Hey All!

This was an assignment for school, and my sis did it too, if you are interested in her ideas on the subject. My Mom got the idea from Dr. Veith's blog where he asked the same question.

Anyway....the idea is to say who the most influential characters (fictional, from TV, Books and Movies) are in your life. Good and Bad. And you also need to tell me why...please...

Good:

Anakin Skywalker: I know that most of you hate (or severely disklike) Hayden Christensen's performance in Episode 2 and 3 of Star Wars (I don't, but that's just me). Some of you have read the books (kudos to you!) and have gathered a better, deeper understanding of Anakin as Anakin, and not HC. Anakin was always meant to symbolize the struggle between good and evil. As an admitted Christian, I find it very easy to relate to him. He struggles to follow the rules, do the right thing, and just generally be a good person. As Anakin, he has a distinct sense of morals, such as kindness, trust, truth, determination, perseverance, true love, logic, peacemaking, not afraid to defy the rules when they are wrong, selflessness etc. And while he is still a sinner, he is allowing the force the use him for good purposes. As Darth Vader, he is a dark, distant sinner. Anakin is a perfect example of what we as humans go through everyday. We struggle to do right, or to fall into sin. Sometimes we do the right thing, but most of the time we are blind to the truth, and sin. Anakin falls into sin, but he, after some time, is able to see his mistake, and then tries to correct it. But he can't do it alone, it takes other people and the all mysterious force to influence him to the right decision. This is a play on how other believers influence our faith, as well as the role that the Holy Spirit has on us, to guide to the right choice.  It's also a description of the sinner/saint that is within us all.

Frodo Baggins: Frodo starts out as a humble, innocent hobbit, then through extraordinary circumstances must save Middle Earth. There are many connections between Frodo and many apostles or saints (such as Perpetua, James, and Peter) He constantly doubts himself, which is a show of his constant humbleness. He, like Anakin, struggles to destroy the Ring, or succumb to it. Just like Anakin, he doesn't do it alone. He has Sam, and Gandalf. It takes a strong character to actually do the right thing, because everyone can be shown the path, but many do not  follow it.

Samwise Gamgee: Arguably the best sidekick of all time, Sam strengthens not only those around him, but finds that by doing that, it strengthens him. Humans were always meant to rely on each other for encouragement. Sam is the perfect example of humbleness and perseverance. He is quite content to not be in the spotlight, and to advise others, but only when they ask for it. He is encouraging, and never gives up.

Peregrin Took: An influence of a different kind, Peregrin shows the transformation from child to adult. He doesn't necesarily WANT to grow up, but he must. This is a trail that everyone will face in time. If you follow Pippin's journey, he starts out as a rather childish, distant and unrealistic chap. He ends up as a serious (but not too serious), responsible man...er...hobbit. He finds the perfect balance of seriousness and fun.

Pschye: From C.S. Lewis' Til We Have Faces, Pschye is a girl who was not blessed with beauty. She finds that it is hard to go through life with her ugliness displayed on the outside. So many people she encounters are superficial, and will not talk to her simply because she is not "beautiful" on the outside. But she has character, something her beautiful sister lacks. Though she is not well favored, she is patient, and when she dies, she is shown for her true beauty. Inside and out.

Jean Valjean: He, unlike any other characters here, starts out bad, and turns to good. This shows that even the farthest fallen soul can be redeemed.

Unfortunately, there are more bad characters than good. I have two categories, Sarcastic, and just Plain Bad.

So....Sarcastic

Han Solo, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Indiana Jones, Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Elizabeth Swann, Mr. Rochester, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler and Archie Bunker. All of these characters are  sarcastic, sardonic, and just plain rude. They are blinded by greed, their wants and needs, and they are consumed by themselves.The only one of these characters that improves is Obi-Wan. While their quips might be humorous, one wonders if they feel anything at all. They take sarcasm  to a level it shouldn't be taken to, and they are perfect showcases of the depravity of man, not to mention their egos are about the size of the Millenium Falcon.

And just plain evil...

Darth Vader, Darth Sidious, The Phantom of the Opera, Captain Barbossa, Davy Jones, Baron Rodolphe de Gortz, and Captain Nemo. There is simply nothing good about any of these characters. They only bring you down. They have no good quailities, and like the previous catagory, they are self focused. (If you've ever read the book The Phantom of the Opera, he's no good..at least he tried to redeem himself in the movie.) There is nothing redeeming or rewarding about these characters.

Okay. So I'm done ranting...have fun!!

Jade

I watched this movie last week. It made me sick. It made me want to stand up and scream at all those liberals and anyone who is against the War On Terror. We need to be in Iraq. For the intelligence, for the freedom of those under tyranny, and to defeat those disgusting terrorists who want to murder innocent people, not just us, but anyone who doesn't agree with them.

It drives me crazy when people say that just because more people have died this year in Iraq, the war is not going well. The difference is the quality of life. When you look at the life Iraqi's have now, compared to what they had under Saddam...there's just no possible way ANYONE can say that we haven't improved their life over there.

Some people say that we never should have gone to Iraq in the first place. We did go in on faulty intel from the UN, but once that info was proven false, were we just supposed to withdraw and say, "Sorry, we won't help you. It doesn't matter that you are under a murderous dicatoriship. It doesn't matter that your people are thrown into paper shreders just because they said one wrong thing. We're just gonna leave and wait for another 9/11 to happen."

 Those who don't support the war don't support our country. Our country was founded on freedom from tyranny. The Iraqi's might not have asked for our help, but they needed it. And we needed the intel.

Those who don't support the war say that all the people lost on 9/11 don't matter. The people in Flight 93 sacrificed EVERYTHING. They sacfriced their lives, and their families. They gave their lives for ours. And there is no bigger sacrifice than that. That is what our troops are doing over in Iraq. They are sacrificing everything to keep us safe.  

Watch this movie. This is patriotism at its finest. We will never forget you, Flight 93.

Jade

I know, I know. I'm a bad blogger. Life's been very busy right now. I'm more often on my xanga. I'll try to be better now that life is more settled down...

As for a quiz...(my mom and sister got the same answer...and we couldn't be more different...that's something that makes you go hmm....hmm...)

You are a Carnation:

You are friendly, energetic, cheerful, and bubbly. You love being around people. Outgoing and talkative, you rarely meet a stranger. Others feel at ease around you because of your playful nature.

Symbolism: In Victorian times carnations were given to show fascination with another. They also symbolize friendship and whimsicalness.
 

Take this quiz....

Have fun!

Jade

Okay, so a while ago I acquired a xanga and have been mainly posting on that (the thing below is a post from it). Sorry. Also in the process of moving, so posts will be more sparatic than usual.

Don’t Rock the Boat!

How many times have you heard this phrase?

Has is ever stuck with you? Does it matter to you in your everyday life?

It never mattered to me until recently, Sunday in fact. Pastor Lucido (filling in for our Pastor Kirkeide, who’s on vacation), gave a sermon on rocking the boat, using the example of the prophet Amos, who rocked Israel’s boat of contentment with being just like pagan countries. I never realized until yesterday that our faith really rocks the boat. The boat of secularity. Our boat of contentment.

Many people find our faith offensive. That’s fine, they can have their opinion, but the thing that really gets me is that they say, "how dare you interrupt our perfect (haha) society with your revolting ideas!" While they shove their skimpy clothes, promiscuous, feministic, gay accepting, mass murdering (abortion), un-American worldview down our throats. "You’d better accept it," they say. "How dare you rock the boat!" and "Majority = Acceptable."

Okay. Rewind! Before you ask me how dare WE rock the boat, let’s take a look at society two hundred, even one hundred years ago. You’d be rocking the boat, not me.

And don’t tell me that women were forced to be docile, barefoot-and-pregnant-in-the-kitchen, subservient wives. Women played a major role in society and in fact, throughout history, many women have made a mark in history (a good mark, mind you, not like your feminist crazyheads today), such as Clara Barton, Marie Curie, and Dolly Madison.

And don’t give me your crap about women’s choice in murdering their unborn child. (If it’s not alive, as you all claim, then why do you have to kill it?)

Don’t get me started on discrimination of gays. You just don’t wanna go there.

Having a majority in something does not make that thing acceptable. If a majority of Americans were murderers, does that make murdering acceptable? If a majority of Americans were abusive, does that make abuse okay? Majority cannot equal acceptability, because if something is wrong, it's wrong. No shading the truth. (My little LD part of this post )

In short, you can have your opinions, but you have to let me have mine. And I’ll rock the boat as much as I want. (Ever considered that you might be rocking my boat?) No more docility in this Lutheran. You won’t brainwash me, I’m not content with and won’t accept your pagan beliefs and you can’t shake me with whatever you throw at me. I know what I believe. I know it will save me. Can you say the same about your beliefs?

So rock the boat, fellow Children of God. Dare to be different. (Like Martin Luther! ) Dare to defy sin and secularity. (And for my fellow Lutherans, Dare to be Lutheran!)

I double-dog dare you to!

(Thanks to Rev. Lucido for being a modern day Amos and rocking my boat.)

Now, comments please…::grin::

Jade

A new post! Finally! But, life's been crazy. SO....don't be too mad...

Three days ago I watched Munich (rated R for violence, language, nudity and sexual content). It was so different than I thought it would be. From what WORLD and nearly everyone else said, I thought it was a terrorist sympathizer movie. But I was wrong. So wrong. The movie is about change. The realization that the things that you believe in so strongly just might be wrong. The realization that revenge is wrong. The realization that you can't play God.

Judaism is supposedly a peaceful religion. Israel never negotiates with terrorists. They just take revenge on those terrorists. Murdering in cold blood isn't peaceful. Revenge on terrorists is the premise of the movie. In 1972, at the Munich Olympics, 11 Arabic terrorists killed the entire Israeli Olympic team. The movie is about Israelis killing the 11 Arabic terrorists, not about the Munich massacre (another misconception I had). This movie creeped me out, because of the joy and glee both the Arabians and Israelis took in murdering each other.  In the end, the main character (played by Eric Bana) learns that revenge is wrong, that murdering is wrong, and that he is no different than a terrorist when he murders them.  He turns his back on his country. Steven Spielberg is Jewish. I honestly think that he had A LOT of guts to do this movie. He is raising questions about his religion that makes one doubt the patriotism that masquerades as terrorism. He doesn't take a stance on it either way, but he raises the question.

Personally, I think this movie was really good, I would highly recommend it. There were a two sex scenes that should have been taken out, they didn't add to the movie, but the rest of the movie was amazing. (And the music is by John Williams, yay!!! )

Jade