Go! Fight! Win!

Well, howdy! It's me, Dave. You know....Dave? Goofy, crooked teeth, large nose...Yeah, that one, that's me.

One of the cool things about having a big nose: bushels of nose hair! If I could, I'd make a donation to Locks of Love every month, at what I like to call "harvest time". Of course, I doubt there's anyone that would want a wig made out of nose hair...

I know, that's in poor taste, on many levels. I apologize. Blame it on the mood I'm in.

The new season of LOST starts tonight. I'm trying valiantly to summon enough interest to actually watch it. The first season of LOST was amazing, the second season held up pretty good. It went downhill after that. It always seems to be that way. A great show can never seem to maintain momentum very long. Must be the running out of new ideas that kills it. Heroes was that way - season one rocked (well, except for the season finale, which was a real fizzle), season two was pretty weak, and now, forget it. Same with 24.

Actually, movies are the same way. Sometimes you get an outstanding film that does well and makes a lot of dough. They announce a sequel (or more) and you get excited. Then the sequels are lame. Matrix was that way - great first film, lame sequels, as was Pirates of the Caribbean. In fact, the only series that I can think of that held strong throughout was the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I love those movies thoroughly, warts and all. What an incredible cinematic accomplishment.

Well, I guess the first Star Wars trilogy deserves an honorable mention, but I still think Lucas deserves to be publicly flogged for that second trilogy, which I consider a "turd hat trick," if you'll pardon the mixed metaphor.

Well, we're talking movies, so I might as well show today's episode of These Are a Few of My Favorite Scenes, brought to you by your Favorite Dave. (edit: well, as long as I'm in the top 5, I'm good... please consult your List of Favorite Dave's and get back to me if I'm not on there... I'll send you some cash.)

Today's scene is from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It's the chick fight scene! Actually, I enjoy the fight choreography itself - it could be two dudes for all I care, it's a great fight. I label it the chick fight so you'll know right away what scene it is.



Speaking of awesome chicks that kick serious butt, I went with mom to an amazing school today in La Jolla, called Bishops. Incredible campus. Must cost a fortune to go there. Can't imagine going to high school there - I'm pretty sure I'd just walk around with my mouth open, staring at the place, exploring. Anyway, we went there to look at some of their rugs, so we can give them estimates for washing & repairing them.

My mom kicks serious butt.

And she likes my jokes! I told her my joke today about how "our country made history, finally electing it's first Irish President - Barack O'Bama" and she laughed! So cool. My mom could kick both those chick's butts in that movie clip, using just a tape measure and an issue of HALI magazine.

A funny thing happened last night as I sat down to read more of The Blade Itself... I picked up the Bible instead! Ain't that funny? Why aren't you laughing? Oh, I get it... the Bible is not a laughing matter. I see. Well, I decided to read from my favorite section of the Bible, which is John chapter 6 through chapter 9. I backed up a touch too far and read chapter 5 instead.

There were times when Jesus healed everyone that came to him - vast crowds of people, who came from everywhere wanting to be near Jesus, to be healed. Of course, these were the same people that were crying out for Him to be crucified later on in the story, but we'll leave that for now... There were other times when He walked away, leaving apparent needs unaddressed. John 5 starts out with one of those times.

Scene: there's this pool in Jerusalem that local legend says is a healing pool - that occasionally, an angel comes down and splashes in the water, and the first person to go in the water after the splashing occurs will be healed. So picture the pool, tons of people around it, watching, waiting for the troubling of the water, so they can race to try and be first in. Here's Jesus, strolling around, looking at all of these people... this is early in His "ministry" so people don't realize who He is and what He can do... they're watching the water, not Him.

But the point is, Jesus could have healed everyone there if He'd wanted to. But He walked up to one guy, had a brief conversation with him, healed him, and then left.

Kind of odd, ya think? How wild would that be, to be able to heal someone? If I had that gift, I'd head straight to Children's Hospital and get to work. Anyway, later in chapter 5 of John, Jesus explains His MO.

John 5:19: I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

I picture Him walking around, having a constant internal conversation with the Father. "Where to now, Father? What do you want me to do now?" God was directing his steps. "I came to do what you want done, Father." What a way to live.

Well, sometimes that meant healing everyone. Sometimes it meant walking away. Sometimes it meant raising someone from the dead!

I was thinking about death again today. lol, don't worry, I'm not getting all morose on you. I was thinking about this idea that the best definition of death is separation. My brother Bryan (for example) is fine wherever he's at right now... what makes his death suck is that he is separated from us, and we from him. Take it a step further, "sin" keeps us separated from God, and that sucks, too. The gospel really is about God dealing with the cause of our separation, so we can be with Him again, and with each other again.

OK, enough theology for today... you're getting a headache, I can tell. That's ok, just pop an ibuprofen and get some rest. You'll be all right in a bit. And watch that clip from Crouching Tiger again... that will restore your will to live. Or at least your will to chop at someone with a sword!

That's it for now. Until tomorrow: Go! Fight! Win!