Live courageously from your heart!
We now are going to war. This is the beginning of the end.
The hour is late, and you are needed. We need your heart.
If there were something more I could do to help you see, I wish to God I could have done it. Tears fill my eyes for fear I have not done enough. You must turn, then, back to myth — tomorrow and the next day and the next. Read the battle of Helm’s Deep; it’s chapter seven of The Two Towers. Watch any of the trilogy of those films.
By now I’m almost certain you’ve had exposure to the Women’s March that took place on January 21, 2017 in Washington, DC. Being fair and objective, it was definitely an impressive display from a numbers perspective for the amount of women who mobilized. For all of the flaws of the protest, which I will dive into in a moment, at least it was reported as mostly peaceful and nonviolent unlike the protests during the inauguration. This is America and under our Constitution a free people have a right to protest as long as it’s a lawful assembly.
As a dad who has raised a daughter and grandfather to an amazing granddaughter, this protest doesn’t define the authentic qualities of womanhood. Yes, those who organized and attended felt a deep sense of mission, but here are some of the flaws of this event I wanted to highlight:
Adult Themes Alert
The pile of books that I’d like to read keeps growing and so does the list of movies I’d like to watch. One of the movies on my watch list was the remake of Ben-Hur. So, recently after digging out from a New England snow storm…I made some dinner, poured a glass of wine and rented Ben-Hur.
Didn’t know what to expect from this remake since the 1959 film, based on Lew Wallace’s nineteenth century novel ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ’, starring Charlton Heston was so epic. I think just about everyone would agree that Charlton Heston would be a tough act to follow.
That didn’t stop Roma Downey and Mark Burnett from considering a streamlined remake of the 1959 film. Like its predecessor, the remake of Ben-Hur, features a charismatic actor (Jack Huston) as Ben-Hur, epic scenery of the period, and an absolutely stunning chariot race! But the remake takes a bit of a different path from the original with more of an emphasis on the power of Jesus Christ to bring about forgiveness — a welcome emphasis that is so needed today.
Spoiler Alert
The new year has come and it feels like only yesterday that I was writing my 2015 year in review. Wow, where has the year gone? Since my last year in review a lot has happened on Heartstone Journey and in my own life. There is so much I could share, but here are some highlights:
I love a good Western! Some of my favorites include, “The Good The Bad and the Ugly”, “The Outlaw Josie Wales”, “Silverado”, “Open Range” and the new “The Magnificent Seven” is a worthy successor to its 1960 namesake.
The original Magnificent Seven is more your dad’s favorite film than a cinematic blockbuster, which was also a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Japanese film “Seven Samurai”. Denzel Washington does a great job in leading a cast of acting talent with a heroic and watchable performance. If you’re looking for classic Western action, the movie does not disappoint in giving the audience spectacular gunfight scenes faithful to this genre of movie. Also notable, were the inventive set pieces accompanied by astonishing scenery and backdrops. I have not seen a Western this good in awhile.
Spoiler Alert
