Hello and welcome to the 90th edition of my Random Thoughts. Spring-like weather is in the air during the dead of winter, so with that in mind, let's get to it. Enjoy.
- Today is the 4-year anniversary of me accepting Jesus Christ as my savior and me becoming a born-again Christian. It's a major deal for me in my life. In honor of that, I wanted to talk about something related to my faith and my beliefs, thus we have the "samaritan" edition. The term "Good Samaritan" is based on a parable of the same name in the Bible, specifically the passages of Luke 10:25-37 (find a Bible or look it up on Wikipedia to read the parable). A basic non-parochial definition of a Good Samaritan would be "a compassionate person who unselfishly helps others." There is another term that's been used by many in the same regard: hero. Being a comic-book aficianado, I am very familiar with many concepts behind heroism (a subject I might talk about in a future blog). Even though the two terms may seem interchangeable, they are not. I think the best way to show this is to say "Good Samaritans are heroes, but not all heroes are Good Samaritans." The reason why it's that way is due to how the terms are assigned. The term "Good Samaritan" can be used to describe oneself or another person and the meaning won't change. That rule does not apply to the term "hero." "Hero" is an assigned term, one in which the meaning can change based on who says it. Calling someone else a hero does not have the same connotation as calling yourself a hero. In fact, using "hero" as a self-description brings about an aura of self-indulgent arrogance that undermines what people know about the concept of heroism. It's also not uncommon to interchange "hero" with the term "superhero," though there is a slight difference in that a superhero has some type of distinction or an advantage like an extranormal power that distiguishes them as "super." I don't know of any actual superheroes in real life, just those in comic books, TV, and other literature. However, there are many Good Samaritans and heroes out there in the world. One more thing before I move on...in my Book of DJ (something I'll introduce in a later blurb), I made it known that I would rather be known as a Good Samaritan than as a hero because people would know where I stood. This is one statement that I hope defines me in terms of my faith as a Christian and one that I hope keeps me going forward as a follower of Jesus.
- Speaking of superheroes, Henry Cavill, a Brit, has been cast as Superman/Clark Kent in the next movie. He is a really good actor and does have a passing resemblence to the comic book hero. I think he will be what Christian Bale was for Batman...a more grounded and potentially defining version of the superhero. It doesn't hurt that the same team from the recent Batman films is working on the upcoming Superman movie. I just hope they find the right Lois Lane the way Smallville did with Erica Durance. However, despite my excitement about Cavill, I do feel that Brandon Routh, the previous Clark Kent, should have been given more consideration for the next movie than I heard he got. I think he was handicapped by the fact that Bryan Singer wanted some weird-ass remake of the original Superman film with his people and Routh was stuck having to play Christopher Reeve as Superman rather than portray the Man of Steel on his own merits. For the record, I hated Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor in that film. Based on his work on the TV show Chuck and in other films, he should have been given the chance to make the role his own. I wouldn't be surprised if Brandon Routh does end up playing Clark Kent in the future in some other medium (TV, voiceover, etc.).
- I've been watching the American Idol auditions for the upcoming season. Outside of auditions, the only other time I watched any of the show was season 5 when they had Chris Daughtry, Katherine McPhee, and Taylor Hicks. I decided to check out this season because of the change in the judges. The only judge I liked on the show was Randy Jackson as the other ones over the years just got on my nerves. With him sticking around and with Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler on board (two artists I like), I thought I'd check it out. I can say that I have not been disappointed. Given the stature of J-Lo and Tyler in the entertainment world and their experiences of what it takes to be on top, I expected a level of professionalism that I just didn't sense in past years in terms of the judging. There is a lot of talent in this season's auditions and I think there will be a talent base as strong or even superior to that of season 5. I get the sense that with the quality of the talent and the judges this feels like, as big as it's been during its existence, the series is finally grounded with nowhere to go but up.
- Earlier I talked about something called the "Book of DJ." This is something I started doing on Facebook as a way to express lessons and wisdom I've picked up along the way. The title is a takeoff of things that start with "The Book Of" like love, David, etc. Unlike most of my writing where I try to be as plain-spoken and clear as possible, the Book of DJ can be read into a bit and thought through. It may have one meaning, it may have many meanings, it may be obvious or it may not be...whatever I write, I hope it leads to greater wisdom and interesting conversation down the line. In any case, it's not gonna be a regular thing...I'm only doing it when the fancy strikes me.
- I guess it wouldn't be a Random Thoughts blog if there wasn't at least one thing for me to rip on or complain about. This one is about the Grammys. Who in the wide, wide world of sports thought it would be a good idea to take the "Jethro Tull for Best Rock Grammy" moment and stretch it over an entire Grammy show? Yeah, me neither. However, that's what I thought we got with the Grammys from this past Sunday. Who would have thought that the Best New Artist would be someone who's been around since 2008 and already have three albums out? Or who would have thought that an indie group who couldn't even win Best Indie Album Grammy (which went to the Akron group The Black Keys) would be the one to win Best Album? There were some real head-scratchers this year in terms of award-selection. I also think there were too many performances and not enough awards given out in the telecast, a big reason people watch in the first place. As evidenced this past Sunday, the Grammys seem to be suffering from a decline in stature. From the reaction I've seen, people were not happy with the results and the show itself and the Grammys may have to take a step back in order to figure out how to fix things. I just hope there isn't another Grammy show like this past one again.
- In a change of pace in more than one regard, I've got one thing to say...FINALLY!!! The Rock has come back to WWE! To say his presence was missed is an understatment. For several years now there seemed to be something missing that the Rock automatically brings to the table every time he steps into the ring...a dynamic and dynamism unseen regularly since the end of the Monday Night Wars of the late 90's. It's the first time I've been electrically excited about wrestling in ages. I hope the dynamism keeps up in the future.
- Song on repeat: "I Won't Hold You Back" by Toto. The group Toto seems to be one of those bands that makes some great songs and you know what the songs are, but you repeatedly forget that they're the group that sang it in the first place. Until recently this was one of those songs that fell into that category for me.
- SLP to the following: Griff, Dave, Jay, Marcia (happy birthday), Ernest, Donielle, Xavier, Holly, Michael D., Aunts Susie and Claudia, Cheryl, Jessica (happy birthday), Shane B., Dawn, Katie, Michelle, Cara, Paula, Todd (happy birthday), Nicole (happy birthday), Jamie, Bill, Debbie (happy birthday), Sean D. and Diane.
With this preview of warm weather for the next few days, I'm starting to look forward to the end of this winter. I hope to get out more with the better and warmer weather because I've been cooped up for the longest time. Until next time, folks. Take care and God Bless.
