Wolverine & The X-Men

I'm sure I'll get some laughs for this, but I still really enjoy the X-Men. Growing up, I wasn't really into the comic books. It requires too much money and you have to get every issue to get & make sense of the complete story. But I really soaked up the animated series in the 90s. Cartoons, unlike the recent superhero movie craze, really are a great medium for the telling of these characters' stories.

And at their core, that's what the whole superhero thing is all about. To quote Greg Garrett, an author and professor at Baylor University who someday hopes to be a Priest in the Episcopal Church, "comics...represent some of the best storytelling around." In fact, 'superheroes' have always been a part of humanity's mythology and folklore. You can go all the way back to the Greek gods or the Hebrew Bible's "strongmen and prophets." There is something in these myths that "reflect our fears, desires, and beliefs." Garrett likens comics/superheroes to studying the lives of Saints and Martyrs. They teach us and inspire us.

To me, there is no better example than the X-Men. First of all, they are a community, so you get to see great interaction that isn't present in Spider-Man and the like. The X-Men universe also has an eery apocalyptic element in them. We see humanity at its worst and we see history spiraling towards an end we don't want. The X-Men thus represent hope in that crisis. Most of all, the X-Men can be a great metaphor for the Church. They are in the world but don't feel that they are "of it." Even though they are persecuted by the world, they are charged with protecting it and being a blessing to it.

This comes back to the cartoons. A few months ago, I bought the 90's series on DVD, and recently got the more newer X-Men: Evolution on DVD. Both are great shows. The first is classic; the second is an interesting spin on their story in that they are all young, growing up in Xavier's Institute, learning to use their powers. The great thing about comic heroes, is that there can be multiple shows, stories, and continuities. As long as the basic premise is the same and the characters are largely as they were established in the comics, there's lots of room for storytellers to play around. This week, a third X-Men cartoon premieres in the US (it's already aired in Canada and other places around the world. It's airing later in the US to coincide with the upcoming Wolverine Origins flick). Wolverine and the X-Men is without a doubt the best superhero cartoon ever made. The animation, story, characters, and music are all incredible. I won't give away the plot, but it takes the whole apocalyptic thing even further. And more so than the other X-Men cartoons, the series is one big, sweeping story. So for those so inclined, tune in this Friday for the first episode on NickToons. For those without cable, Marvel.Com will be streaming the latest episode every Saturday. Enjoy!

Jesus as the only way to God

This is one of my favorite passages from one of my favorite authors, the late Robert Webber:

"Years ago, the hundredth archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Ramsey, was in the United States and was interviewed on the Johnny Carson Show. The next person to be interviewed ignored Johnny Carson and instead turned to the archbishop and said, 'Archbishop, there is one thing about your viewpoint I don't like. You say there is only one way to God. I don't believe that! I think there are many ways to God and to assert exclusivity is arrogant.' The archbishop responded, 'My dear, I have never said there is only one way. It was Jesus who said it. As a follower of Jesus, I have no right to contradict him. I am called to be faithful to him and to his teaching.'"

-Ancient-Future Evangelism (pg 130)

Wow, I need to blog more (winter update)

Hey everybody, it's been a heck of a long time since I've sat down & blogged. In the past, blogging has always taken a lot of effort for some reason. It's much like writing an essay for school: I would think of a (sometimes deep) topic, & take my time rearranging it & crafting it until it's finally presentable. But because I've been so busy with school, I haven't felt like sitting down & spending the time on a blog. So I think it's high time to take my blogs less seriously & just write about whatever, especially the fun day-to-day stuff of life.

This time around, I'll just update everyone on our year & what's been going on with us; especially for all my Phoenix friends whom we miss so much. 2008 was a cool year. My school schedule has been great, so I've been able to be home a lot with Aidan & Sarah. Being a dad is awesome. I know this is kinda weird, but every time I look at Aidan I see a little me. He's like my mini-me. This age is so much fun. He knows how to make us laugh & is doing new things all the time that blow us away. We got Aidan a little drumset for Christmas. He loves that thing. He loves coming alongside me when I play drums at church. He's not content leaving church on Sunday 'til he's banged on the drums a bit.

2008 was cool because I ended up getting many of the cool shows I watched as a kid on DVD. So Aidan & I daily sit down & watch an episode of GI Joe, X-Men, C.O.P.S., or Gummi Bears. We've even starting collecting little action figures. Yup, I'm getting him started young. Aidan can point out Hulk, Spider-man, & Wolverine...That's my boy!

School has been going really well. It's funny. I had teachers at Community College in Phoenix that really tried putting the fear into us of what a University was like, & how different it is than CC. I guess in some ways it's true, but for me it's been an easy transition. I've had fun, interesting classes & great teachers. I've gotten all A's thus far (one A- !). Half of getting A's is just staying on top of the reading. My favorite classes so far have been Indians in American Culture, Museum/Historic Site administration, & War at Sea in the Age of Sail. This coming Spring semester will be my busiest semester at Fisher. But after that, my senior year should be pretty light. I'm taking off from drumming at church for 3 months, which should help ease my load. People ask what I'm going to do with a bachelors in History. I'm still not entirely sure. I love learning about stuff that I love; that's my primary reason for going to school. It's something I wanted to do for myself. After graduation, I'd love to work in a museum, historic site, or non-profit, but if not I'm fine with it. As long as I help pay the bills & enjoy what I do, I don't care.

Being in our own home has been awesome. We got blessed with a great house at a great price in a good neighborhood that's close to everything. We're within 5 miles of my school, Sarah's work, our church, & many of our church friends. I love living in the city. I've been a suburbanite all my life, so it's neat being close to everything. We've got an older home (made in the 20s), & I know nothing about home repair. But I know people that do. (Plus I've been watching Handy Manny for tool advice). Rochester had a very snowy December, but if I recall correctly, it was only 2 or 3 storms that required shoveling. No big deal.

No joke, the best part of having our own place is that we can watch movies at a good volume whenever we want. I hated having to keep the volume really low in our past apartments/duplex as to not offend anyone. There are movies that I'm dedicated to watching every December: Gangs of New York, Little Women, Cold Mountain, & Lord of the Rings. Because I'm on Christmas break, I've been watching the behind-the-scenes discs of all the LotR movies. It makes for a great experience. With our Christmas money, I think we're gonna get an LCD flatscreen TV. We're set on getting a 37".

Unfortunately, 2008 was a lackluster year spiritually for me. I totally slacked. I barely read my Bible or prayed. I could easily have set aside 15 minutes a day for that stuff but didn't. To make it worse, because of Aidan's age, we have to keep him occupied during church. I haven't been able to intently listen to a sermon at our church in ages. (And I still really wish our church had small groups. We were blessed at VCFNP & Oneplace with great ones). I'll have to start listening to my own church's podcasts. I'm resolving to do the whole Bible in a year thing this year, which I haven't done in a while. Everybody needs to check out The Voice. It's a new, refreshing translation that really takes you into the story. I've never enjoyed reading the Bible as much as I do now.

Well take care everyone. To all our Phx friends: we miss you, love you, & look forward to seeing you all (hopefully this summer). More blogs to come.