Comments for Mockingbird

Comment on Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 2: Let Us Now Praise Famous Toys (Transformers and Beatles) by Dan Allison

Dan Allison — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:02:32 +0000

I liked Mockingbird when I first found your blog a year or two back, but frankly these essays are getting more and more ridiculous. Less Christ and Kierkegaard, far too much Snorks and Transformers. You’re losing the point and the focus, so I’ll be doing my reading elsewhere. Sorry.

Comment on Ayn Rand Killed My Father by Caitlin

Caitlin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 20:04:12 +0000

Your father is crazy. Like you said, he relied on “a grandiose philosophical answer to a simple real-world problem”. The occassions you cite are not in line with Ayn Rand’s teachings per se, even if he was spouting her words. Basically he didn’t value you (or your mother). Rand promoted selfishness, true. But that selfishness means that you have the right to value what’s important to you more highly than what society says is important. His priority should have been his family, but it seems that he didn’t care about his family, otherwise he would not have acted that way. He interpreted it like, “Imma do me,” but you were right when you said it basically means “Love yourself”–with the extension “…even if other people say you shouldn’t.” I totally understand where you are coming from, though. My mother was self-centered, too. It’s very painful to realize when a parent doesn’t care about you. Don’t blame Ayn Rand; blame your asshole of a father. (Sorry for phrasing it that way, but I think you probably agree with me.)

I refer you to this: http://rationaljenn.blogspot.com/2009/09/mythbusting-ayn-rand-mommies-and.html.

Comment on Superman: An American Icon At War With (And For) His Own Legacies, Part 1 of 5 by Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 2: Let Us Now Praise Famous Toys (Transformers and Beatles) | Mockingbird

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:20:57 +0000

[...] both franchises had no promise of continued adventure. Optimus Prime, however, was practically a Superman substitute right down to his dominant colors and his stolidly do-gooder attitude. Yet his being a [...]

Comment on Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 1: Blasts From the Past Keep on Blasting by Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 2: Let Us Now Praise Famous Toys (Transformers and Beatles) | Mockingbird

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:04:48 +0000

[...] and cartoons (and a whole lot more) from Jeremiah Lawson aka Wenatchee the Hatchet. For part one, go here. Who knew Transformers were such an overt expression of Reagan-era sensibilities? Certainly not me [...]

Comment on Theologians of Glory vs. Theologians of the Cross: An Intro and Definition by Hello, May I Interest You in a Dissenting View of The Book of Mormon? | Mockingbird

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:42:57 +0000

[...] this to say, The Book of Mormon takes its shots at the theology of glory and the religious culture of works righteousness, and most of those shots seem deserved. There are [...]

Comment on Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Win? The End of Friday Night Lights and the Popularity of Glee by Robert Etheredge

Robert Etheredge — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 11:06:23 +0000

Thanks for this post David. I was hesitant to read it because I don’t want any plot spoilers but am glad I did. Like others, we started out watching 2 shows a night, several nights a week, but now, toward the end of the third season, we limit ourselves to a show twice a week or so and are dreading when it ends. FNL is, hands down, the best show we have ever seen.
Here is something funny. We just got back from a trip to see friends in Texas. We were discussing FNL with the Texans and thought that they being Texans would have loved it. In fact their cousin worked on the FNL set in Austin. The wife said they had watched a few episodes but it made her dizzy so they stopped. Can you believe that?

Comment on Mormon Than A Feeling by Kyle Richardson

Kyle Richardson — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 04:29:33 +0000

“Through a variety of psychological neo-mystical palliative guilt management Oprahisms, the former can be effectively numbed, thus convincing the unwitting person that the erosion of hope and growing despair is one of the mysteries of life.”

This sentence is pure 24k gold

Comment on Hello, May I Interest You in a Dissenting View of The Book of Mormon? by Jameson

Jameson — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 02:42:19 +0000

This is a critique I can appreciate, particularly since this blog has built up a solid reputation of not judging too quickly. Trey and Matt are comedic geniuses, but it’s hard to understand anything real when you make your living on absurdity. That’s something I wonder about a lot. When are we allowed to say, you know what? There actually are things deserving of reverence. No one wants to be a stick in the mud…but absurdity for its own sake is dead.

Comment on Hello, May I Interest You in a Dissenting View of The Book of Mormon? by david babikow

david babikow — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:13:24 +0000

Following a great Podcast by PZ which laments much the same thing, this post is why Mockingbird is the first read of the day. Amen!

Comment on Another Week Ends: Impoverished Wills, more Filter Bubbles, Tree of Life, Super 8, True Selves, Bobby Fischer by MargaretE

MargaretE — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:40:20 +0000

I loved it, too, but wish I’d been more thorough in my research before going. All the comparisons to “ET” and references to “youthful innocence” let me to believe it was okay for my 10 year old daughter. (I am always desperate for a movie we can both love that doesn’t feature animated characters!). She was absolutely terrified (covered her eyes through half the movie) and I was mortified by all the profanity (which, frankly, seemed a bit gratuitous to me). Oh well… live and learn. A beautiful film, nevertheless.

Comment on Mormon Than A Feeling by Hello, May I Interest You in a Dissenting View of The Book of Mormon? | Mockingbird

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:24:50 +0000

[...] Their message is as silly and non-serious, and unengaged with reality of suffering people, as they themselves are. Doubtless this is how many Christians are perceived as well, but, being a Christian myself, [...]

Comment on Hello, May I Interest You in a Dissenting View of The Book of Mormon? by MargaretE

MargaretE — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 20:20:48 +0000

Amen! I watched the “I Believe” number on the Tony’s last night with my nine-year-old daughter by my side. I was thrilled that she recognized the homage to “I Have Confidence” from The Sound of Music… but not as thrilled when she started picking up on the Christian commentary. I cheerfully told her it was all in good fun – just a joke – that these guys really liked Mormons, and all Christians, for that matter. But my words rang hollow in my own ears, even as I spoke them.

Comment on Another Week Ends: Impoverished Wills, more Filter Bubbles, Tree of Life, Super 8, True Selves, Bobby Fischer by Alex Large

Alex Large — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 19:04:37 +0000

It think the “little child shall lead them” is the key to the success of the movie. And it had to be middle school age kids, (not any younger or older) to be the main characters of the movie. They were the perfect age to capture and witness the truth of good and evil and love and hate. They were a great prism through which to watch that movie (and great actors too).

Comment on PZ’s Podcast This Week: The British Invasion by Episode 50 (!) of PZ’s Podcast: Human Nature | Mockingbird

Episode 50 (!) of PZ’s Podcast: Human Nature | Mockingbird — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:21:12 +0000

[...] will listen to Inge again, or Jacques Demy, or odd pundit Philip Wylie — or at least, well, Eric Burdon, or Axl Rose, or the Sternkind of [...]

Comment on Another Week Ends: Impoverished Wills, more Filter Bubbles, Tree of Life, Super 8, True Selves, Bobby Fischer by Paul Zahl

Paul Zahl — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 10:24:56 +0000

Having seen “Super 8″ twice now (and sure to see it twice more before it leaves the theater), I think there is something else quite interesting going on.

Turns out J.J. Abrams gave his young actors the freedom to make the ‘movie within the movie’ which you see during the credits at the end. He told them they could make it themselves!
No control, no advice, no supervision, no “direction” — just write it, direct it, film it, edit it, and make it.

That was grace in practice, an inspiration of no control.
How it pays off! At the end, when the audience is able to see the full movie that the “kids” have actually made, you laugh and you cry in equal part.

Freedom. There it is, within the odd, gentle, loving, absurd conclusion to “Super 8″.

Question: How come J.J. Abrams understands this so well and “we” can barely splutter it out without being slammed?

Comment on Another Week Ends: Impoverished Wills, more Filter Bubbles, Tree of Life, Super 8, True Selves, Bobby Fischer by Paul Zahl

Paul Zahl — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:51:38 +0000

For me, what makes “Super 8″ so touching is that it contrasts the Total Control Mode of the U.S. Air Force (right down to the connection with unmanned drones, via Nellis Air Force Base) with the fact that “a little child shall lead them”. It’s the young boy, and only the young boy, who connects with the (Nemesis) by way of Grace. Instead of a Department-of-Homeland-Security-type response to the Presence, sweet ‘Joe Lamb’ builds a bridge. It is the Natural Bridge, constructed from Grace.

Two other little things about this splendid movie:

People are comparing it to Stephen King’s “Stand By Me”. It is closer in spirit to “It”.

Also, the actor who plays the camera-store guy almost steals the movie.
He absolutely brings down the house when he reflects, “Yeah, I could get into disco again.”

I think “Super 8″ is probably a Mockingbird movie.

Comment on Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 1: Blasts From the Past Keep on Blasting by Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 1: Blasts From the … | The 80's

Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 1: Blasts From the … | The 80's — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 05:30:57 +0000

[...] post: Cartoon Nostalgia, Cartoon Revolution, Part 1: Blasts From the … Posted in 80's Cartoons Tags: 80s-cartoons, blatantly-derivative, budiansky, did-not, [...]

Comment on His One Regret In Life Is That He Is Not Someone Else: The Genius of Woody Allen by michael mercer

michael mercer — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:08:09 +0000

I have been a Woody Allen fan since Bananas. I think his most underrated, and devastating film, is Another Woman. Thank you for a good read tonight.

Comment on Another Week Ends: Online Echo Chambers, Deathbed Regrets, Dylan at the Cross, MJ’s Bad, Singing Spiderman, Penmanship Psychology & Seinfeld by Another Week Ends: Impoverished Wills, more Filter Bubbles, Tree of Life, Super 8, True Selves, Bobby Fischer | Mockingbird

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 22:47:32 +0000

[...] bubbles,” one that seems to take a slightly more realistic view of human nature than the last item we posted on it: [Eli] Pariser is… dead wrong, it seems to me, in assuming that [...]

Comment on Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Win? The End of Friday Night Lights and the Popularity of Glee by Jane

Jane — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 21:55:45 +0000

Oh man, I sent this to everyone I know- I loved this article and you put words to why. I wish more high school kids/people watched FNL because it does not shy away from sadness or suffering or pain. It makes our lives seem so much more normal. So glad you made us watch the first episode.