Season 1:

Pilot: The opening scene… Jack running around

Pilot: Kate sowing up Jack’s wound

Pilot: Kate screaming from behind the bamboo… Hiding from the monster

Pilot: Lock plays backgammon with Walt

Tabula Rasa: Hurly listening to his walkman… Locke gets Walt’s dog back

Walkabout: Locke standing up for the first time on island after we see him in wheelchair

White Rabbit: Locke talks to Jack about destiny and purpose… “I looked into the eye of the island and what I saw was beautiful.”

Confidence Man: Kate reads Sawyer’s letter

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues: Jack pounds on Charlie’s chest to revive him after being hung by Ethan

All the Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues: Locke predicts the rain while out with Boone

…In Translation: We learn about Jin’s situation working for Sun’s father. He comes home and washes the blood from his hands after saving a guy

…In Translation: Sun stands on the beach in her swimsuit and experiences her first moment of freedom

Numbers: In his hilarious flashback Hurley tells a guy on a ladder to get down

Deus Ex Machina: Locke pounds on the hatch door and a light comes on

Do No Harm: Boone dies. Claire gives birth

Exodus: Doctor Arzt blows up at the black rock

Exodus: Sawyer tells Jack about his father’s message before he died

Exodus: The raft launches! Walt is kidnapped

So why do we start things we don’t finish?

I had this conversation with a friend a few months ago. We boiled it down to this. People need outlets for creativity. Every time something new comes along we see it as an opportunity to be creative… and yes this applies to twitter. How many times have you thought, “I hope people like this status!” We find ourselves trying to creatively express our inner being through all kinds of different mediums. Even if your status update is just something funny, it might be saying something about your character or the way you look at the world. What do your status updates say about you?

You see, creativity is all about expression. The trick is to find a healthy pattern of creative expression. Without a healthy outlet for creativity we will find ourselves jumping from one thing to the next… stopping the things we’ve started. Here are some things that I’ve found helpful.

Creativity is about Time
Everyone, weather they think so or not, is creative. We all want to reveal who we are through things we create. This is a natural part of our being. If we don’t intentionaly create space for creativity we will find ourselves feeling dry. God not only created space in his life to create, but he created space and time itself!

Creativity is about Breaks
We have to be careful not to let our creativity take control of us. When all you’re focused on is creating a product it’s easy to push your self. “I have to finish this now!” It’s ok to take a break and come back to whatever you’re working on later. You don’t have to spend days on end working on something creative. At some point it gets to be work and not fun. Set aside times where you can be creative for a while and then pause until the next time. God spent six days creating and on the seventh he rested. Take time to enjoy what you’ve done so far.

Creativity is about Process
When you’re creating you don’t have to think about how other’s will view what you’re doing. Creativity is all about taking the time to be you and enjoy how God made you along the way. It’s ok to mess up and make mistakes. If God didn’t enjoy the processes of creation he could have made everything instantly, but instead he took his time to enjoy himself along the way. He took moments to say, “It is good.”

Creativity is about Excellence
Whatever you’re doing, even if you’re not good at it, I think you can still be excellent. That may not make sense at first, but let me elaborate. You’re end product might not seem good to others, but if you put real effort into it you will be able to enjoy your creation. Your creation will be a natural reflection of who you are. God didn’t just slap humankind together, he made us in his image. This took time, thought and care. People can criticize your creations all they want, but if your heart was in the process then it is good!

God’s plan for creation included a moment in which he created a small child… Christ… God with us… Emmanuel. God created himself (crazy thought) so that he could redeem and rescue the world. What a creative plan from a creative God! I hope that this Christmas you will find yourself inspired by God, the creator to set aside some time and partner with him in a creative and new way. God is working on you and through you, and he won’t stop.

I wish you a very creative and merry Christmas!

Over the past few years I’ve tried to write a book, host a podcast, run an online business, design an iPhone app, and who knows what else. They were all great things, and really fun, but I didn’t finish one of them! How come?

And that got me thinking… It’s not just me. We all do it. Even social networking goes through patterns of starting and stopping.

Does this look like your life?
– got on myspace
- got a new email address
- got on facebook
- started a blog
- started subscribing to blogs
- deleted myspace
- played with facebook apps
- blocked facebook apps
- got another new email address
- got a twitter page
- stopped blogging
- consolidated emails
- stopped tweeting
- signed up for google wave
- and here we are…

Ok… so maybe this looks familiar now. (at least I hope I’m not the only one)

So why is it that we continue to follow this pattern? Perhaps it is a sign of something deeper going on inside of us. What do you think?

I’ve written some thoughts in a post titled The Things We Continue.

I sit alone
At home in bed
Looking into a computer screen
Wondering what it means

Nothing on it
Only a blank reflection of the thoughts in my mind

Blank… Empty… Meaningless
Or so it appears

Not really blank
Just not really moving
Jumbled… Chaotic… Yet still
Like a word waiting for whiteout

The screen remains motionless
Each part of it fighting for my attention

Where do I click?
What path do I follow?
What will I be today?
Can I multitask?
So I wonder…

I wait
I look
I do everything, yet accomplish nothing

So much responsibility
So much weight

Where is my help?

Part I: The Ten Commandments and a Christian Nation?
(And this has nothing to do with courthouse buildings.) People say that we are a Christian nation founded on Christian principals, but what does that really mean? I don’t really know the answer to that, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that some people think that the moral code of America derives its roots from principals found in the Bible. So I suppose a good starting point would be the Ten Commandments. Let’s look at each commandment and how it plays out in our society.

No other Gods besides our God.
This is really the opposite of America because we believe in religious freedom. Everyone has a choice to worship any God they want and they receive the same rights as everyone else.

Don’t have any idols.
Well unfortunately consumerism and our self centered society encourage us to have all kinds of idols… even “American Idols”.

Don’t misuse the name of God.
Well aside from people’s foul language, we put His name on our money which is used for all kinds of evil. I wouldn’t want my name on anyone’s blood money.

Remember the Sabbath.
Sadly even most Christians, including myself, do not make this a priority. America is about work and profit and getting ahead in the world. We definitely don’t honor God with our time.

Honor your parents.
The Cosby show was probably the last show to really send this message.

Do not murder.
This is an interesting one. Everyone in the entire world agrees that murder is wrong… unless of course you’re dressed for the occasion. We say it’s wrong to take a life, but if it’s in the nation’s “best interest” then we will do whatever it takes. I’ll be writing more about this when I address the issue of war in another post.

Do not commit adultery.
This one is looked down upon… yet look at the divorce rate.

Do not steal.
We may actually agree on this one depending on how you view taxes… haha.

Do not lie.
I think I already mentioned that we’re talking about politics. Everyone is encouraged to lie in America if it serves in the best interest of others.

Do not covet.
I believe that one of the understated goals of the United States government is to stay on top of everyone else. They have missiles? We better have more.

Part II: Who gets to be the judge?
So I think it’s safe to say that the ideals of America are not as “Christian” as we’d like to think. Here’s something interesting: A lot of people seem to believe that people who are gay are not entitled to the same rights as everyone else, because they live in sin. Well if that argument is true then we have some bigger problems. If you believe that the Ten Commandments are true then it’s probably safe to assume that breaking any one of them is a sin. So under this belief anyone who believes in another God is sinning. (And I believe this of course.) So in supporting religious freedom we are actually supporting a violation of the first commandment. Religious freedom is a fundamental conflict with the Ten Commandments. So for some Christians you can maintain certain rights as long as you follow some of the rules. Now of course I believe in the Ten Commandments and also support freedom of religion at the same time, but I’ll explain how this works later on.

But first, what does this mean?

Let me first say that there are many grey areas here, and I can’t really address everything. Basically I don’t think that we can truly call ourselves a Christian nation. Even if we were at one time, we certainly are not anymore. I also think that morality cannot and should not be dictated by the government. The truth of the matter is that people will act on their own morals despite any law given by the government. If the government asks you to do something which is immoral you won’t do it. In the same way, if the government allows something that’s immoral to be ok you’re still not going to do it. For example: If the government made all drugs legal you probably wouldn’t do drugs if you had a moral objection. Or if the government said that reading the Bible was now against the law, you would probably do it anyway. The point I’m trying to make is that people will act on their own beliefs despite any effort by the government to control them. If you want to do something you will do it. Ultimately God will be the judge of those who do wrong. Our place is not to condemn evil doers, but to offer grace and forgiveness. God is a God of justice, and I believe that everything that is wrong in the world will one day be made right by Him and Him alone.

Part III: Freedom
The great thing about God is that he tells us the truth. He shows us what is right and what is wrong, yet at the same time he doesn’t force anyone to believe it. The Bible says that we are all created in the image of God. The reason that we all agree that murder is bad is because God thinks that murder is bad. The heart of God has been imprinted on the consciousness of humanity. The problem for a lot of people is that without the Holy Spirit they have trouble discerning it and acting on it. So there are things that we can all agree on, and there are things that we will have to disagree on for now. But basically, if are supposed to be like God then we should not force our beliefs on others through the medium of the government. Instead we should allow people to have freedom; the freedom that God gives everyone to choose life or death with their every decision. There are of course problems with this, and these are still issues that I’m wrestling with. A lot of my ideas are still a bit underdeveloped… like what this practically looks like and how it applies to some specific issues. For example: Is murder a moral issue or something more? Murder should be illegal, but on what grounds? Because morality cannot entirely be separated from government I hope to share my thoughts on some specific issues in more detail in the weeks to come.

Part IV: The Election
All of these things play out in different ways as it relates to endorsing a candidate. I’ll be posting more specifically on candidates later on, but I recently decided that my vote is going to Barak Obama. The first reason that I support him is that he isn’t trying to enforce “Christian” morality on the people of America. At the same time, he is a Christian and will probably face moral conflicts on a daily basis. His faith in God will always influence his decisions, but he will also keep in mind the freedom of Americans. The last thing that we want is for a “religion” to run this country. Blaise Pascal once said, “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” Remember the crusades? There are many dangers when we mix politics with people’s interpretation of Biblical morality and principals. Ultimately I find myself resonating with the words of Derek Webb when he said, “My first allegiance is not to a flag, a country or a man. My first allegiance is not to democracy or blood. It’s to a King and a Kingdom!” He also said, “We’ve never had a savior on capitol hill.” Ultimately we have to live out Christ’s teachings no matter what happens in the government. At the same time, I cannot stress enough the importance of voting and getting involved in the political arena. Read up on the candidates and vote based on your convictions and beliefs.

Possible Upcoming Topics
War, Gay Rights, Abortion, Energy, and more…

Links
Barak Obama
Matthew 25 Network
The Debates

1. We previously believed that the powers were genetic and in the brain… that all changed in a few minutes. So much for consistency! Why did we have to save the cheerleader?
2. Mohinder went through several sporadic mood changes and developed a serum to give himself powers. His character is just weird. And by the way… how long has he known Maya? A few days? That relationship moved fast…
3. Ando has powers in the future. (If you giver everyone powers, then nobody is really different.)
4. They introduced “level 5.” aka… we need some more bad guys.
5. Future Peter… the evil version. Peter was the symbol of good on the show, and now that seems meaningless.
6. Hiro can’t stop time? That can’t be correct, because there has to be a stopping point between slowing time and going backwards.
7. Peter seems to forget how many powers he actually has.
8. They replaced Isaac Mendez with somebody else.
9. Sylar killed Bob? That doesn’t really seem like the kind of power he would care for.
10. We found out Mrs. Petrelli’s powers.
11. Nathan became religious over night.
12. Linderman showed up?
13. Niki/Jessica/whoever? Don’t even get me started… ice powers?
14. Mr. Bennet brought home Clairs mom why?
15. Where is the Hatian? And the invisible guy?
16. Anything else I forgot?

So basically what I’m saying is that Lost is the best show ever, and they would never pull something so stupid. Lost is all about the characters and their story. Even the island is in a way a character. Heroes decided to forget about story and focus on special effects and a ridiculous number of twists.

Well tonight might be the end of the world according to some people in Europe. If you haven’t heard, the worlds largest atom smasher is about to get fired up in a few hours. Some people are worried that it will create miniature black holes that will swallow up the earth. Pretty cool huh? For more information on black holes watch the amazing Nova series on String Theory. Pretty amazing stuff actually.

In other news, tonight was the premier of the show Fringe. I’ll watch for a few more weeks, and see where it goes, but I think it has promise. The main idea behind the show is that at some point in the future, technology will get to the point where things which seemed impossible now present impossible problems. It kinda has an x-files feel (although I never actually watched it) but I assume that it’s like x-files.

I’m taking a class this semester where I’m having to look at the future of technology and the places that it may take us, and it’s very interesting how this topic keeps coming up. Whether it’s time travel on Lost or genetic super powers on Heroes, this transformation of science fiction to fact seems to be the direction people are thinking.

The other day I stumbled across a trailer for a short film coming out this January. The movie is called 2081, and will be shown at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. This movie offers a wild yet artistic view of the future. I’m really looking forward to it. Check it out here.

But anyways, I’ve had several classes ranging from science to philosophy which have dealt with the dilemmas of technology in the future. I’m curious what your thoughts are. Where will technology take us? What are the problems and benefits? What is the fate of the present day world? And how small will the next ipod be?

September is here, and with it comes another new season in my life. I’m excited for what lies ahead, so I thought I would give a little update on my life.

Recently…

• I started a new job as the Video Coordinator for Big Valley Grace Community Church.
• I’ve been working on getting myself out of debt.
• I’ve been going to the gym. (off and on…)
• I’ve reorganized my room and tried to simplify things a bit.
• I haven’t done much blogging, but I plan to get back in rhythm.
• I’ve been working on a screenplay! This is a new adventure for me, and I’m loving it.

Coming Soon…

• Thursday I start school back up. I’ll be taking Psychology, Effective Computing, and my Music classes. It’s always great to meet new people in the fall semester.
• In a few weeks I’ll be going on the Young Adult Fall Retreat! I’ll be teaching a session on world religions while I’m there, so I have a lot of studying to do.
• My friends and I are going away to a cabin for a few days to write a novel. This is going to be a blast!
• Starting this Friday you will be able to listen online to me and my friends as we walk through the book of 1 Corinthians on the Devocast. Check it out in iTunes.

All in all there are a lot of things coming, and I’m looking foreward to all of it. Be in prayer that I’m able to balance my time as I develop a new rhythm, and that I would keep God at the center of everything that I do.

If you don’t already know this, a lot of people die in this film. In fact, it is largely based on the fact that tons of people are dying. Right from the beginning Night immerses the viewer in his “R-rated” world of violence and death. He was definitely successful in getting me to the edge of my seat. There were a few moments of tension that brought back memories of I Am Legend in the theater. There were definitely three or four death scenes that were truly gross and disgusting (that’s why it’s rated R… obviously) but none of them were anywhere as gross as some that I’ve seen in other movies. A few of the deaths he took a more “Hitchcockian” approach to and cut away from the gore rather than showing it. What I appreciated from him was the fact the R rating was only for the violence. He didn’t use it as an opportunity to throw a bunch of other things in as well. As he said in an interview, ‘my parents have to see this…’

More than anything, I appreciate the artistic qualities of Shyamalan’s movies. Every movie he makes has a tone which is consistent throughout and he uses the camera in unique and unconventional ways. Each film has so many iconic shots that for me make the movie a sort of art gallery. There are these moments in all of his films where I feel like I’m suspended in time for a moment looking at a painting which he has crafted through the staging, lighting and physical elements of the frame. This movie is no exception. There were some moments that were truly horrific and at the same time beautiful in the way that he crafted them. My favorite shot (for those who have seen the movie) was the one with the ladders. The last shot of the movie was also very haunting and fantastic.

Over all I would have to say that this movie is different from Shyamalan’s other films, in that it’s not an epic story with amazing dialogue and crazy twists, but it is still en example of his unique style and personality. I can see that most movie goers looking for the typical summer blockbuster will not like this movie, but for me it was worth it.