Wow. Just Wow. This movie has it all, almost. Well, it didn’t have ninjas or pirates or space aliens, but it made up for that with robot zombies and a giant robot robot. Great music, fun dancing, and some amazing visual effects. The best part about it was that the climax didn’t involve just one master plan that would knock out the baddies. Instead, the big finish involved a huge number of twists and the last 30 minutes are non-stop, very satisfying action.

Oddly enough, the movie left me thinking as I walked out. The very end of the end features an interesting exploration of what it means to be truly human – or not – as happens in all robot movies. As a film, Robot draws in elements from all other robot movies, from Metropolis on down to Terminator, with a touch of Frankenstein and a dab of Edward Scissorhands. The action sequences definitely contain nods to chopsocky films, as well as the slick stylizations of Russia’s Nochnoi Dozor and Dnevnoi Dozor. It even has an awesome quote just before a baddie administers a massive beatdown: “Happy Diwali, everyone!” (Gratuitous explosions and mayhem follow.)

Looks like I came back to the action, but I can’t also forget the love story and how it showed the way the ugly side of humans comes through. Loved it. The script is full of intelligent turns and twists and the whole experience is massively entertaining, even the 30 second title sequence that introduces “Superstar Rajni.” Must see, four stars, five forks, has a great beat and makes you want to dance, fun for the whole family over the age of 15 because it’s pretty intense and I’m definitely buying the DVD when it comes out. Multiple thumbs up.

We want to create world peace. But peace is not merely the absence of war. There is so much internal strife and that prejudice feeds into the national aspect. We have to change ourselves if we want to change the world. – Arun Manilal Gandhi

I love the channels at the end of the satellite spectrum, the public access and noncommercial ones. That’s where I find some real treasures. Today’s treasure was the wisdom of Arun Manilal Gandhi, courtesy of an address made at BYU on 23 March 1999, broadcast on KBYU, 8AM on a Saturday morning. He taught about controlling anger and controlling violence not only against other people, but also violence against the world. When you consider the violence contained in the disposal of a usable pencil, and the nonviolence in picking up the disposed pencil for more use, you will see part of the lessons he taught.

He discussed keeping an anger journal. He said it would be useful if one kept it in order to control anger and to change its ability to control us. This sounds like something I’d like to take up. If we hold ourselves to account for our violence, we will want to naturally reduce our debts in that area.

We would also want to do that to be a better example to others. The healing the world needs begins first in our own hearts. Whether Gandhi or Jesus says it, it’s still true.

Anything done through fear will not last. Anything done through love will last forever. – Arun Manilal Gandhi

I first heard this Led Zeppelin song when I started listening to the radio back in the 6th grade. I always liked the guitar riffs in it and loved the complexity of the melodies. I never really understood the lyrics, and reading them didn’t help much. They just sort of conveyed a feeling of yearning for some bygone time. When I found out the title, “Ten Years Gone”, that yearning feeling grew in my imagination.

I was 11 years old when I first heard it and maybe almost 13 when I first bought the Physical Graffiti album and discovered the title of the song. I was a kid, then, barely ten years after any sort of thing. The stuff ten years gone in my past was far, far behind me and wasn’t the stuff of yearning. So I imagined then what my life would be like in ten years, when I could reflect back on that moment.

It’s now 30 years later, give or take some months. The song came up in my mix and I had to sit back and reflect on what happened to that young boy from 1979 or 1981. I put the song on repeat and started this note.

I closed my eyes and saw the world as I saw it back then, looking out of my second story bedroom window on the yard below. Yes, I’m older and more experienced, but there’s still a part of me that’s 11 years old. I still look into the world and find a way to discover its magic in spite of all the evil that tries to get in the way. I love to discover new things, to find the good on the planet. It’s there, and my heart is open to receive it.

Now that I’m 42, there’s plenty in my life that’s now 10 years old or more. Have I been a good steward of the life that 11-year-old bequeathed to me in all my annual incarnations? Have I done right by the boy that looked out the window and wondered what it would be like to one day reflect on ten years since something happened? I’d like to think so. My heart tells me so, and my mind has no objections.

And I still look to that future and what it will hold for me. I truly have no idea what each passing moment may require of me, but I know if I approach the things that are coming with a heart wide open and eyes ready to see the good in everyone, I’ll find the hope that keeps me going.

Found this at Half-Price Books for ten bucks. This is a real treasure: 3 CDs, 50 songs, all of them with Michael Jackson putting his passion for the music into every note he sings. The other four Jacksons aren’t too shabby, but you can really hear the magic of MJ’s talent shining bright.

Thomas Carlyle taught that all famous men are, at the end of the day, just men. And yet, they can still be capable of some amazing things. Right now, I want to remember Michael Jackson for the gift of music that no one can deny he gave to us all.

Good gosh, I’m crying while I listen to “Rockin’ Robin.”

Jesus Christ was a man who traveled through the land
Hard working man and brave
He said to the rich, “Give your goods to the poor.”
So they laid Jesus Christ in his grave. – Woody Guthrie, “Jesus Christ”

This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright # 154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do. – Woody Guthrie’s copyright warning, ca. 1940

His guitar was a fascist-killing machine and from the looks of his copyright warning, he was Open Source before Open Source was cool. When money tried to make him sing something other than what he wanted to sing, he walked away from the money. His songs have a resonance that echo across the decades. In their simplicity, they are immortal. Now if only more folks would really listen to them, we’d have something here.

Omaha has a great character to it. I’m having a good time up here. More to come…

For my birthday, I headed down to the Huong Ly, a great little Vietnamese place just north of Belt Line, off Greenville. Don’t go there for the atmosphere: go there for the great food at very reasonable prices. We had four entrees and two appetizers for right at $30.

First to arrive were the spring rolls… delightful little things, full of contrasting temperatures and textures. Dip them into the sweet peanut sauce for more fun.

Next were the fried eggrolls. As mentioned here previously, these are full of meat and very little filler. Absolute heaven in a compact cylinder. They arrive freshly fried, very hot on the inside. I have to wait a little before starting on one of these so I don’t burn my tongue, but I definitely eat one.

Next arrival was the durian smoothie. I love durian stuff. I love the way it stinks at first and then becomes an irresistible flavor after tasting. Not everyone likes the durian, but I am truly blessed in that regard. Calvin took a taste and liked it, Yvette tried it and said, “meh,” because she has no sense of smell. Malia took a whiff of it and found it objectionable. Little kids can be like that.

Malia’s sandwich was next to arrive. She tried it, but the fish sauce on it was a bit too strong for her. The rest of us took a bite and found it fantastic.

The main entrees were soon in arriving at our table, given how they were on the same tray as the sandwich. Calvin had the chicken with rice noodles.

Yvette had the pork chop on rice…

… and I had the pork and shrimp on rice noodles. Those crumbly things on top are peanuts. There’s a little bit of sauce to pour on top of it and stir around. Everything in it tastes wonderful and there’s an amazing interplay of flavors. I could go on with more gastronomic praise, but suffice to say this stuff didn’t just hit the spot. It smacked it right on the nose.

And then, Malia asked to try the durian smoothie. I thought, sure, why not? I don’t want to try to talk her down from exploring new flavors. In spite of its smell, I soon saw this:

She ate about half of it! The flavor Andrew “Bizarre Foods” Zimmern can’t swallow, she ate half of! I couldn’t believe it. I’m proud of her for giving it a try and finding another new taste to add to her repertoire.

I decided to eat some of her sandwich in exchange for the smoothie. 🙂

Was it good? See for yourself:

We pretty much cleaned our plates. Thank you for the happy birthday, Huong Ly!