I live in Orem, Utah, just a couple of miles from Utah Valley University where a good man named Charlie Kirk was assassinated last week. I’ve seen an amazing amount of love and positivity from the people around me in response to that devastating attack, and it inspired me to write about it. I would like to share a story from the past and find some parallels to this time of tragedy and hope. Continue reading
I love movie soundtracks. Sometimes they bring specific scenes to my mind, and other times they exist all by themselves as distinct entities of pure music. I’d like to share 10 examples of music that are so detached from the films they sprang from that they’re really hard to place. Continue reading
Rudy is a film about many things. Courage, determination, faith, and underdogs all come to mind. How about job seeking? Okay, this movie isn’t exactly about that, but I think we can liken it to the current challenges of the job market. In the process, we might even discover that there’s hope. Continue reading
I hadn’t seen Disney’s 1996 adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in many years, but I’m glad I revisited it recently. It has a song that really spoke to me on this viewing. It’s called “God Help the Outcasts.” Continue reading
I read an article a few weeks ago that I’m having trouble finding again. It was entitled “Consciousness Remains Science’s Greatest Mystery: 25 Things About Your Mind Scientists Can’t Explain.” The link to that article no longer works, so I apologize I can’t show you what I read in it. But I’ll press forward nonetheless.
The gist of it was that there are things about the human mind that continue to baffle scientists. They don’t understand how consciousness arose from inanimate matter, why we sleep, why the placebo effect exists, whether or not free will is real, and other such issues.
I’m surprised that people who study the mind for a living and are acknowledged as experts would so readily admit that they don’t understand important topics. At least they have the humility to do that. And out of that humility we could possibly be open to a fresh perspective. When we fail to find answers for a really long time, we might want to examine the preconceptions that are preventing us from discovering the truth. Continue reading
What does it mean to be a man? There’s probably no end to the number of definitions we could come up with. Rather than give you my answer, I’d like to look to the past for time-tested wisdom.
A forgotten 1959 film entitled Third Man on the Mountain answers that question in an astonishingly adroit way. That film is about an 18-year-old who is referred to as a boy for most of the film. It’s only when he begins to make certain choices that he is finally referred to as a man: the titular third man on the mountain.
Let’s go through this wonderful film and see how it answers the question of what it means to be a man rather than a boy. Continue reading
I participated in an interesting thought experiment a while ago. I was asked to watch What About Bob? and count all of the times when someone acts or speaks negatively in it. I’m a pretty attentive guy, so this piqued my interest. Determined not to let any instance of negativity slip past my gaze, I started watching the movie.
I added to my count every time Bob Wiley cried out in mental anguish and whenever Dr. Leo Marvin lost his temper. I came up with a huge number. The person who gave me that challenge was impressed. She said that I had found more instances of negativity than anyone she had ever given that challenge to. Continue reading
Despite the hard time I’m going through right now, I believe it is a miracle that is unfolding little by little. One of my sisters told me something beautiful recently to cheer me up. She said, “You have people both here and on the other side of the veil pulling for you.” It made me so happy to know that she, too, believes in angels. She is one of them in my life.
I’ve felt the truth of her words. On May 22, I was laid off from a job I had held for 15 years. I hadn’t done anything wrong, but my time had finally come. Thankfully, I didn’t have to fear for three reasons:
I’d like to explain what I mean by each of these points below. If you’re going through a similarly hard time, you may find hope from what I’m about to share. Continue reading
It’s a Wonderful Life is one of those classic movies that other films love to emulate. I’ve heard Back to the Future compared to it by Siskel and Ebert, and I likened Click to it. There’s one film that I’ve never heard compared to It’s a Wonderful Life, but I think there are a lot of similarities between the two. It’s a little film called Pollyanna.
I was introduced to Pollyanna many years ago by a friend at a hard time in my life. It helped me look for the good rather than the bad in the world around me. I think that’s a wonderful lesson for all of us as we face hard times. So let’s see all the things that Pollyanna and It’s a Wonderful Life have in common. Continue reading
An interesting thing happened in 2015. The fourth movie in the seemingly dead Jurassic Park franchise debuted in theaters that year: Jurassic World. It revitalized its film series, serving as a bridge between the three original films from 1993-2000 and the later films that are still being produced. The newest sequel, Jurassic World: Rebirth, just arrived a couple weeks ago. Continue reading
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