i think for the time being i'll be retiring this blog and moving my limited time and energy over to weddingsongstories.com or davidcalvertmusic.com

check it out if you haven't before, but i'm sure i'll still need a different space for cultural reflection or theological tangents, and you'll find that here rather than there...

summer movies so far...

my wife has graciously agreed to hit up some of the movies coming out this summer... and when i say some, i mean 8 films.

this may be my last summer for the next couple decades that i can easily get to every film i want to see... soon i will be bringing my child with me. and, if it's a girl, my movie-going habits may shift a little. we'll see.

just as a reminder for any readers: a summer movie, for me, must have explosions and ridiculous visual/audio stimulation.

Thor - there are half a dozen comic-based movies coming out this summer, and i have to admit that the summer comic movies started well with Thor. now, when i say well, i guess i mean 'satisfactory.' Thor wasn't amazing, and it wasn't even great, but it was good. it served its purpose (to introduce us to the character for the Avengers movie next summer) and was very well-cast. the best thing about this film is the cast, in my opinion. If you're a comic reader, you will understand this: the plot of the film is like a 3-issue arc. Just enough to show us that Loki = bad, Thor = good; not enough for any character development or progression via dialogue. the 3 set pieces in the film are like each issue's two-page spread.
if you're planning on seeing Avengers next summer (which you SHOULD, because Joss Whedon will make this movie amazing even if the script is crap), then you should probably see Thor. if you can't see 8 movies this summer, though, i don't know if i'd say you 'have' to see it in the theatre... and, it's almost out of theaters anyway, so if you haven't seen it yet then red box or netflix this one, for sure.

X-men First Class - one of the best-reviewed comics films to be released, and the best-reviewed x-men film by far, and for good reason. whereas Thor feels like a 3-issue arc, X-men FC feels like a properly balanced 6-issue collection, sacrificing maybe 1 giant set piece action scene for proper dialogue and great interaction between Magneto and Professor X. in fact, Fassbender's Magneto is probably the best reason to see this film. If you're familiar with the comics origins of the X-men, then this film will be a bit confusing - the source material is used loosely, and in a couple cases not at all, but somehow it still feels ok! although a part of me would still have preferred to see the 'original' lineup in this reboot of sorts, i'm ok with the group that is put together in this film. i take exception with Darwin's short part, and the 'Angel' character, but the strength of the other roles definitely balance things out. Even Kevin Bacon's Shaw is great! if you have time, see this in the theater - but it'll be pushed out in the next month by all the OTHER movies coming out!

this weekend, i'll be seeing Super8 and Green Lantern... one has great reviews, one has awful reviews... but of course i'll let you know what i think in the next couple weeks :-)

current pop culture consumption

last year, my wife and i decided to jump in to LOST when we realized that it was only going to last one more season, and when i realized how much of a cultural phenomenon LOST actually was.

You see, i'm one of those people who HATE jumping on bandwagons, and by season 2 LOST had become one of those 'bandwagon' shows, and it is somehow difficult for me to imagine that lots and lots of people might be right about something, not just liking it because their friends like it but because it's good art. 

so, we jumped on the LOST train a little late, but we watched seasons 1-5 and started season 6 in "real-time," so that we could watch the series finale with some great friends.  i have to admit, the LOST crash course and then watching it with our friends was a pretty great experience, and there were some great stories told in the course of LOST. 

this brings us to our current TV show to be consumed... we have been watching Smallville. 

10 years ago, when my roommate in college started watching Smallville, i thought it was awful... i was such a comic purist that i was appalled that they would have so many changes to the established Superman mythology.  being a young snob, i refused to even indulge in a single episode, and would literally walk out of the room if my roommate was enjoying an episode. 

i don't think i'm as much of a jerk now...

sarah and i were thinking, since Smallville will end with season 10, maybe we can start with season 1 and catch up in time for the end of the show!

we came close... the series finale was two weeks ago, and we are halfway through season 9 right now.  that's right - we've watched 9 seasons of a show in just a few months!  9 YEARS of Tom Welling learning how to act, Allison Mack carrying significant storylines, and Michael Rosenbaum shaving his head. 

Here is my summary so far, in case you have never considered Smallville before:
seasons 1-5 = monster-of-the-week Buffy wannabe.  best reason to watch - Michael Rosenbaum as Lex Luthor. 
season 6 = now we're getting somewhere
season 7 = supergirl!
season 8 = now we're REALLY getting somewhere
season 9 = finally Superman is a compelling character, and chemistry with Lois is legit.
season 10... i'll have to wait for DVD!

seriously, Michael Rosenbaum's Lex is the only character with any real levels to work with, and Rosenbaum is the only actor who uses those levels wisely.  Tom Welling looks like a comic book character, but pretty much none of his acting has been worth it until season 9.  And honestly, once you can get Geoff Johns to write an episode (1 in season 8 and one in season 9), i will definitely take you seriously.  

and lastly - if you're going to jump in and watch ANY sort of TV show that fills several hundred hours of your life... don't let it simply become an escape from your own life.  watch it with someone else.  engage with the story, and talk about what is interesting - and maybe, you could even write something just as compelling, or find ways to live your own story well.  

renewed reflection

as mentioned over on my other blog - weddingsongstories.com - i have a lot of things going on in this season of life.  with my wife expecting our first child, i literally cannot know how crazy our life may be in a few months, and the past few months of pregnancy and prayer and life have been crazy enough. 

over the month of June, i'll have a sabbatical... intended to be a time of rest for me, since i don't rest very well. 

over those four weeks, i'll be visiting four other churches, seeing how they do things, hanging out with their worship leaders, and asking hard questions. 

i'll post a response to each church i visit here in this space, and link it from FB and Twitter... please check back and comment as i share my impressions... i want to be clear, but i also don't want to be a slave to my assumptions or misunderstandings, so challenge me as necessary :-)

reading confession

ok, so i had a few other things i was reading in addition to all of that other stuff...

i just finished Death Star by Reeves and Perry, and although it was interesting at points, it was overall pretty 'meh.'  Not sure what Star Wars book i might read next, or if i'll read either the Dragon Age prequel i bought or the Fable book by Peter David i picked up...

i also just read the newest trade from Justice League of America (which had some interesting twists) and the bound version of Blackest Night, last year's big deal crisis in the DC Universe.  it had some cool moments as well, and i was glad to steal it from my friend Andrew. 

and by the way, the Walking Dead TV show (sundays at 10pm) premiered last Sunday, and it was amazing. 

now i'll jump back into Churchplanter and Following the River as i sit here in the office listening to Derek Webb's new album, 'feedback.'

upcoming posts/thoughts

i like to read

mostly, i like to read theology and/or graphic novels/comics. 

i'm anxiously anticipating the end of Ex Machina and The Walking Dead (soon to be a TV show on AMC), i've been following developments in the DC Universe with Brightest Day and the Batman franchise... i also like to read the Xmen books when i can and i keep tabs on the general happenings in the Marvel Universe.  on top of all that, i usually buy the Halo trades that come out, and have bought the Ender books that have been made in comic form recently. 

While that stuff engages my creative story-telling side, i'm also reading things that challenge me theologically and philosophically. 
I just finished Why Johnny Can't Preach, after finishing Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns, and i had previously finished Radical, by David Platt. 

this little kick of finishing books got me a little too excited, i think, and i started a HUGE list of books, all practically at once:
The Words of Jesus by Phyllis Tickle
What Would Jesus Deconstruct?  by John Caputo
Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin
Theology Remixed by Adam English
Following the River by Bob Sorge
Heart of the Artist by Rory Noland
Church Planter by Darrin Patrick

and while i'm trying to read all of those, i'm trying to stay focused on Acts as we teach through that at GCC, so i'm reading a couple different translations of Acts as well as a couple paraphrases each week, sometimes daily. 

i'm not really sure what book to tackle first, because there are fascinating ideas in ALL of them, so if you have a suggestion of which one i should nail first, please let me know your thoughts!  and, if you've read any of the above listed books, let me know your thoughts as well. 
as i read through these, i'll try to post some of my thoughts on them.  I desperately want to post my thoughts on Why Johnny Can't Sing Hymns so i can get some dialogue going with some other worship leaders and church musicians i know, so that post is coming soon...

as well as some current reflections i have on adultlescence, or prolonged adolescence, or being rejuveniled, or any of the other quirky ways to describe a period of life that is now a cultural expectation for all young men, which i think i'm only now beginning to admit applies even to me!

stay tuned...

and, check out weddingsongstories.com as i keep posting things there as well...

music updates

the WeddingSongs album is finally finished!  i've got it set up on CDBaby for download, and hopefully i'll have some money in a few weeks to print some physical CDs.  iTunes should be up in a week or two, as well...

for the stories behind the songs, updated each week for the next two months, check out weddingsongstories.com and leave a comment!