second night

There's only a handful of movies that I've ever seen twice while in the theater. Today, The Dark Knight was added to this short list. I first saw it a month ago with my brother and my parents while David was gone backpacking. I was worried that all the hype had heightened my expectations too much and that on some level I would be a little disappointed. This was not at all the case....it met every expectation and then some. After the credits started to roll, I knew I would be seeing this movie once more before it left the big screen.

This afternoon, I finally took David with me to once again see what I think is definitely the best movie of the summer, if not the year. Seeing this film twice has now confirmed for me what a masterful work of cinema it is. The plot is full of non-stop action AND intelligence --two characteristics that don't usually go together in a movie. The tone of the movie sucked me completely into the dark and mysterious atmosphere of Gotham City. And I know that Heath Ledger's performance has been praised ad nauseam, but I'll do nothing but add to that praise: I strangely look forward to every scene the Joker is in because Ledger has created a character that is mesmerizing to watch.

There's already a lot of talk about whether Christopher Nolan will sign on to direct a third "Batman" movie. However, I could understand if Nolan is somewhat hesitant...because how do you top something as amazing as this?

two completely unrelated items

One thing I like:


Fiber-One bars have changed how I view granola bars. My dear friend Rachel Blaine informed me of the existence of these wonderful food items a month ago, and after hearing her endorsement of these fiber-filled delectables, I rushed to Costco and bought a box. She wasn't lying, they truly are a healthy granola bar that tastes like a candy bar! And they come in a variety of different flavors, which I was pleased to discover while strolling through Target the other day. I seriously look forward to having one at work each day. Scrumptious.

One thing I don't like:

Focus on the Family, a Christian group I'm growing more and more disappointed with, asked their supporters in a YouTube video (which they now have pulled) to pray for rain of "biblical proportions" when Barack Obama gives his acceptance speech outside tonight at Mile High stadium in Denver. What's ironic to me is that today is also the 45th anniversary of MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech, a historic call for respect and unity within America. Forty-five years later, it doesn't really seem like some of the Focus on the Family folks understand this message.

of challah bread and a Savior

To avoid getting stuck in a 'reading rut', I made a list of different fiction and nonfiction books I wanted to read this summer, and I finished the first book off that nonfiction list this weekend--"Girl Meets God" by Lauren Winner. Winner chronicles her unique spiritual journey in this memoir that is a very approachable and interesting look into her former life as an Orthodox Jew and her conversion to Christianity. I knew next to nothing about Orthodox Judaism before reading this book, so in addition to having fun reading it, I also learned quite a few things as well. Winner puts a fresh spin on several Christian traditions like Advent (that have become routine to me) because she reflects on the meaning of these events both from her Jewish and Christian perspectives. I would definitely recommend this book, it was thought-provoking without being overly theologically dense and I appreciated Winner's authenticity in sharing her struggles and triumphs in her process of conversion.

Capturing the moment

Another awesome Olympic highlight: claiming the gold over China in women's beach volleyball.

The 29th Olympiad

The Olympics have always been an exciting time for me. I grew up with a family that considered watching the Olympics a must-watch nightly event for the entire duration of the games. I have always been enthralled by all the different back stories of the athletes--each has their own unique journey that bring them to a place where they hope to win a medal and make their country proud.

During these summer Olympics, I think I've hit the point of being obsessed. Obsessed with seeing the results 'live' (ok, well not really thanks to NBC's stupid West Coast time delay), which has meant that the entire last week I've stayed up past midnight every night to see who's going to win the gold in gymnastics or swimming. Needless to say, my boss started to notice on Thursday how tired I looked. But the bags under my eyes have been worth it. I've watched swimming, gymnastics, beach volleyball, diving, badminton, track, rowing, and yes, even the trampoline competition (seriously? this is in the Olympics?)

So far, the most exciting moments of these games have come from watching the women's all-around gymnastics final (I was ecstatic that our women took gold AND silver) and of course, watching Michael Phelps write history with his 8 gold medals. My stomach was in knots watching the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay---Jason Lezac came through at the last possible MILLISECOND to beat the French and win it for the Americans. Then there was last night's 100 meter butterfly race. Absolutely heart-stopping. The difference between Phelps' gold and Cavic's silver: one-hundredth of a second. The group we were watching with was all screaming at the TV and then was in disbelief at the photo finish. Some in our group did not think Phelps had done it. But the electronic touch pad doesn't lie...and Phelps won by literally the length of a fingernail. You couldn't ask for better Olympic moments than these. And to think, there's an entire week left...here's to more amazing victories yet to come!

the moon is a magnet

"Lately music has been my compass: it's neither the map, nor the road but a steady constant that can help me make sense of the both. Most of the time, the songs that I write are more honest than I am."
~Jon Foreman

On Tuesday, I went with my bro and his friends (I was the elder of the group...haha) to catch Jon Foreman's show at Cafe du Nord in San Francisco. I hesitated at first about going because the show didn't begin until 9:30, so I knew I'd get home around 2 am. But then my brother hit me where it hurts with a comment about me being old and losing my college vitality...so obviously then I knew I had to go to prove him wrong!

Jon Foreman is the lead singer of Switchfoot, one of my favorite bands, and during the last year he has released 4 solo EPs for each season - Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. Like Switchfoot songs, his solo stuff is insightful and introspective but the musical sound is way different---on some tracks he definitely has a Sufjan Stevens vibe going. For his live show, he was accompanied by a cello and drums and it was a wonderful, stripped down sound.

Some of his songs sounded even better in person and he threw in a few Switchfoot songs as well ('Only Hope' and 'Dare you to Move'). He is such a gifted songwriter and it's hard not to be convicted by his lyrics. However, his songs never sound preachy because you can tell he wrote them for himself as an outlet to articulate his mixed feelings towards American Christianity and the church and the pain and hurt in life.

Again, another concert I'm so glad I didn't miss....live shows re-energize me in a way not many things can!

Waiting for Jon to play

My brother's beard is frightening

law and order: part 2

After a long lunch break, we met back in the jury room only to be told that both lawyers needed more time to look over the questionnaires. I guess I shouldn't have expected the judicial process to be timely....ha. An hour later, we finally went back down to the courtroom and this is where the fun began.

They called 18 people up at a time, 12 to sit in the jury box and 6 to sit in the alternate row. Both sides then questioned these people about the answers they gave in their questionnaires, which as you can tell from my previous post had great potential to be uncomfortable. After all 18 had been questioned, the D.A. and the defense could say which people they wanted to excuse and then more people were called up to fill the now empty spots.

I should mention that both lawyers were younger woman, no older than 35. I found this interesting....I was expecting the defense lawyer to be a man. I wondered why this woman would defend this sleazy creep and then I realized a core truth of the justice system: I needed to be presuming this guy was INNOCENT until proven guilty, not the other way around. Both the judge and the defense would remind everyone of this multiple times. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was guilty of a crime and not just some guy who had anal lube in a Motel 6 (which is gross, but not a crime).

A favorite question of the defense was to ask each person if they would want themselves as a juror if they were sitting in the defendant's seat. A lot of people responded with an honest "no" and were then made to explain why. "I had a family member in a similar situation." "I'm a mother of a 17 year old daughter." "I work for a women's organization that has to report situations like this." "I just couldn't be impartial due to my personal beliefs."

After each reason, the defense lawyer would reemphasize that the law calls us to be impartial and fair and set our personal feelings aside and determine a verdict based on the evidence alone and not our preconceptions. She then would ask each person one last time if, as mandated by the law, they could give her defendant a fair trial? Most feebly replied "Well, I hope I could be fair."

Another highlight of the questioning session was when the D.A. asked one of the potential jurors to further explain what he wrote on his questionnaire about his thoughts toward district attorneys. He then snarled "I think they're all pathetic!" Everyone in the room tried to stifle their laughter. Then the D.A. asked if there were previous experiences that this man had had to justify his feelings. Again, he retorted angrily, "That's none of your business!" Needless to say, he was excused.

Well this is going to be anticlimatic, but I wasn't questioned. After two and a half hours, they finally settled on 12 jurors and 2 alternates and the rest of us were excused. As I walked down the courthouse steps, I pondered over the fact that those people chosen would decide a man's fate. Ordinary people like myself get to play a crucial role in choosing the path of someone's life: imprisonment or freedom. But my time to play that role had not come yet and my day as a potential juror was over.

law and order: part 1

A few weeks ago, I received my first jury summons. At first, I groaned and thought "this is going to be a colossal waste of my time". However, my dear husband reminded me that it is my civic duty and I shouldn't be complaining about serving our justice system. "And besides," he said, "I think you'll find the process really interesting."

Well after yesterday, I have to say that I agree with David. For six hours, I got a glimpse into the jury selection process and had my own little taste of being in the ensemble of a courtroom drama.

(cut to the Law and Order intro):

"In the Criminal Justice System, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty, either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials."

So I was assigned to report to the Woodland Courthouse at 9 am yesterday. Walking up to the courthouse, I had a subtle case of deja vu of being in Washington DC and walking up the steps of the Supreme Court. I arrived a few minutes late (as normal) and was shuffled into the jury assembly room with about 60 other people. What really struck me was the variety in the room--everyone from grandmothers to businessmen in suits to one random guy who came in pajama pants and a fleece robe----seriously. The assembly room gave me the feeling of an airport waiting area....everyone was either reading magazines/books or listening to their iPODS and was anxious to go somewhere. I brought the new book I'm reading "Girls Meets God", and settled into my chair for a little while. After waiting for an hour, we were taken down to the courtroom. The judge was completely the opposite of how I pictured: instead of an intimidating authority figure, he was a jovial fellow and seemed keen on trying to make all of us laugh with his corny jokes ("does anyone feel like they've won the lottery yet?"). He then explained that we were going to be his guinea pigs for the day and try a new process. The D.A. and defense would give a short synopsis of the case and then we would be given a long questionnaire relating to the case's subject matter. After both the prosecution and defense looked over our questionnaires, we would be further questioned to decide who the jury would be.

Then we are told this is a criminal case. My heart beat a little faster after hearing this...a criminal case? What if we have to be sequestered like in the OJ trial? Well, this case wasn't quite the scope of the OJ case. In a nutshell: the defendant had text-messaged a 17 year old girl saying "Want to make an easy $200? Be with me for a night." The girl showed her parents the text, the parents contacted the police, and the police then decided to text him back pretending to be the girl and asked him to meet at a Motel 6. No surprise, the police find him at the Motel 6, all ready to go (we were told he had anal lube in his toiletry bag.....um disgusting), and they arrest him for solicitation of a minor for sex.

The awkward part was that the defendant was in the room when this was being described and it was hard not to look at him and think he wasn't guilty. He had these beady black eyes that were definitely creepy. We then were taken back to the jury room and given these mammoth questionnaires that had questions like this:

Which of the following do you find morally offensive? Explain.

1) Pornography 2) Nudism
3) Premarital sex 4) Masturbation
5) Exhibitionism 6) Homosexuality

Do you believe that two 17-year olds can have consensual sex? Explain.

What is the first word that comes to mind when you hear "district attorney"?

Let's just say it was a load of fun explaining why I found things like pornography morally offensive or how I feel about statutory rape. We were then adjourned until the afternoon and I took this time to explore the Woodland Library (their DVD selection is amazing!) and walk around downtown (not very exciting).

Since this post is getting a little too long, and my stomach is growling, I'll write more later. We'll be back after these commercials!

You can't stop the beat

I'm in an extremely chipper mood. Want to know why? Because I'm listening to my favorite Broadway showtunes! My showtune craze began today after watching "Dr Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog", a made for the internet musical created during the writers strike. Due to this, I have formed a new crush on Neil Patrick Harris. Starting at around 3:41, you will see why.




Well after watching this, I had to feed my hunger for people suddenly bursting into song by putting together a playlist on Imeem of my favorite songs from recent gmusicals. Legally Blonde, Avenue Q, and Wicked just to name a few. I know people say laughter is the best medicine but sometimes for me, a good Broadway melody will do just as well.