Our Arthurian Summer

Posted on June 19, 2017 by awtraughber

We’re in the middle of an attempted summertime Arthurian renaissance.  I say attempted because it hasn’t been going all that well.  King Arthur and his knights are always swirling around somewhere in the creative, storytelling mix, which makes it interesting but not totally unexpected that we have arrived at such a Camelot moment.

The first attempt at summertime Arthurian renaissance was a few weeks ago with the release of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.  Aside from a few director-inspired flourishes, the story of an unknown king raised in the rabble wasn’t all that great.  Rumor has it that the movie was meant to be the opening salvo in a franchise, which I can’t anticipate happening now that is has only brought in $38 million domestically (though it has brought in $100 million internationally).

The second attempt at a summertime Arthurian renaissance is this week with the release of TransFormers: The Last Knight.  Does it look like a mess?  Totally.  I’ve only seen one TransFormers movie from the recent run (Dark of the Moon?).  It was utterly forgettable.  But look: Sir Anthony Hopkins!

There’s also some pseudo-Unicron imagery in there, but I’m trying to know as little about the movie as possible in case I actually see it.

The third and final attempt at a summertime Arthurian renaissance arrives the first week of August with The Dark Tower.  Whatever else the story might be (and it ends up being many things, thankee-sai), the life of Roland Deschain falls in line with the world won and lost by Arthur and his knights (here they use guns instead of swords).  If it’s done well, this could be the most-true of the three.

It’s funny: every few years we get at least two movies within two months of one another where the same story is told (the best example: Armageddon and Deep Impact).  This is not quite the same but still interesting.  King Arthur deserves to fare well, I think.  Maybe by the end of this summer he will.

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Entering the Dark (Cinematic) Universe

Posted on June 17, 2017 by awtraughber

Today I caught an a.m. showing of The Mummy.  It was either that or Pirates, and I just wasn’t up for 2 1/2 hours of pirate storytelling (perhaps later this week).  Brendan Fraser’s The Mummy Returns was one of my favorite movies for a long time (a great blend of humor and mystery).  Tom Cruise’s “take” feels nothing like that.  Which isn’t to say that the 2017 rendition of The Mummy is a bad movie.

Universal is up to something different this time around, hoping to craft a connected movie universe like the MCU or DCEU.  Here’s something of what they were going for and why.

The movie is dark, for sure.  That’s more of a setting thing that a tonal thing, though.  Some levity exists, but not in a “humorous sidekick” way (though there is something like an attempt at it).  And there is some universe building going on that doesn’t distract too much from the overall story.  (I’m really glad I didn’t have much exposure to spoilers before my viewing.)

The question at this point will be where the Dark Universe goes from here.  Lots of options, obviously.  There will supposedly be a new version of The Wolf Man running into theaters as well as a possible Bride of Frankenstein story.  I’m not sure how the performance of The Mummy will affect things, as it didn’t exactly break any box office records.

Still and all, an enjoyable movie: well-shot, well-acted, and mostly coherent.  I do wonder how well the sensibilities of the originals can translate into contemporary culture.  There’s definitely been a dilution of the brand over the last few decades.  Not a monstrous way to spend some of your Saturday morning, though.

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Song for Sowing

Posted on June 14, 2017 by awtraughber

One last post of recent Andrew Peterson concert clips.  It’s a bit long, but you get some nice conversation from Peterson as the clip begins.

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Doctor Who and the Doorway

Posted on June 12, 2017 by awtraughber

Here’s the trailer for “The Eaters of Light,” the next episode in the current series of Doctor Who.

This season, Capaldi’s last, has been underwhelming at best.  Which is unfortunate, as I think he brings a great sense of balance to the Doctor.  At this point, though, the pieces haven’t worked together to create a greater whole.  A lot of things feel like retread.  Nardole is a bit of a mystery.  Bill, who has the makings for a great companion, hasn’t really found narrative traction.  The vault started out interestingly enough, but the Missy revelation hasn’t quite pushed things forward well.

So the show has three episodes remaining, two before the dramatically titled “The Doctor Falls.”  We all know, of course, that a regeneration is coming.  At this point, part of me is asking: what’s the point?  Perhaps the greatest long-term weakness of NuWho has been its reticence at embracing the show’s long history.  Sure, we get fun moments like the return of Alpha Centauri, but the moments that point to moving the story of Gallifrey forward just aren’t there.  Beyond some (ultimately) weird moments and an amazing anniversary special, we haven’t really seen an embrace of any real long-term sci-fi saga.  Maybe that’s the weakness of short seasons of hour-long episodes coupled with built-in reboots every few years.  That and the only other major story arc, the strange case of River Song, was wrapped up wonderfully well a couple of Christmases ago.

There’s still a chance that the show can pull it off.  Capaldi, I think, deserves better.  Moffatt, the show’s runner since Matt Smith took over, wrapped up the best of this story with River Song’s exit.  What should have been a victory lap for him has been anything but.  Maybe “the eaters of the light” will open the door to something better.

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“Rise Up, Oh Sleeper”

Posted on June 8, 2017 by awtraughber

Well, I think I’m “done” enough that I can enjoy some summer vacation for a few days.  All of the necessary paperwork is done, for sure.  I’ll have to pick up some threads next week.  It’s been a good day, though, and an even better evening with friends and fro-yo and Redbox.

Here’s another recent upload of Andrew Peterson in concert through Creator Arts.  It’s an older song (but not one of his oldest).  It’s a great example of how well Peterson weaves together imagery from all across the biblical story, a great picture of how God through Jesus makes “All Things New.”

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Temporary Vocational Stretch Update

Posted on June 7, 2017 by awtraughber

The 2016-2017 winds down this week.  It doesn’t quite feel like it, though.  Instead, things are kind of heating up.  These last few weeks of the semester have been a blur.  Lots of cool moments: baccalaureate, the yearbook dedication (what?!), wrapping  up a great semester with seniors.  A few weeks ago, though, I also signed up for what I am calling my “temporary vocational stretch,” something I mentioned somewhat vaguely here.  Good thing that I was able to wrap up class with the seniors, because this new temporary venture has consumed a good bit of thought and time.

For the next semester, I will be serving as my school’s chapel coordinator.  Beyond that, I’ll be chairing a committee of people working through some transition at our school as we rethink some of the faith-focused aspects of our school’s mission.  It’s been a good challenge so far, particularly as it is pushing me in areas of weakness (like paperwork and organization skills).  I am fortunate to be surrounded by a great team with a real sense of mission.

So you might be seeing a few more posts about topics like worship and Bible study and such.  No guarantees.  After a hot streak of posts last week, this week has been kind of bare because of circumstance.  Things will hopefully pick back up over the weekend.

So yeah.  That’s my “temporary vocational stretch” update.  More as it happens, particularly as the new school year gets closer.

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“Libraries in the Kingdom”

Posted on June 6, 2017 by awtraughber

booksJamie Smith, author of You Are What You Love, started his summer vacation with a brief reflection on the books that have been piling up in his office . . . and life.  The post, which you can read here, ends with a nice picture of the role of books in this lifetime (and perhaps in the next):

A young man builds his library in hope. Each paperback treasure is acquired as an act of aspiration. A library is an image of the man he hopes to be: the canon he constructs is a standard of what he thinks he ought to know. It grows quickly, in unexpected ways, exceeding his attention. But there will always be more time to read, right?

A middle-aged man tends his library with a more sombre aspect. Reshelving a book unfinished is one more failure, a door one closes perhaps never to return. When I put The Noise of Time back on the shelf, I recall all the places Barnes has accompanied me on this adventure. But I see some of his novels still unread and wonder if I’ll ever get back to this corner of the library. In fact, it was Barnes who gave me a word for this: le réveil mortel—the wake-up call of mortality. Who knew tidying your library could be such an existential risk?

At some point you realize: I will die with books unread on my shelf. So be it. The grass withers, the flowers fade, the pages become mildewed and musty. So too will I.   Even those unread books are a sign of aspiration, ambition, hope. I’ll die reading. I trust there are libraries in the kingdom.

(image from pixabay.com)
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Ripping Off JRR Tolkien

Posted on June 5, 2017 by awtraughber

The folks over at Creator Arts have been posting a number of recent concert clips from Andrew Peterson.  This one got posted earlier today and begins with the song’s inspiration: one of my favorite moments from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.  This may be my favorite song from Peterson’s Burning Edge of Dawn album.

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Surviving Impressions: Bush Tucker

Posted on June 3, 2017 by awtraughber

Survivor.australia.logoThe most recent season of Survivor wrapped up last week on CBS.  It was a fun season for me, as I got to watch it with friends from church.  While I remember watching the first season of the classic reality show, it was the show’s second season that really captured my attention.  A big part of that, I believe, was the cast.  Sure, season one had lots of types and lots of tension, but something about the mixture of Survivor: The Australian Outback made it something I’d actually buy on DVD.  So, to fill the Survivor-shaped void in my life, I thought I’d revisit the show.

16 castaways.  42 days.  A location in Australia that seemed both desolate and beautiful.  Here are the things that stand out when comparing it to my impressions of the show from this most recent season, Survivor: Game Changers.

  •  Tree mail.  I really kind of miss tree mail.  It may still happen, but it doesn’t feel as if it’s a big deal at all.  Often, people just find things out when they arrive at the challenges, it seems.
  • The challenges in this early season of Survivor just seem more difficult.  Part of that is because the show was still trying to figure things out.  Any complications for the challenges were rooted in the use of the terrain (instead of fancy locks and combinations and puzzles).  Here’s the immunity challenge from the third episode of The Australian Outback as an example.
  • The show seemed to work at a slower pace.  I think part of that was because of the stated mission of the show: as much as it was to outwit, outplay, and outlast, Survivor was also about creating a community out of nothing.  And so shots seemed to linger more on conversations and walking to-and-fro.
  • The music wasn’t as fully-formed and codified.   Sure, you still have the main theme and the suspense note when the deciding vote is read.  But you also get some almost-electronica music playing during challenges.  And the didgeridoo is used often in this particular season, too.
  • Jeff Probst is so raw as a host.  I remember when I returned to Survivor a couple of years ago after feeling some “show fatigue” and being both surprised and impressed at his more sarcastic, intrusive tone.  It definitely makes tribal council a lot more interesting.  So far in season two, though, things are super simple and more about the words and facial expressions (i.e. angst) of the contestants present.

In the end, though, it really is a matter of the cast.  Even the “villains” of the show aren’t that frustrating (and nowhere near as destructive as contestants in later seasons).  You’ve got Kimmi, Skupin (he fell into the fire), and Varner (totally don’t remember him).  Then there’s Jerri and Amber, who were reality-show mainstays for a while.  But it was really Elizabeth, Rodger, Colby, and Tina that stood out as excellent players who really seemed to connect with one another and with the audience in meaningful ways.

The title for this post, bush tucker, comes from the season’s second episode.  The immunity challenge of episode two was the food challenge, where some contestants got to each candy bars while others ate all kinds of creepy crawlies (and brain) from the Outback (which is where Kimmi’s veganism came into play but didn’t get her voted out).  What you eat in the bush of the Outback: bush tucker.

(image from wikipedia.org)

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The Courage to Sing

Posted on June 2, 2017 by awtraughber

musicThe third and final section of Andy Crouch’s The Tech-Wise Family involves singing and showing up.  It is the shortest section of the book, but it still packs a punch with content.  On some level, the content of this final section is a bit more abstract, a little more difficult in its practicality for some.  The final chapter, about showing up, concerns Crouch’s commitment to strive to be present when invited to a major life moment of friends and family members.  He readily admits to the difficulty of that challenge, but he also bears witness to the joy that results from it.

The other section of note is about the significance of song (and the weird ways song has been displaced in contemporary culture).  For the Christian, of course, singing is intimately tied to worship.

Worship brings us to the real truth about the world, its original intention and its ultimate meaning, and our responsibility in it. And this is not just a matter of merely knowing that truth; we must respond with our whole being to that truth and the One who is the source of that truth.

And so what is a family to do, particularly in our world of manufactured-not-played music?  And assuming music can be present, what role does it or should it play?  For Crouch, a big part of music and singing involves courage.  Crouch:

But worship is actually more like a form of training— practicing, week after week, ideally in the presence of others who are further along in faith than we are, the exertion of our heart, mind, soul, and strength in the direction of giving glory to God. And Christians believe that God actually responds and moves in the midst of our worship: when we gather ourselves to offer him praise, he in turn dwells with us. At its best, worship transforms us, making us people capable of things we could never work up the capacity or courage for on our own: the ability to sacrifice, to love, to repent, to forgive, and to hope.

All of life, of course, is worship.  And singing can be a key part of that, a real means of formation.  It’s interesting to contrast churches where worship is a given meant to evoke emotional response with churches where worship is seen as a way of training the heart to see and feel beyond the present moment.

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It’s amazing how comprehensive The Tech-Wise Family is (and all while being a compact book with its fair share of diagrams based on data from the Barna Group).  The book exemplifies thinking Christianly about a significant-yet-touchy subject.  We are enjoined throughout the Bible to seek wisdom and good counsel.  This is the best example of that for day-to-day life since I was led to the Rule of Saint Benedict over a decade ago.  The handful of reflections I’ve posted here cannot do the book justice.  You can order your own copy here.  If you read it, let me know what you think.

(image from cambridge.org)

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