Eye-Roll for Hollywood

First they came for the comic books. Then they raided old Saturday morning cartoons. Now, movie makers are going where Hollywood has never gone before …

Board games.

In 2012, Universal Studios will release Battleship, a movie adaptation of the famous Milton Bradley board game (now owned by Hasbro).

If you watch the trailer, it become obvious that this is basically a blow-em-up action flick, where the board game idea somehow meets Transformers or Independence Day, or some other sci-fi storyline with big honking alien spaceships.

It might be a fun movie, although I'm certain it is mindless and devoid of substance. (Not that there's anything wrong with that). But somehow I don't see forking over $8-$10 to watch it.

If Battleship succeeds, will that bring on a flood of new cinematic features based on board games? Sorry! Chutes and Ladders? Risk? Risk, now that would be an epic - you know how long it takes to play the game, can you imagine the movie?

I don't know that I'll bother seeing Battleship, but I might, if only to see if the script includes the line we all know by heart. Because if you are going to make a cheesy movie based on a game, at least go all out, and have Liam Neeson scream at the aliens saying:

"You sank my battleship!"

Rebirth of a Sunday Night Tradition

When I was young, on occasion my mother would declare Sunday nights to be popcorn and ice cream night. A family tradition from her growing up years, the big Sunday meal would be lunch. Supper therefore, was a lighter "meal" that from time to time would consist of freshly popped popcorn and ice cream for dessert. I remember Sunday nights sharing in this double treat, with the Wonderful World of Disney on ABC on television.

We've had a delightful weekend of a few classic live action Disney movies. Last night, we watched one of my favorites, Escape to Witch Mountain, featuring two off-world kids (Tia and Tony) with amazing powers and a knack for getting themselves into trouble. (In those young tender years, I recall having a silly crush on Kim Richards, the child actress who played Tia. Ah, youth.) This afternoon after church, we followed it up with Return to Witch Mountain. Finally, tonight, we declared it a popcorn night (alas, we had no ice cream in the freezer), and put in The Apple Dumpling Gang, with Bill Bixby, Don Knotts, Tim Conway and Harry Morgan. It has been interesting watching our boys discover that Disney used to be more than animation.

What a fun night. And a "tradition" worth continuing. Except next time, I think we need some ice cream. (It's just not the same without the ice cream).

Journey's Dawn

There is a strange dichotomy that afflicts me, riding along these open county roads. It is one that features both peace and lonely isolation. It is as timeless as the day is short, with nothing but the April breeze and the hum of 10-speed tread upon the asphalt. I am alone on the planet, needing to go not where I've been, but rather somewhere I have never been. I am stunned, uncertain how to react to the experience. I have to keep moving, but where? Up ahead lies a road I've never explored, and never felt compelled to survey. Until now.

I turn my eyes to the east, my back to the lowering sun, and take in the new surroundings as they pass by. New, alien, and barren. Remains of winter wheat rustle quietly as the slightest of winds brush across the landscape. I lift my eyes to the hills, such as they are (where does my help come from?). But there is nothing. I am alone on the planet, alone in my mind, and strangely calm in this most unusual of moments. Calm, but seeking, something. Anything. Answers to questions this newly awakened mind is unable to fully form.

Up on the left, a small building appears, standing a ways off the road. Markers are lined up in haphazard rows beside what is revealed to be a church. Lutheran, or so says the sign. I consider pressing on, but with the light beginning to ebb, and the main road that leads home out of sight, I turn in and come to a stop on the dirt lot 10 feet from what I suppose is the front door. The siding is weather worn and dirty, but the humble façade has a quaint appeal to this wandering soul. A cacophony of voices and emotions burst through my brain and just as quickly cease, as if they never were. No one is in sight, a realization that at first terrifies, as peace departs to leave only the isolation. I lean the bike against the fence, and walk toward the door, fearful of making any noise lest I be discovered. Irrational fear maybe, but caution nonetheless.

In that timeless moment, I stood silently before the door. I watched in wonder as my hand extended itself to the weathered handle with the thumb latch, only to be disappointed in the effort. Without warning, my hand came up again, knocking loudly on the locked white barrier keeping me from, from what I don't know. I waited and waited, but access to this solitary sanctuary remained closed. I am alone on the planet, but now, I feel lost. I bowed my head, inwardly pleading, praying to Someone I didn't know, a prayer devoid of words but full of need, and not just for myself. I sensed no response, no answer, no understanding. Just empty winds blowing across my face at the dawn of twilight. I made the effort, and maybe I was heard, but for now the burden was on me. Time to go.

I need to get home, before the darkness without matches the shadow within. There is a long drive ahead of us tomorrow, and I need to get ready.

"For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:20-21)

A Portrait of Me: The Key
A Portrait of Me: River Walk
A Portrait of Me: Journey's Dawn
A Portrait of Me: I Am Prodigal

Feel Good Post of the Day

Nice play, young man. Nice play.

Atlantis Arrives

And so it ends, in the darkness of pre-dawn, with far fewer eyes watching. Welcome home, Atlantis.


Not quite 42 years to the day Armstrong set foot on the moon, the U.S. manned space flight program takes a break - duration unknown. For now, I guess, that's a wrap.

Does Everybody Know What Time It Is?

TOOL TIME!

Twenty years ago this fall (20 years!), Home Improvement debuted on ABC. TVLand and Nick-At-Nite used to show syndicated reruns during the summer, but with TVLand now trying to produce new shows, and Nick opting in favor of other (less funny) sitcom options, I may have to resort to DVR to find the antics of the Taylor clan. Among my favorite episodes are those that feature "the guys from K&B Construction." The clip below is from the series finale:


Of course, the musical number that spawned this reprise came from a first season episode called "Stereo-Typical," which unfortunately I cannot embed. But you can see it here.

Good stuff. And maybe worth a timer on the DVR.

A Heartbreaking Fall

My first stop of the day once I sit down at the computer is Yahoo Sports Major League Baseball page. Every day. I check on scores, my fantasy team, and headlines of note. Usually, a little dose of baseball (along with a stiff cup of coffee) sets me up well for the day.

This morning, however, I was greeted with a story that cut quickly and cut deep. Perhaps it is my love of the game, or perhaps it is because it is so easy to identify with a father just trying to create a memory for his young son. I had to close my office door for a minute.

How terribly sad. Thoughts and prayers to the family, and especially to the son.

Godspeed, Atlantis

Weather permitting, the final launch of America's space shuttle program will take place tomorrow. As Atlantis awaits its moment on the pad, the retrospective commentaries have been plentiful. This is particularly true locally, as Huntsville is home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the heart and brain of NASA's propulsion technologies. Understandably, the final launch of Atlantis - and of the United States' manned space program for the foreseeable future - is sort of a big deal around here.

I am sad that I never managed to get the family down for a launch. I've always wanted to see it live, but the one opportunity we had resulted in a months long launch delay. For all the typical naysaying about the costs and benefits of the shuttle program, the fact that we have made the non-routine seem routine for 30 years is a remarkable achievement.

As for what comes next, it is hard to say. This article in the New York Times talks about the obvious consequence of ending a program: the loss of institutional knowledge and experience. Perhaps some of these will take on with private firms that will help usher in a commercial launch capability. Too soon to tell, I suppose. But losing that capability will have a commensurate cost should we ever decide to go back out there. Arguably, of course, the space program is still active, from a military perspective (the Delta IV is the current workhorse). Private firms are up and running, and NASA is still looking at a deep-space program. But for a while, there will be no launches, no missions to capture the pioneering imagination of the young, and the young-at-heart.

In the near term, any Americans going to space will do so courtesy of the Russians. It is almost a bitter irony, isn't it? They were the first, and while the greatest achievements belong to NASA, the Russians will still be there after we stop flying.

From the confines of my workdesk or the TV at home, I will be watching Atlantis. I will be watching when she lands for the final time following a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Godspeed, Atlantis, and good luck.

Losing Faith in the System?

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.—That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it; and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.—Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. …

Generations ago, the men we now revere as the founding founders of our Nation lost faith in the system under which each had been born, under which each had been educated, under which each had thrived, and under which they had ultimately been oppressed. At some level, they had to be seriously disillusioned with the hand they had been dealt under a monarchy seeking to maintain control over a distant empire. But they also had a firm grasp of an ideal - notions of natural rights and liberty that is the birthright of every individual. They had to have had a hope and a faith in the potential of such ideals, to propel them through a costly conflict that led to independence.

Modern generations, so we are told, are much less optimistic. In a doom-and-gloom piece out of the Telegraph comes a snapshot of the current "American mood":

With the United States mired in three foreign wars, beaten down by an economy that shows few signs of emerging from deep recession and deeply disillusioned with President Barack Obama, his Republican challengers and Congress, the mood is dark.

The last comparable Fourth of July was probably in 1980, when there was a recession, skyrocketing petrol prices and an Iranian hostage crisis, with 53 Americans being held in Tehran.

Frank Luntz, perhaps America’s pre-eminent pollster, argues that his countrymen are much more downbeat now than in 1980. “The assumption with the Carter years was that it was a failure of the elites, not the system. We thought the people in charge screwed up. We didn’t blame ourselves.” Remarkably, many Americans think things will only get worse and the good times will never return.

A recent New York Times/CBS poll found that 39 per cent think that “the current economic downturn is part of a long-term permanent decline and the economy will never fully recover”. That was up from 28 per cent last October. Last month, a CNN poll found that 48 per cent of Americans believe another Great Depression is somewhat or very likely.

Luntz has found that 44 per cent of Americans believe their country’s best days are in the past, 57 per cent that their children will not achieve the same quality of life, and 53 per cent that they are less free than five years ago. So what is going on? How did the land of the free, the home of the brave, … get into this funk?

Moods are cyclical, and people are cynical. There is nothing particularly newsworthy about that, nor this article. One paragraph further down did catch my eye, though, and has a ring of truth to it:

But Americans do not just blame Obama; and the national malaise is to do with far more than one president. “Every institution in America has gone through a collapse,” says Luntz. “The Church is not what it was, thanks to all those religious scandals, the media is much less trusted today than it was 20 or 30 years ago. Big business does not have credibility.”

It does strike me that we as a people have lost some faith in our institutions - government, church, and corporatism. This faith crisis goes beyond the notable scandals involving individuals within these institutions. People are fallible, and while we all know that, we still expect people to respect the processes and the rules that enable society's institutions to function. When the process is ignored, or bypassed, or otherwise unenforced, we lose trust. Trust lost is rarely regained. What may be happening now, however, it something far more systemic and as such, existentially serious.

In a must-read piece at Defining Ideas, William Damon writes of a serious decline in academic proficiency in the subject of civics. Students are being groomed to be "citizens of the world," rather than girding them with the fundamentals of a free society and the functions of American citizenship and the institutions we've celebrated for 200 years.

For the past ten years or more, virtually every glimpse into American students' views on citizenship has revealed both a lack of understanding and a lack of interest. An American Enterprise Institute study earlier this year found that most social studies teachers doubted that their students grasped core U.S. citizenship concepts such as the Bill of Rights or the separation of powers. A recent Department of Education study found that only nine percent of U.S. high school students are able to cite reasons why it is important for citizens to participate in a democracy, and only six percent are able to identify reasons why having a constitution benefits a country. The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) has reported a decades-long, step-wise decline in interest in political affairs among college freshmen—from over 60 percent of the population in 1966 to less than half that percentage in our current period.

But the problem goes beyond apparent deficiencies in curriculum or general disinterest:

Beyond not knowing what U.S. citizenship entails, many young Americans today are not motivated to learn about how to become a fully engaged citizen of their country. They simply do not care about their status as American citizens. Notions such as civic virtue, civic duty, or devotion to their country mean little to them. This is not true of all young people today—there are exceptions in virtually every community—but it accurately describes a growing trend that encompasses a large portion of our younger generation.

This trend has not arisen in isolation. Indeed, the attitudes of many young Americans are closely aligned with intellectual positions that they likely have never encountered first-hand. In our leading intellectual and educational circles, the entire notion of national devotion is now in dispute. For example, in a book about the future of citizenship, a law professor recently wrote: "Longstanding notions of democratic citizenship are becoming obsolete …American identity is unsustainable in the face of globalization." As a replacement for commitment to a nation-state, the author wrote, "loyalties…are moving to transnational communities defined by many different ways: by race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, and sexual orientation." In similar fashion, many influential educators are turning to "cosmopolitanism" and "global citizenship" as the proper aim of civics instruction, de-emphasizing the attachment to any particular country such as the United States. As global citizens, it is argued, our primary identification should be with the humanity of the world, and our primary obligation should be to the universal ideals of human rights and justice. Devotion to one's own nation state, commonly referred to as patriotism, is suspect because it may turn into a militant chauvinism or a dangerous "my country right or wrong" perspective.

Moods are largely emotional responses to our perceptions of our circumstances. Sometimes, those perceptions are on the mark; other times, they fall victim to a skewed perspective. In time, the national mood may very well swing back to a more positive and optimistic posture. The greater danger, however, is any further deterioration in the operational and philosophical understanding of the democratic institutions that have enabled us to survive as a largely free society for 235 years. If the upcoming generations lack both faith and knowledge, the decline of America as we know it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Future generations may well find an America that resembles the chains our forefathers cast off, leading them to form a new government.

Human history is full of such cycles. Moods change. Values change. Circumstances change. And despite the general tone of this post, far be it from me to even suggest that America is already lost. Far from it. The face of America may change, but the unalienable rights we share - the heart of the American idea - still beats within us. The future hasn't been written yet, and it is within us to shape the trends, if we have the will to do so.

We celebrate today, and that's as it should be. May we also remember why.