Space Enough, and Time

Being Mosby: The Lesson of Shelter Island

Posted on April 3, 2012 by awtraughber

second in a series

ROBIN SCHERBATZKY has been the more difficult of Ted Mosby’s friends to like long-term. Introduced in the first episode of How I Met Your Mother, Robin is the one who Ted falls for more than any of his other interests. She’s somewhat cold, overly career-oriented, and hilariously Canadian. She’s also Ted’s last serious relationship before he meets and gets engaged to Stella. It’s at Ted and Stella’s wedding that Robin finally steps up to the plate and speaks compassionate truth.

The Moment: Stella and Ted decide to get married on Shelter Island after her sister steals her wedding dreams but then breaks up with her fiance. The wedding is, of course, a rush, and the almost-married couples end up having bother exes there. In a moment of awkward confrontation, Robin encourages ever-romantic Ted to “get back to his real life,” that he’s “trying to skip ahead to the end of the book” and that he’s “disappearing into someone else’s house and wedding and marriage.” It was a good moment for Robin, a hard truth that needed to be said. And it’s a good first moment to see an important truth from the life of Ted Mosby. What’s true for a television relationship can also be true of life.

The Lesson: In a world that worships connection at any cost, losing yourself in the life of another is an easy option, a real possibility. And it’s not just a romantic thing. Any time something new starts, balance is easily lost. One of the blessings of my life in Texas was that so many of us were new to town, new to each other, and had to make some kind of life together. Life in Hawaii hasn’t quite been the same: almost all of my friends have had a long life here and there have been very few moments of equilibrium and integration (and believe me: I have had many good moments here).

How easy it is to lose our stories in the stories of others, settling for someone else’s narrative instead of making something new together. Real life can’t just be filling someone else’s shoes; it’s about finding new places and ways to walk.

For the first entry in the “Importance in Being Mosby” series, click here.

Posted in Television, The Importance of Being Mosby, The Long Story | Tagged How I Met Your Mother, Ted Mosby | Leave a comment

A Less Immediate Life

Posted on April 2, 2012 by awtraughber

LATELY I’VE BEEN READING the latest book by Anne Lamott. Her most recent memoir, titled Some Assembly Required, is a journal of the first year of her grandson’s life. Throughout the journal she takes time to interview her son, Sam, who is the new (and very young) father. In one interview segment, Sam speaks of his new understanding of forgiveness, how important it is but also how regular it has become in his life. Life in close proximity, an immediate life full of actions and reactions and mistakes, demands such things.

These days my life is far from immediate. I get a real-life glimpse of this whenever I hike with my friend Sean and his children. They are in constant communication, needing constant correction and sincere affection. Sure, there might be a hint of the “tyranny of the urgent” at play, but there’s also something very real and human about that kind of rhythm and reality of life. I think it’s a bit of the way that life is measured: rubbing shoulders, annoying others, seeking and granting forgiveness for things large and small. My daily life isn’t like that. While I have neighbors, I must do a lot of life alone. I’m not complaining here so much as I’m simply trying to understand it.

My less immediate life doesn’t pass the same way a normal life does. A day’s worth of life for many is what I get in a week, maybe even a month. The close proximity of spouse or children or siblings isn’t something that I have at this point in life. So if I do something that required dealing with the fallout of forgiveness, it could be days or a week before I see that person again. That’s a long time for things to fester or be swept under some relational rug. The closest thing I get to an immediate life is with my students, those I see every morning before school or throughout the day. And while such immediacy is nice, I’m convinced it’s not the healthiest. Slow death and slow life: both the same in this kind of existence. Like a life trapped in amber, really.

How important is it, then, to live a more immediate life? How do you do it when the rhythm of life doesn’t much allow it? What would a healthy version of such a life be like?

Posted in Books, The Long Story | Tagged anne lamott | Leave a comment

And So, The Cruelest Month

Posted on April 1, 2012 by awtraughber

APRIL IS THE CRUELEST MONTH, T. S. Eliot wrote at the beginning of his masterpiece, “The Waste Land.”

And so here we are, this first day of April. For the poet, April was cruel for its “breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/Memory and desire, stirring/ Dull roots with the spring rain.” April, it seems, is this strange mish-mash of winter and spring, new life in the remains of the old. I get that. Even in my own mid-30s kind of way, I get that.

April should be an interesting month for me. Lots of things, good and bad, are pending. Things with work and friends, people making important decisions. I’ve got two trips planned this month, one with the school to Maui and another to the West Coast for reasons I’ll write about sometime soon. And in the midst of that, I’ll be turning my next prime number: 36. So three things already frame the month for me.

The trick, of course, is to be awake and aware through it all. In winter we are prone to slumber, and so the early of April can leave sleep in our eyes. But spring is here and now and we should be awake for it. That’s my prayer for the next thirty days: to be awake, to pay attention. These spring days we can’t afford not to. And here’s a song about such a thing from the band Mumford & Sons.

Posted in Music, The Long Story | Tagged Mumford and Sons | 4 Comments

Song of Freedom . . . and Law

Posted on March 31, 2012 by awtraughber

MY FRIDAY MORNING started with an interesting discussion with a student about the works and thoughts of Dostoyevsky. Since I didn’t know much more than the average English major on the topic, we ended up discussing the strange relationship between the law and freedom in the Christian life. The student was trying to understand why always seem to return to the side of law, even though we have experienced freedom in Jesus.

During the conversation, I mentioned a song by Derek Webb. Hours later, though, I thought of an even better example of a song by Webb that deals with the issues of freedom and liberty in the life of following Jesus. The song, “A New Law,” is from the album Mockingbird, which I remember getting on a trip to North Carolina a number of years ago. Take a moment and check out the song below. You may not agree with everything he says, but he gets the thought across well.

Posted in Faith, Internet, Music | Tagged Derek Webb, law and freedom | Leave a comment

Shameless Promotion?

Posted on March 29, 2012 by awtraughber

HELLO. I meant to let others know about this new site a few entries ago: the idea was that I’d let others in on this when I hit 10 posts. I didn’t want a false-start blog. It had happened to be before, earlier in 2012, and I didn’t want to be a repeat offender. I let one friend in on it when I saw that we had recent entries that shared a title. Other than that, the word’s been mum.

So this morning, Donald Miller posts something about the concept of self-promotion. It’s an interesting thing: selling yourself to live. Something about “integrity” is at stake, underlies our misgivings about putting ourselves out there and pointing to ourselves repeatedly. Miller does a good job of acknowledging that in his own life. So, after reading his thoughts, I thought it would be a good time to invite you into this space. The plan is for it to last a while, to have some rhythm to it, some consistency. The plan is to get a little more personal in place (to move beyond television and movies), because my life is near the end of what I think is a long, slow turn around a very big corner. We’ll see.

Anyway, to those of you reading this: welcome aboard. Comment as you want. Let me know what you think.

And check out Donald Miller’s blog entry on self-promotion here.

Posted in Internet | Tagged Donald Miller | Leave a comment

Framing Device

Posted on March 26, 2012 by awtraughber

ONE OF THE MANY SMALL JOYS of Modern Family is the introductory scene and what shot makes it into the picture frame for the beginning of title sequence. It’s rare that a show would go through the trouble of making a minor alteration to a consistent and repetitive element. The only other show I can think of that does it is The Simpsons, which changes the couch shot every episode. But back to the picture frame.

The folks at the Daily Beast posted an interesting vimeo video that caught my eye (and worth being seen by many). It centers on a picture frame, and what the creators do with it is amazing. Check it out . . .

Interestingly enough, the creators of this video are current residents of Hawaii. They also recently finished a video of their trip to the Big Island of Hawaii. You can check out that video here. Great stuff from thestevenalan.com.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Hunger Games and the Importance of Story

Posted on March 25, 2012 by awtraughber

I SAW a former student in the theater lobby in my way to see The Hunger Games. When her mother asked if I had read the books, the graduate proudly proclaimed that I was the kind of reader “who didn’t read new and popular books.” I read new books. I even read the occasional popular books. But she was right: I had not read any of the trilogy of books concerning teenage Katniss and the post-apocalyptic land of Panem. I had decided about a month ago to stay away from the novels, letting the movie stand on its own. I don’t regret that decision at all.

My thoughts after sitting through 2 hours and 22 minutes of dystopia: If even one person (especially younger person) walks out of The Hunger Games and realizes that such a future should never become a reality, then the story will have done a truly amazing thing. That what I walked out feeling: how close we could be at any moment to a world where kids are killed as sport. I watch reality TV, usually what I consider the classier kind. But it is “reality” just the same. It’s a fine line: choice and coercion. And for all of the heroism of Katniss or Peeta, I couldn’t help but think and feel: they shouldn’t have to be in such a position in the first place.

Anthony Thisselton once wrote that history reminds us of what is possible while fiction reminds us of what is true. I got a good dose of some kind of truth in the theater. I think it was heightened for me because I had not read the story, because I wasn’t using the 2:22 to assess the damage a movie can do to a novel. Instead, I experienced a fresh immersion into story, and a sobering one at that. I felt the loss, the frustration, the hope, but also the pervasion of complicity that every single character in the story could not help but feel themselves.

I’m not sure if I’ll go back to the theater to see the movie again, but I know I’m not done thinking and talking about it. And I think I’ll wait til the movies are done before reading the books. I look forward to seeing this version of a sobering story told well play out. I hope others see and feel the same things I did.

Posted in Movies | Tagged The Hunger Games | 1 Comment

Two Things I Learned On Jump Street

Posted on March 23, 2012 by awtraughber

MORE GOES ON in the newest iteration of 21 Jump Street than car chases, drug busts, and shoot outs. The show-now-movie has at least two interesting ideas that it plays around with that struck me as well-handled after viewing.

The first involves Schmidt, played by Jonah Hill. He’s the guy with the horrible high school social life who gets a second chance to do it right thanks to the Jump Street program. Schmidt’s moment of truth comes near the end of the movie, when his partner tries to get him to see that he’s gone in “too deep” and lost a sense of his mission. As a teacher who started out relatively young (mid-to-late twenties), I understand Schmidt’s dilemma . . . and I had a solid high school experience. Something about the environment that is high school turns things around all weird. Identifying with students over institution is an easy temptation on the best of days, let alone on the worst of them.

The second idea that the movie works with comes early on in the movie and involves Jenko, played by Channing Tatum. Jenko is Schmidt’s opposite: great social life in high school but horrible academic career. And so when he returns to the schoolyard for the first time since graduation, he assumes that the social hierarchy of his framework will still exist: obvious jocks, preps, geeks, etc. As he crosses the parking lot, though, he starts to realize how utterly different things have become (who knew high schoolers could be both socially conscious and cool?). Soon Jenko finds himself invested in the science geeks. And its his alienation from the social system that helps him keep his wits when they are most needed.

It need not be said, but I’ll say it anyway: high school is a strange and funny place, wonderful in its own way. Whatever else 21 Jump Street does, it definitely captures that love-hate reality. It’s good when what looks to be a super-shallow comedy actually pulls off such a solid commentary.

Posted in Movies | Tagged 21 Jump Street | Leave a comment

The Wrapped-Up Dead

Posted on March 22, 2012 by awtraughber

THE SECOND SEASON of AMC’s The Walking Dead came to a conclusion this past Sunday. It was a whopper of an episode, drawing in 9 million viewers (which is impressive for TV both cable and network these days). It was the much-needed wrap-up to what I thought was a felt-longer-than-it-was season. I, of course, blame the gravity of Hershel’s farm for that.

In case you want a recap of the season, Newsarama has provided a handy “top ten moments” of the show’s second season. The countdown starts here. While it’s expected that the finale should have a number of top moments, it’s amazing how few great ones there were this season. Don’t get me wrong: things started off strong, but I agree with those who felt like the show lingered too long in one very obvious spot (which many not bode well for the next two seasons, actually). And the two big moments at the end of the finale were total teases. The one thing that was worth the wait, of course, was the revelation of what was whispered to Rick at the CDC. That wasn’t good news, of course.

A few days ago I mentioned that Andy Greenwald was reviewing NBC’s Thursday line-up each week over at Grantland. He’s also been doing a review of this season of The Walking Dead. I agree with a lot of what he has to say about the finale. It’s also interesting to see what his readers think of his thoughts. You can check out his column (with a sidebar linking to reviews of the rest of the season) here.

Speaking of those two teasing moments (lady with the swords and then the prison view), the showrunner for the second half of season two, Glen Mazzara, started dropping more hints about the show’s future (many of them in line with the comic book the show is based on). Turns out the prison will be significant for more than one season at this point. Not sure how I feel about that. You can check out an interview with him over at MovieWeb here. There be spoilers, mind you.

Is The Walking Dead a great show? Not quite. I agree with those who state that it has showcased moments of greatness but that it hasn’t hit a real and lasting stride (see Lost seasons one and two, in my opinion). But it’s still worth watching. It’s good to be reminded that television can still scare you, that fright isn’t something that only happens at the movies. But character work is important, and I hope we see more of that in season three. But more on my thoughts on this show later.

Posted in Television | Tagged andy greenwald, The Walking Dead | Leave a comment

Spring Sprang Sprung

Posted on March 20, 2012 by awtraughber

JUST BECAUSE you have two weeks off for spring break doesn’t mean every day feels like “spring break.” While I’ve enjoyed each day of my break so far, a good bit of each day has gone to more serious, solitary, or weighty matters. Not so today. Today was a day that felt like a break, even from the routine I’ve set for my time away from the classroom.

This morning I joined a co-worker and his family for breakfast and a hike through the Koko Head Botanical Gardens. I had not been there before, hadn’t even heard of it. It’s a two mile loop that is inside Koko Crater, which is one of my least favorite hikes ever. The breeze was good, the foliage was interesting, and it’s always a trip to be around elementary school kids. The dynamic is hilarious, encouraging, and maybe a bit tiring (and I’m not the parent).

This afternoon, then, was dedicated to the movies. I have a friend who goes every Tuesday, and I try to join when schedule and interest in releases allow. It’s also $2 popcorn and $1 hot dogs (on top of $6 tickets). It’s a financial blessing. And today’s pick was 21 Jump Street. While not a fan of the original show (and not a fan of either main actor), I knew that the reviews were good and that I needed a laugh. It was worth the price of admission. While I found most of the best jokes to be from the trailer, there were still some quality moments (both dramatic and silly). The acting worked well, too. I’ll post some thoughts on the movie’s content soon and separately.

And so the last week of break continues tomorrow. It’s designated as my “blood donation” day. I haven’t been in a while. The receptionist at the Blood Bank said that basic cell carcinoma treatment wouldn’t be a problem, so I’m heading down in the morning. A little church in the evening and maybe dinner with a friend should add a nice end to the day.

Spring has sprung, and the break will be over before I know it.

Posted in Movies | Tagged 21 Jump Street, Koko Crater | Leave a comment