When someone says, “I had an idea,” what exactly do they mean? Where do “ideas” come from? This is a question not often-enough asked in creative writing programs, painting classes, music or film programs. It is so simple and basic as to elicit a “give me a break” reaction from some people, but I for [...]
Archive for August, 2007
August 15, 2007
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Confessions of a Screenwriter, Month Two: Exploring Creation Ex Nihilo
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Christianity and Culture, Hollywood, Life in general
August 15, 2007
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Underground Life
By Tex in While DeployedThe showroom was filled from floor to ceiling with hand-thrown and hand-painted ceramic works of art. Every piece approached perfection in form, in intricate detail, and in color combination. Some of the ceramics were imitations of ancient Hittite vases, platters, and pitchers; others were painted in the traditional Turkish blue, white, and contrasting orange and [...]
August 13, 2007
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Confessions of a Screenwriter, Month One: Brainstorming a story
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Creation and Creativity, Hollywood, Life in generalI confessed in my last post that I wanted to write a screenplay, and why. But I had a problem: Having friends in the film department at Biola, I knew I was not “a film person.” And frankly, I did not want to become one of the many people I knew where were always “working [...]
August 10, 2007
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Lungs and Mortality – Part III
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Life in generalPart III – Death and Vulnerability People are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. One study (I heard of but haven’t seen) showed that people would feel more nervous about an inevitable impending speaking engagement than of impending bodily dissolution. Why is this?
August 10, 2007
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Ethical Adventure 1: Way Too Christian
By Tex in "Questions worth Asking", While DeployedI will be presenting, good reader, a weekly predicament, either actual or possible, that someone in my situation might be reasonably expected to face as a conservative Christian officer serving in the military. My intention in presenting you with this scenario is two-fold: to acquaint you with the sorts of decisions men and women in [...]
August 9, 2007
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Lungs and Mortality – Part II
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Life in generalPart II – Re-expansion of the lung may take several days with the chest tube left in place. The second time my lung collapsed was one of the worst experiences of my life. I was sitting in on a round-table philosophy seminar, a sophomore in college, discussing The Consolation of Philosophy. Boethius, a Roman philosopher [...]
August 8, 2007
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Confessions of a Screenwriter, Preface: The ‘Why’
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Creation and Creativity, Hollywood, Life in generalI like writing. Fiction, non-fiction, lyrics and verse, whatever, it’s all good. Some of my heroes in history were writers, (though some were not, notably Jesus and Socrates) and I have found myself desirous and verbally able to begin an apprenticeship of admiration and imitation of their writings, and experimentation with my own. Movies are [...]
August 8, 2007
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Lungs and Mortality – Part I
By Keith E. D. Buhler in Life in generalPart I – The objective is to remove the air from around the lungs I was eighteen the first time my lung collapsed. The ER doctor called it a “spontaneous pneumothorax.” He said “Pneumothorax” is Latin for “lung collapse.” Then “spontaneous” must be Latin for “spontaneous.” I was surprised to learn that the word “spontaneous” [...]
August 7, 2007
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The Patience of God
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Theology (Christian Life)Sometimes, it is difficult to not be frustrated with God. After all, if he could change me into a saint in the twinkling of an eye, why wouldn’t he? In the words of the Psalmist, “How long, Oh Lord?” How long must I toil and struggle and see so little progress in the seemingly interminable [...]
August 7, 2007
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Two Reflections on Tombstone
By Matthew Lee Anderson in Reviews (Films)I’m on holiday these days, which means (a) reading books rather than blogging and (b) watching far too many movies. Tonight: that quintessentially male western, Tombstone. Somewhat surprisingly, I found myself not merely being entertained by Val Kilmer’s salacious lines, but provoked into two reflections on life and pop culture. 1) Wyatt Earp, adequately played by [...]
August 6, 2007
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In Response to “Turkish Delight”
By Keith E. D. Buhler in War and PeaceSecond, the imposition of secular values on a society with strong religious sentiments only invites a backlash and revolt by those whose religion explicitly rejects secular and worldly notions. (See Mortimer Adler’s essay on World Peace In Truth for a much better and more interesting treatment of what I am about to say. ) Many people [...]
August 5, 2007
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Turkish Delight
By Tex in While DeployedWestern eyes tend to scrutinize Turkey as one of the few truly secular states in the Middle East; even though Turks themselves would like to think of themselves as more European than Middle Eastern—and certainly NOT Arab. With the recent Turkish elections, many have harbored fears that the secular stronghold in Turkey may become increasingly [...]
August 4, 2007
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Light Blogging for a While
By Matthew Lee Anderson in NewsBlogging will be a little lighter than normal the next two weeks. This week, I’ll be in Hawaii. Immediately after that, we drive to St. Louis and finally move in to our apartment. No doubt it will take me a few days to get the internet, etc. up and running there. Apologies.