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Iron man was awesome! i think it is one of the most well done super hero films i've seen. the only big draw back for the movie is the first thirty minutes. It's like I was watching a really long trailer for a much better movie. the snide one-liners that had been advertised in the trailer were all utter in almost the same sequence in the first thrity. I found myself getting a little annoyed and frustrated by that. but after that the movie really takes off. i think it's strongest point is that it does not get more dull than it starts. Unlike most super hero flicks similar to Transformers (which i really liked) it starts off pretty good and only builds. whereas with movies like Transformers, Super Man Returns, or Spiderman 1 & 3 you'll get a good foundational story line that only get's more monotonous and dull as the movie progresses no matter how much "action" they throw at you.

The one-liners become much more funny and Downy Jr. starts to become much more comfortable in his role. I like that they didn't play up the Pepper/Stark relationship too much. just enough to keep you interested with only one insanely-hot-girl-one-night-stand to demonstrate Stark's playboy tendencies.

I heard a criticism that there were two teams of writers and that many of the characters, particularly Stark, seem conflicted in there roles. if it is the case that there were two writers, I think the "conflict" worked out for the better! Stark was a much more believeable character when he's slightly conflicted with his smart-ass self and the self that's a humanitarian of sorts. It worked out in the film's favor because people . . . are . . . conflicted! we all have that sassy bad ass in us that wants some glory and some attention because it makes us look suave (ladies too). But there's also a part of us that, unless tainted, genuinely cares for other human beings and the two don't always show up at the same time. Stark started off like a main character of a bad sitcome and elevated to his comic book fame! I couldn't be more pleased with his "character development"

the final scene was perfect! the bonus after the credits made the never-been-kissed-geek-inside-me do a happy dance!

I also loved that Stark's personal computer was a Mac and an awesome virtual interactive 3D Mac-esque-thing and that the terrorists were using PC's. to be fair, Starks office computer was a Dell but it sure as hell wasn't running windows!

I give it 4 stars out of 5

The Christian life is and will be the most difficult task i've ever endeavored to obtain. a truly christian life involves much more than i ever knew when i signed up. yet the reasons i signed up still out weigh all the reasons i have to quit. i don't know how to live rightly. i'm not a man of prayer. i'm not generous or pious. and while tomorrow's answer may be different tonight the answer is "i'm sorry". i am capable of living a life that echos the songs of God like the great Saints' but i've simply choosen not to. please forgive me and pray for me. i am a sinful man. tonight is one more night of violence to kill the liar and thief in me.

It was a pretty good movie. not a great movie but a pretty good one. a good review of it can be found at the supercandid podcast. In this brief review I'll be echoing similar thoughts that that dj_jonny_flash and callmesteam have expressed.

1) I think one of the biggest pro's is that the film has to offer is that it is aesthetically appealing! i found the cinematography to way above par. the director of photography knew what he was doing and it made the film very pleasing to watch.
2) i just like ben stein. i think he's just one cool cat. but seriously i think he was a good interviewer. supercandid pointed out that they tried really hard to make him look like your average joe who gets lossed in dowtown Seattle and that's true. he does in fact have to ask the stupid questions and play a little bit dumb in order to get the full answers. this can't really discredit him though because he's the ben stein. he's a really intelligent man and an entertainer to boot.
3) the animations i thought were kinda fun. the one that makes fun of Richard Dawkins was a little sophomoric in it's criticism. and the this-is-how-complex-the-cell-is animation was a little long but also aesthetically appealing. i don't really even remember most of it because it's such a fanciful rush of colors. it reminded me of a demonstration that i've seen on fractals.
4) it was fun to see Biola. i pointed with glee as i exclaimed to my friend sitting next to me, 'i used to live there!'

things that i thought detracted from the film's potential.

1) "preaching to the choir". as supercandid pointed out, anyone who comes to see this film has probably already got their mind made up. there's very little "new" information in this film about intelligent design/evolution. so all of us christians who find jokes about evolution funny laughed in unison.

2) for a documentary it was overly bias. it wasn't merely about showing injustices within academia, but it was more about propogating it's own agenda. and while the bias on the opposing side is a reality there was virtually no defence of evolution. in fact, it made it look like people who believe in evolution are ignorant mystics. they criticized evolution for having no answers for the orgins of the universe and then offered none. in fact, intelligent designe does nothing to account for the origin of the universe except to say that there is some grand architect(s). in the film they'd ask questions like "well, where did that come from, mr. evolutionist? . . . uh huh . . . . well, where did that come from? . . . .uh huh." but no body saw fit to ask "well, where did the intelligent designer come from?". The evolutionists were honest when they said that nobody knows how the universe got started and that evolution can only describe what happens to life after it's already begun. not unlike general/special relativity. Einstein's theories can't a account for the spontaneous origins of a universe it can only describe a universe that's already started.

3) supercandid said that the film was a little boring. and if this debate isn't interesting to you then it will surely be a bore-fest.

4) supercandid also mentioned that the film started to lose track of itself and i agree. 3/4 of the way through the movie i was starting to wonder what nazis had to do with intelligent design/evolution debates. as it turns out, nothing. Nazis used evolutionary justifications for there crimes but Crusadors used religious justifications as well. maybe if the film had brought of up both examples it would have done justice to the implications of both theories, but as far as the film is concerned evolution correctly devalues human existence and therefore it's a good excuse for Nazism. like i said . . . nothing to do with the academic debate over which theory fits the evidence better.

I'm not sure i'll see the movie again but i'm glad i did see it. the end of the movie gave a powerful and persuasive call to academic freedom which I (even as a christian who does not like the intelligent design arguments) can raise my fist to in a che-guevara-revolutionary-style

This is Just to Say

Alaska may be one more hitch hike away
But I'm still at home.
Forgive me for abandoning your car in that National Forrest
I didn't think you'd miss it much.
And that love you've been waiting for costs more than the car.

Home hasn't changed much since you left.
Mom and Dad still blame you for their divorce.
I still blame Mom and Dad for you.
I know you don't miss me much,
But who can blame you?

This is just to say that i'm sorry
In a way that will only make me feel better.
I hope you come home one day
So that i can say it in person.
But then again, widows and orphans aren't hard to find.

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I speak in many tongues to many men;
Argue with angels and I always win,
But I don't know the first thing about love.

I prophesy and know all mysteries;
All hidden things are opened up to me
But I don't know the first thing about love

I have the keys to open any door;
I give all of my possessions to the poor,
But I don't know the first thing about love

And moving mountains ain't nothing to me;
I've faith enough to cast them to the sea,
But I don't know the first thing about love

But all other things shall fade away;
While love stands alone and still holds sway
All other things shall fade away;
Into the ground into the grey.

I give my body up unto the flames;
And never once have I denied your name
But I don't know the first thing about love.

sad day . . . night . . . whatever. apple sent me this email today:

"Jordan Parro,
Thank you for your interest in an opportunity with Apple retail. At this time we have chosen to move ahead with candidates who better meet the business needs today. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.
Thank you again for your time and interest in Apple Inc.
Best regards"

oh well. i'll update my app online and then see what happens. otherwise i need a good paying job. i think i'll apply at Mimi's. if i get that job i'll get to get my alcohol servers license.

Today his Holy Saturday! the final day of fasting before Greek Easter. thanks to all of you who have kept me in your prayers through this lenten season. as soon as sunday comes around it's feast time!!! i plan on eating more than healthy portions of meat and dairy.

i'm going to go lie in bed now and pretend to be tired so that i can keep my eyes closed until morning. night night

awaiting my job interview. kinda nervous but not too bad. i'm pretty pumped to get this job. i hope it works out. if any of you lj'ers read this before or during the Five o'clock evening hour then please send up a prayer to the Holy One for me.

Summer:
PE 101 Weight Lifting
Math 163 Calc II

Fall
Math 415 History and Philosophy of Math
Math 264 Calc III
Phil 360 Chrisitian Classics
Psych 105 General Psychology
Honors 302 Seminar: The Idea of The Holy

Clinton seems to have secured the win in a 55%-45% lead in today's Pennsylvania Primary. what does this mean for the democrats? well, it means another three grueling months of backstabbing, false flattery, false humility, and tearing apart the party. for a good while now i've been in the camp that believed that it would be the best thing for the party if would Clinton to drop out of the race. it seemed like the majority of democrats and people in general found Obama to be the more inspiring candidate and it may be the case that this is still true. however, the Clinton machine has just recieved enough of red bull to keep this train moving. If the kind of politics that we have seen from the dems continues through August (effectively leaving two months for the nominee to campaigne against McCain) it will be yet another deathly piece of evidence to show that the democrats don't have their act together.

In this democrat year it seem like no matter who the dems picked, that person would be a shoe in for the white house. and then with a dem congress, and a dem executive branch, they could be unstoppable. but alas if they keep this stuff up they're going to f*** up a presidency that was handed to them.

In last wednesday's debate Hillary appeared to be the stronger candidate. she spent less time making up for her plethora of falsehoods and more time regailing her days playing hid and seek in the oval office. Obama stammered and danced around a few direct questions. Stephonopolis asked him flat out (when i'm "quoting" i'm actually "paraphrasing" to the best of my rememberance) "it's in your plans to raise the captial gains tax. history demonstrates that when you lower the capital gains tax, federal revenue increases" Obama responded with a convincing set of half words until responding, "maybe . . . that could happen, it depends on the big shots on wallstreet". i was dissappointed by that answer. his economic rhetoric was very persuasive until capital gains tax came into the equation.

i'm still pulling for Obama in the long run. and i've maintained my position that if it is a Hillary/McCain battle that i will seriously consider not voting. i hope the democrats can pull it together. if they can't, they won't receive any sympathy from me and we'll just have to get bored watching McCain be Li'l Bush.

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"Defending the poor? He must be a Socialist or Communist!"

FADE IN:
EXT. SOME SMALL TOWN
ELLEN PAGE guzzles SUNNY D as some obnoxious INDIE SONG 
blares in the background so that everyone knows that this is
an intellectual, independent film.
She enters a convenience store and meets RAINN WILSON.
ELLEN PAGE
I need to use the bathroom, as I've been downing delicious, high-quality Sunny Delight for the past hour.
RAINN WILSON
Sunny Delight? You mean the delicious orange-flavored drink containing a full day's supply of vitamin C in every serving?
ELLEN PAGE
That's right! I found it in the fridge, behind the purple stuff! Now relinquish the bathroom key geeves, I for shizz need to spout.
RAINN WILSON
I can barely understand you. Is there a reason you're talking like what seems like a teenager designed by a committee of adults that have researched youth by watching MTV around the clock?
ELLEN PAGE
Yes, and you better start talking like that too or you'll have no place in the movie, Dwight.
RAINN WILSON
Oh, er, uh, I mean that's one doodle that can't be undid homeskillet oh my god I need a new agent.
ELLEN PAGE
You're so quirky! And so am I!
ELLEN pisses on a pregnancy test and it tells her that she's PREGNANT as well as PRECOCIOUS.
ELLEN PAGE
This sucks. The only thing left to do is walk home morosely while yet another obnoxious indie song blares.
ELLEN walks home, then calls her friend OLIVIA THIRLBY.
ELLEN PAGE
Hey Olivia. So I'm pregs for real.
OLIVIA THIRLBY
OhMyGodLikeForRealForRealPregs?
ELLEN PAGE
Holy crap, what the hell are you saying? Did someone encrypt your copy of the script or something?
OLIVIA THIRLBY
YouShouldTotallyGetAnAToTheBortion.
ELLEN PAGE
Yeah. First I need you to help me salvage the chair I lost my virginity in, which is on a lawn for some reason that is almost definitely quirky.
They take the chair, then ELLEN sets up an entire living room
set in front of MICHAEL CERA'S HOME.
MICHAEL CERA
Ellen, hey. I like the couch on my front sidewalk, it's incredibly quirky of you.
ELLEN PAGE
Yeah, well I'm pretty quirky.



MICHAEL CERA
So what are you doing here? Do you need someth-
ELLEN PAGE
Wait, hold on. Your track team is about to come running by and I need to do a voiceover narration for no particularly reason, even though I only do it like three more times in the entire movie.
ELLEN PAGE (V.O.)
Whenever I see the track team, I can't help but picture their penises, because doing so allows me to explain that fact in a voiceover narration that I can end with the very hip term "pork swords."
ELLEN PAGE
Alright, sorry about that. What were we talking about? Oh right, I'm pregnant and it's yours.
MICHAEL CERA
Rather than freak the hell out like a typical high school student, I'm going to sputter around for words awkwardly and barely finish complete sentences. It's kind of my thing.
ELLEN calls an ABORTION CLINIC to make an appointment.
CLINIC RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)
Crimson River Abortion Clinic, how may I help you?
ELLEN PAGE
Hi. I'd like to make an appointment for an abortion. Oh wait hang on my Hamburger Phone is acting up.
(shakes phone)
Alright, there we go.
CLINIC RECEPTIONIST (O.S.)
Alright, well just come in any time and we can tak-
ELLEN PAGE
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I don't think you heard me. I'm talking on a HAMBURGER PHONE. How zany is that? That's for shizz quirky.



ELLEN goes to the CLINIC and signs in. Another INDIE SONG
blares over the scene to make sure you remember that you are 
supporting INDEPENDENT CINEMA by watching this movie.
CLINIC RECEPTIONIST
Please sign in here. Do you want a free condom? They make my boyfriend's penis taste like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
ELLEN PAGE
Wow, what a completely quirky and inappropriate thing to say to a complete stranger!
CLINIC RECEPTIONIST
I know, right!?
ELLEN suddenly runs out of the CLINIC and visits her friend
OLIVIA.
OLIVIA THIRLBY
WhatAreYouDoingOhMiGod?
ELLEN PAGE
I decided I want to keep the baby so that I can star in a wholly overrated independent film about a teenager giving her baby to a childless couple.
ELLEN sits down to talk to her father and stepmother.
ELLEN PAGE
So, I'm pregnant.
J.K. SIMMONS
WHAT YOU'RE FUCKING 16 WHAT THE FU-
ELLEN PAGE
Dad, you're in an indie flick, remember?
J.K. SIMMONS
Oh right. Sorry, I didn't mean to blow up, I meant to make a dry, sarcastic remark.
ALLISON JANNEY
And I'd like to follow that up with a second barb.
ELLEN PAGE
It's Michael Cera's. The kid from Arrested Development.
J.K. SIMMONS
Huh. I didn't think he had it in him.
ELLEN PAGE
What, sperm?
ELLEN goes ahead with her pregnancy and the movie SAVED plays
out with fewer jokes and more pretentiousness.
ELLEN finds a couple to adopt her kid: JASON BATEMAN and
JENNIFER GARNER. ELLEN goes to meet them.
JENNIFER GARNER
We're so happy you'd consider us despite the fact that I starred in Elektra.
JASON BATEMAN
So who is the father of the little bastard?
ELLEN PAGE
Oh, just this awkward, typecast kid at school named Michael Cera.
JASON BATEMAN
No shit? He played my son on Arrested Development. I look forward to the scene in this movie that reunites us for the first time since the show was canceled, which is sure to be a real pleasure for fans.
That scene NEVER HAPPENS. ELLEN agrees to give her kid to
JENNIFER and JASON.
TIME PASSES and MORE INDIE ROCK MUSIC PLAYS. ELLEN 
goes through the various scenes that movies about pregnant 
people are obligated to include.
She visits JASON BATEMAN.
JASON BATEMAN
Hey Ellen. Want to watch some indie horror films and listen to some indie music together?
ELLEN PAGE
That sounds great! I sure hope that watching the movie isn't interrupted by me having to go puke my guts out, sweaty and hunched over the toilet.
(pause)
Just kidding, none of that crap happens in the movie. Pregnancy is easy-peasy.
JASON BATEMAN
Well, I have good news. I'm leaving Jennifer Garner.
ELLEN PAGE
Why, because your marriage to her has robbed you of your youth, which you have been reminded of since you started hanging around with me?
JASON BATEMAN
No, I just rented 13 Going On 30. I can't even look at her now. Has she been in anything good?
ELLEN PAGE
Oh. Because if it was the other thing, then you could take notice of the fact that I remind you of your younger days despite the fact that my current predicament requires a level of maturity far beyond my years, and you could enjoy the contrast between our situations that is ironically illustrated by having us both get along so well.
JASON BATEMAN
How artistic!
ELLEN PAGE
You're goddamn right it is! Bring on the Oscars!
LIVEJOURNAL: THE MOVIE continues. JASON abandons JENNIFER 
GARNER. ELLEN page gives birth while some more INDIE 
MUSIC plays.
JENNIFER GARNER
Yay, now I get to raise an adopted kid in a broken home so that I can be overly protective and insane.
ELLEN PAGE
And I passed all of my classes and everything! Pregnancy is as unobtrusive as it is without consequence!
MICHAEL CERA
So now that you popped the kid out, I think we're in love with each other. What should we do to express our love? Make out? Have sex again? Go buy seasons one through three of Arrested Development?
ELLEN PAGE
Have you been watching a different movie? We should play yet more indie music together.



They DO. EVERYONE convinces themselves they loved the movie 
so that they don't feel STUPID.
END

when my car passed emissions!!!!

Monkey

GWB

MC Chris

sorry, but Obama was making an excellent point when he issued his bitter statement. Just because Hillary is trying to demonize him should be a warning to us all. nevermind the fact that her husband, Bill issued the exact same message in his published memoirs called, "my life".

Finished Psychonauts today, and by finished i mean i completed the story mode. there are a lot of figments, baggage, cobwebs left to clear up though. I think this game's two strongest features are 1) it's amazing dialogue and 2) It's just fun.

1) though there is a story element of drama, the dialogue, in keeping with the wacky art, keeps the dialogue witty and short. I wasn't bogged down with 15 minute cut scenes and there was absolutely no trace chessiness. if there was a cheesy line, it was immediately made un-cheesy and thereby hilarious by acknowledgeing it's chesiness.

2) It's hard to find a game that is just plain fun to play. there are plenty of great stories, amazing graphics, and memorable characters out there, but Psychonauts was a little addicting in a good way, not in a, "i can quit whenever i want to kind of way"

So there zdevex. :D

I miss certain things. as the weather was warming up (before we got winter blasted) i started to miss Biola very much. this general nostalgia remained for a number of days until I attempted to actually remember some of the things i missed. try as i may, i couldn't conjure one image to mind of something at Biola that i actually missed. when i thought about my actual expereience at Biola i didn't miss it that much anymore.

The place that i could see in my mind's eye was the very same place that i saw when i was a highschool senior wanting to go to Biola, i.e. a paradise Biola that I had imagined. It was a place of perpetual spring time (not unlike southern California) where everyone was a realist, where everyone was as cool and smart as me (i know right?). I do miss many of the friendships that I made, but i'm not sad that Torrey is not apart of my life right now. Having that expierience at Biola gave me a glimps of the fundamental flaws of Christian Education (a topic for another blog), but i'm no pedigological uber minch.

rather than aggiate my pompous ass by listing the things i don't miss, here's some of the things that i do:
Reynolds Sessions
Biking to the Beach
Tours of L.A.
Telling noble young christian college students that morals are relative (tee hee)
Driving up and down PCH with my May 26th Friend, David

i miss a place of timelessness. I miss the place where I stood overlooking the ocean for 30 seconds, or 15 minutes i don't remember really. I miss the place where I was in love. In short, I miss a place that I've never been to. It's easy to say that I miss heaven, but i've never been there either and have relatively no associations that term, but i think that's what i miss. maybe one day i'll get there. I miss a place that i can make my home, that i never have to leave.