and Astro Boy have both released trailers. Neither look likely to deliver the depth or richness of a Pixar film, and the latter seems to be milking the colours salmon-pink and cornflower-blue for more than they’re worth. I suppose I’m not the target audience here, but all the same, I’d rather kids see something of cinematic value (I probably shouldn’t be that harsh; Astro Boy has a chance at being good, and has had the decency to hop on the retro bandwagon).

Lastly, for fans of Office Space; director Mike Judge is tackling the workplace yet again, with the upcoming film Extract (fair warning; there’s a bit of language and even drug use in the trailer). Is it just me, or does Jason Bateman actually remind you of Ron Livingston in the former film?

Children's Heart

John Einselen — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 03:13:05 GMT

Years ago in Indiana, I had the immense pleasure of learning from and working with the talented director Arthur Rasco. In 2005 his short film No Greater Love won awards across the country, including the International Family Film Festival: Best Dramatic Short and San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival: Best of Festival (visit Ideal Images Entertainment for more on the film). He has a gift and passion for understanding a culture, even speaking the language, while working on productions like this. The past few years he’s been working with Samaritan’s Purse, travelling all over the world.

Well, he’s at it again; a new television series about the Children’s Heart Project! Started in 1997 to save two children in Bosnia with heart defects, the medical efforts of CHP quickly expanded to include Uganda, Nigeria, Mongolia, Honduras, and Kosovo; bringing children to the US for treatment, and providing state-of-the-art training and equipment overseas. Find out more and get the episode schedule on ChildrensHeart.tv

Play the trailer »

Religion vs. Spirituality

John Einselen — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:34:28 GMT

More mature, insightful, and easily better read than myself, Sarah Wilson has posted an article this week titled The Deeper Side. Very interesting notes on the relationship between religion and religious rituals (which I’ve certainly seen as dead and lifeless!), and real, active faith. Essentially, the practice of discipline. Something I am sorely lacking, as any visitors to my apartment can probably tell you. Down to the most basic of life expectations, cleaning the bedroom, I fail. :D Discipline, like getting up in the morning (and the two are sadly linked), is exceedingly hard for me. Maybe someday I’ll grow up.

Today’s sermon, in continuation of the themes the past few weeks, was on… failure. Ever wonder why 120 people, after Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension, would agree to wait patiently for an unknown event? Sure, they believed the promise that He would send something special, but it was because they knew they needed something special. They’d all failed. And knew it. It’s easy to pick on Peter (having so publicly denied Christ), but they’d all stumbled, fallen, and failed. Of course, the story ends (well, begins!) with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus keeps His promises, and it’s not because we’re good people… it’s because He loves us. Like in addiction counselling, recognising our failings, and truly desiring change, is the first step.

In my life, it’s easy to look back and see failure… lots of it. But it’s also easy to think it’s not that bad, and presume upon God’s grace. This will, I can only assume, be the topic of next weeks sermon!

In the meantime, I highly recommend reading When We Have Failed, What Next? by K. P. Yohannan. Truly someone I respect as a spiritual leader, having persevered through countless trials, and yet openly talks about his failings – weeping at the chances he passed up to minister to the untouchables of his home in India, and urging those around him to seek a deeper relationship with Christ. The book is markedly human, and rather comforting because of it.

Pruning

John Einselen — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:13:06 GMT

There are some Bible passages that challenge me every time I read them, and then there are some that just plain scare me…

As a kid, talk of “cutting out the eye that causes you to stumble” always sent shudders of horror down my spine. While discussions on what true dedication means in practical living still come up from time to time, it’s generally accepted that cutting out your eye just means you’re flipping nuts.

While the last thing I want to try is some complicated exegetical analysis, from time to time I do post a little about my spiritual journey…

I’ve been technically jobless (with, thankfully, some hourly work) for a month or two now, and it’s required a lot more reliance on God, and His provision. Be it finding unexpected cash in the back seat of my car while searching for a check (which is a whole different story on the importance of tithing!), or the generosity of friends and family (thank you to all who have contacted studios, drummed up mograph projects, and so much more). It’s certainly made things a day-to-day discovery. I can’t just say I trust God, I have to mean it.

With that, come changes, challenges… two weeks ago, the sermon at my church was on Romans 6; always a formidable passage for me. If we’re baptised into a new life, saved from death itself, how can we live in the past? Well, I’ll tell you, it’s pretty darn easy. I tend to be a perfectionist, and even by human standards, I fail on a more than regular basis. I suppose it just goes to show how important God’s grace really is, but it’s also convicting – do I really let God work in my life? Change, mould, and build me into someone more like Christ? While the passage should really be brilliantly encouraging (freedom from what enslaves and drags us down!), it always seems more sobering for me.

After a week of wrestling with this, and what it all meant for me, the sermon this past Sunday was more than apropos; John 15. A vinedresser actually gave the sermon, discussing details of the job, and how trimming is required if the branches are to flourish and grow. Well, yeah, that explains the past week… my life is undergoing pruning!

And it’s been kinda rough. It’s not necessarily “bad” stuff, just things that distract me, take my time and energy, while offering so little in return. Pruning isn’t exactly fun, and while I should look to the growth that will come, instead I focus on the present. With such inner conflict, what am I left with? How exactly do I live in Christ, obey? Reading just a bit further in the passage, the answer is shamefully obvious:

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12

Love is the centre! It’s interesting, especially in light of my typically obsessive nature and neuroticism. Several months ago I started reading Victory Through Surrender, by E. Stanley Jones. A superb look at global religions, man’s relation with himself, and the unique solution God has provided through Christ. While I haven’t finished it yet (and can’t seem to find the book), there’s a quote from the warden of a mental institution I found especially revealing; when laughingly asked if the patients he cared for were “out of their minds,” he responded “Not at all!” The patients were very much in their minds, completely aware of themselves and so fully obsessed that they could see nothing else, trapped in their own self-centredness. The book goes on to discuss how people try to reconcile themselves with their selfish nature – either we embrace it, and decay (dying through our own self destructive natures), or attempt to live in denial (asceticism and the like), and fail. But through surrender to Christ, His love, we’re freed from our enslavement to self. It’s a thought provoking book, and as soon as I find it, hopefully I’ll also find the time to finish it.

Thankfully, this whole living thing appears to be a process. I’m just about the least mature 25 year old I’ve ever met, but no one magically becomes perfect overnight (perfection being a whole other discourse), but I trust that God will keep on working in my life. I’m human, and I’ll keep on failing… but He’ll pick me back up, dust me off, and set me right, yet again. As He always has. Not that it’s an excuse (and we’re right back to Romans 6!), but a reliance on His grace.

Trailers

John Einselen — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 04:51:27 GMT

There have been a couple interesting trailers posted recently, so here we are again – another episode of trailer reviews!

It’s rather impressive when an actor from the UK can so completely convince me they’re American, I never once question their accent. It was only just recently that I discovered Charlie Crews, of the TV show Life, is most certainly played by a Brit. Canadian actors, while holding absolutely nothing against them (how could I?), often seem to let slip their origins. It’s also possible (nay, likely!) my own dialect is just odd and random enough, I can’t hear how fake a british-american accent is, while still delusionally believing I can tell when a person grew up in Alberta.

But I digress, this is actually leading up to a trailer for The Escapist. Some top notch actors, and the promise of great action and drama. The irony, of course, is that Damien Lewis plays an inmate both in this film, and an ex-inmate in his series Life. Even more interesting, however, is that this will be Rupert Wyatt’s first feature length film.

Away We Go has a unique mix of characters. Maya Rudolph, of SNL fame, is easily recognizable, but I had to start watching it again before finally placing that distinctive voice with a name: John Krasinski. Goodness, that beard changes him… add in director Sam Mendes, and you have what I can only call an unlikely collection. The formula feels a little “done,” like an adult-and-married version of Juno, but who can resist an acoustic guitar and a mellow song?

I would be remiss if I were not to mention the slew of trailers and clips coming out for Pixar’s next film, Up. It matters not what the subject is, films by Pixar transcend technique (though easily the best 3D animation studio in the world); they tell stories that capture the hearts of viewers everywhere. Sadly, it does seem Pixar trailers rarely do justice to the movies they advertise (I questioned that Cars could have ever been a good idea, till I saw the film and loved it). On a positive note, Up already looks like fun, and given the track record, the film is going to be stupendous!

Other trailers to watch this week include Merry Gentleman, a dark romance with hints of comedy, and FAQ About Time Travel, which indeed stars a guy from the wickedly funny series IT Crowd.