Depth in Disguise

November 20, 2009

            I just got back from seeing the movie New Moon. I really hate to add to the frenzy or to be viewed as whimsical and stupid for liking the things I do. I first watched Twilight with a reluctant attitude some weeks ago online when I was bored. All the hype and obsession had me going into it with a pretty closed mind (as I also did with The Notebook and other hyped up, sensitive “chick flicks”). Well, after watching Twilight and thinking that it wasn’t half bad and was actually good, I decided I would go see New Moon and that it would be worth a fun movie experience in Finland.

            I fell in love with Finnish movie theaters. We walked in and went to the counter to buy our tickets. You get to choose your seats right there on a computer screen. This is quite comforting knowing we would have two seats in a specific area waiting for us when we walked in (also good so you don’t have to peek for open spots in the dark). We got some candy, popcorn, and drinks and got in the elevator to go up to our theater. We walked in just as the previews had ended. Found row 10, and there our seats waited for us with an empty seat beside me. PERFECT. The theater was humongous… like nothing I’d seen before. We guessed a thousand people were in there! Perhaps an over-exaggeration on our part J. The seats don’t fold up like they do in theaters at home. There was plenty of space and comfy legroom and everything. Don’t get me started on the gargantuan screen. For a moment I thought I was in IMAX (another exaggeration).

            Now to what I was really talking about… I LOVED the movie. I thought it was way better than Twilight. And it annoys me that I feel like I can’t love it vocally because I’ll be put in a category with these crazy quixotic girls. Frankly, I’m not afraid to like movies with talking lions, wizards and magic, or vampires. I don’t think my maturity level is so advanced that these things are “silly” or “satanic” even. Maybe if the message was geared that way, I would have those opinions. But I know I spoke earlier about the message I feel is conveyed in Harry Potter. Quite a fabulous message if you ask me! Loyalty, love, friendship. Just because the author used a more fictional approach doesn’t mean I’m going to discard it for rubbish. And C.S. Lewis… I know you’ve heard my opinions on him! So why would I stick my nose up at his more fictional writing which still rings of the truth he speaks about in his more “realistic” works? Brilliance is brilliance. And a message is a message. Maybe some people have the unfortunate disability of only being able to see such substances as nonsense. I feel sorry that they miss out on what wonderful things “nonsense” can bring. I honestly feel that I relate my own life and feelings better to these stories of “nonsense” far better than the ones trying to be compliant with reality. But, we all know that as long as movies are made which break the limited imaginations of black-and-white humans (what I like to call them), there will be opposition and negative feedback. Don’t think I’m saying you must love Harry Potter or the Twilight series to have any sense at all. I do think matters of taste and personal situations and emotions still guide our acceptance and love of entertainment like this. So if it doesn’t stir up anything for you or tastes bad in your mouth, by all means spit it out. But don’t make your neighbor feel ashamed when they take a bite and can’t get enough.

Metaphors. I love them.

…perhaps that’s why I’m so darn "fanciful"…

Adventures of Biz Monkey

October 20, 2009

            I’ve found a new obsession. A new hobby. Something that probably sounds nothing like me, and until now, has been nothing like me. It’s food. Well, more-so, the making of it.

            I can’t pinpoint exactly what triggered this movement. There have been many times that the thought of cooking something delicious sounded very fun, but the thrill left me pretty rapidly and all too consistently. I will say that recently I’ve been sort of stalking my friend Tim’s blog. Tim is notorious for making creative snacks and lunches that aren’t necessarily Top Chef challenging, but simple and delicious. I even remember a few times I went over to his house for lunch or dinner and was jealous of his food selection, which is usually pretty healthy and fresh. It seems he has his snacks down to a “T” at this point. To top it all off, the guy sketches and renders his lunches all the time. With a new interest in photography, he now has mouth-watering photographs of his food creations. BUT, this post isn’t really about Tim. And I certainly wouldn’t want his head getting any bigger.

some photos from Tim's photo blog

a few sketches from Tim's normal blog

            The reason I mentioned Tim is that the other day, I was peeking at his blog and found a stunning image of a sandwich made out of rotisserie chicken. The caption spoke about how he buys one about every week and can use it in a variety of meals including this lightly toasted sandwich. I sat back and wondered why I never do things like that. It’s absurdly inexpensive and much healthier than frozen pizzas and grilled cheese sandwiches. I suppose you could say it was the beginning of my epiphany.

            I’ve got this terrible habit of finding a food that seems easy to make and loading up on it. I could eat it for breakfast lunch and dinner. Of course, that would mean that I would actually have to eat breakfast… lunch… and dinner. More often then not, it turns out to be one or two of the three. Since I’ve been in Finland, my main meal obsession has been eggs. Yes, it’s true that I’ve always loved eggs, but as often as I eat them, I considered Googling “egg overdosing”. 

Though I suppose there are worse things, there are most certainly better!

            The older fellow in my Bible study, David, has offered to teach me how to make Kombucha so that I can make it in America. This has me very excited because I absolutely LOVE the drink, and it is very healthy for you. I feel like once I learn to make it, I am going to want to make it all the time. I just hope I can do it well enough so that it tastes like his.

find out what I'm talking about here

            Recently, I have been researching and trying to find some good Finnish delicacies that I could take back with me along with the Kombucha. So far, no food has really stuck out as a MUST-TRY and everything is pretty doughy and fishy. There was a man outside of Tokmanni the other day at a hotdog stand where he was smoking fresh salmon. It smelled at looked absolutely amazing. If I knew anything about preparing salmon, I would have hopped in line and taken one of those bad boys home. There are a few challenges to having this new desire to cook in Finland. The first obstacle is obviously the language. It is very hard to grocery shop here. I don’t know if I’m buying sugar or flower… turkey or ham (or mystery meat)… swiss or provolone. It is all just a guess based on color, images, packaging, and ultimately intuition. You can see how shopping is unsuccessful plenty of the time. J The second obstacle is that even if you do know what you are buying based on the things I listed, you then have to already know how to prepare the food. Cause Finnish directions will not get you very far. I usually look for key numbers like, “220ºC” which is often used for pizza, “dl” which is deciliters… I think, “10 min” this is naturally my favorite indication on a package. 

Also very helpful are pictures with spoons and arrows pointing out your need to stir. I think being here has improved my improvising skills. I can add a little something here, leave that out, mix it with these, serve it on that… not because I’ve become more bold, but simply because I don’t actually know the proper way to begin with. It’s been a bit freeing. The last issue is that if I would want to explore preparing foods I am familiar with, I am not guaranteed the right ingredients here. Even if they have the right ingredients here, finding them is a whole ‘nother challenge in and of itself. Likewise, if I learn to make Finnish delicacies here, I’m not guaranteed I will have all of the ingredients to make the same thing at home. For instance, I think reindeer is a bit more rare in North Carolina…

            Today commences my first try at something not-boxed, -packaged, or -canned in such a final state. I decided to tackle an American favorite that I suppose I love and miss. Pancakes. Not just any pancakes… homemade buttermilk pancakes from scratch. Sounds pretty easy right? WRONG. I now understand just how difficult this may be. I accepted a few failures before even venturing to the store. First of all, I don’t know what Finnish “buttermilk” would look, taste, or act like. Yes, I said act. The food has strange tendencies, ok? So I decided I would be making my own buttermilk with whole milk (cause I know how to find that here) and distilled white vinegar. That was about all I accomplished on my shopping trip besides buying flour. Let me discuss my issues. For one, I don’t know whether or not the flour is all-purpose or self-rising. I will probably have to figure out a way to translate and try to find out. Number two, if it is all-purpose, that means that I still need to find baking powder and baking soda. I think I will have better luck finding these things downtown at Stockman tomorrow. Now here’s one of the biggest issues yet… I’m going to have to convert all of the measurements. L A simple cooking project that could take a 5-minute grocery store run and 20-minute cooking process is going to end up taking me days to perform. Luckily, I cultured my own buttermilk and put it in a glass jar and sealed it so that I can use it when the time comes. I’m going to make these pancakes if it’s the last thing I do. And then… on to conquer the world of food! Mwahahahahaha

Comes From Within

October 18, 2009

            If I miss one material thing from America, it would be my car, Lucilla. 

She’s the best 2001 Ford Explorer a girl could ask for! I consider it pure joy to go for a ride and just listen to music. I often make excuses to go places for this sole purpose. I love my sound system and even if my subs don’t rattle houses or take your breath away, they give my music a nice bit of added intensity. The closest thing I have to that here is when I go for a bike ride and listen to my iPod.

There are a few things that really move me. Music and art have a way of grasping my heart and evoking me with powerful emotion. Now, when you explore different combinations of the three, you are sure to get a great result. For instance, a Sunday afternoon full of Andy Davis and painting… that’s time well spent. Though I don’t think many people have as much passion as I do in these areas, I also think many people have more. Now, I’m just going to drift away for a few minutes. Feel free to tag along.

Sticks and Stones - Dave Barnes

I've got a particular love for human art.

A few of my own...

Union & 3rd - Andy Davis

Many know that my favorite color has been green for some time now, but in the last few years, I've been particularly interested in the passion and intensity of red...

I Can Be a Bit Passionate...

October 5, 2009

Some people may hate me for what I am about to say and some may love me. I just finished watching Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince online and remembered how much I love these movies. I know tons of people who rave about these movies and I also know tons of people who don’t give them a chance because they think they are about silly things like witches and wizards who wave wands around to make food appear and things like this. The truth is, I am deeply moved both by the artistic and the emotional beauty of these films. It is so simple of a plot; a fight against good and evil. Now, don’t get carried away with what I’m about to say, but something in these movies just really reminds me of the Gospel. Granted, there are plenty of parts that do NOT remind me of the Gospel. But I just look at the type of good and the type of evil in them. Voldemort is so deceptive. He is sneaky and he strives to corrupt Harry as a whole person with an ultimate desire to destroy him. Harry is astonishingly obedient and loyal to Dumbledore. He has complete trust in him even when he doesn’t know Dumbledore’s plans. I find it amazing to see this type of relationship portrayed in a “silly movie about magic” when it’s so far beyond what many of our own relationships look like with God. We want control. We want to be in the know. We want to do things our way. We lose faith. We are disobedient. You can even see Harry’s struggle at times within the movies when he wants to act out of emotion or pain or hatred. But he has community around him, whether it is his professors or his friends or just other people who are also loyal to Dumbledore, who are always there to speak truth into his life and let him know that they are there to help. I love all of the pain in the movies. It blows my mind how strong of a character he is after all of the loss he has suffered. And now venturing in another direction, the art in the movies is simply breath-taking to me. There is a scene in the Half-Blood Prince where Dumbledore is swirling fire over his head and it is consuming all of the creatures around him and even going into the water and striking them. It is an extremely powerful scene to me and I can do nothing but stand (or sit) in awe when I see it. The transitions into memories and use of magic (whether it be simple or things like freezing a moment) are nothing short of extraordinary. I feel the artists are true creative geniuses and it really awakens my passion for art. I thought I would leave you with a scene I find beautiful and moving from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. 

If the video does not work, use this link:

Voldemort Vs. Dumbledore