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Most people have probably forgotten about the Oscars by now, so it is time for me to post something about it. The Academy Awards (AKA the Oscars) are becoming increasingly irrelevant for the general population. The Academy voters, along with critics in general, are selecting movies using their own odd criteria. And those criteria are more along the lines of esoteric “art” or the right social issue – not necessarily what makes a movie a good movie.

Judging anything is subjective, and movies are no exception. So there is bound to be some level of disagreement with the selections. But most of the movies chosen are not popular movies, meaning that most people would rather see other movies. Doesn’t that mean that there are better movies than those which won Oscars?

I agree with Molière, in his Critique of the School for Wives, when he says that if we followed the same philosophy as movies in other areas of life, such as food, then we wouldn’t know whether to enjoy the meals we ate until we consulted a food critic. “That’s like a man who might find a sauce delicious, and who would then try to find out if it was good by looking it up in Le Cuisinier français.” He argues that the opinions of the general public is more important that those of critics. Why do the movie studios produce movies – for the critics? No, they produce movies to make money, which means selling tickets, which means that the public should be more important than the critics. Molière produce his play in 1663, so this disconnect between critics and audiences has been around for at least a few hundred years.

I find that I am more likely to trust people I know than a critic whom I don’t know. The critic may provide some useful information in his description of a movie, but I don’t trust a simple rating, such as 3 stars or 2 and a half roses or 4 tomatoes. What I do want to know in a movie review, but most don’t provide, is what level of what objectionable content there is. To a critic, it seems there is no objectionable content. I like the reviews in World Magazine, which uses Kids in Mind.

I think many people fall into the same category as I – they know that the Academy selects movies that they’ll never watch. The Academy awards movies in order to promote them. It is just a big advertisement and marketing campaign. “We know you don’t care much about this movie and no one you know has seen it, but look at all the accolades it has received. With all this publicity, it must be a good movie!”

“For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved.”
– 2 Peter 2:18-19

A while back I had an interesting traffic situation. I was attempting to leave a shopping area. There was one car in front of me, sitting at the stop sign.  Just when traffic was about to clear, allowing us to enter the road, the driver put his car in park and got out. He then crossed to the far side of the driveway, went partway down the drainage ditch, and picked up an empty can.

It took him about 15 seconds to get the can and return. And 15 seconds of idling would waste about 1/1200 of a gallon (at a rate of 1/10 of a gallon per 30 minutes).

At $3.00 a gallon, 15 seconds of idling burns about a quarter of a penny.  The shopping center was in the state of Michigan, which gives you 10 cents for eligible can returns. So the guy did not waste that much money by idling his car – in fact he came out 9.75 cents ahead.

And 9.75 cents per 15 seconds of work translates to 39 cents a minute or 23.4 dollars an hour, not a bad rate. But there is no way he would be able to collect cans at a sustained rate of 1 can every 15 seconds, at least not by driving along the road and stopping for recyclables.

These calculations do not take into account the extra idling required because he then missed the traffic window provided by the nearby stoplight. So he and I – and the person behind me – had to wait even longer for traffic to clear. And I did not get any money out of it, so it was not worth my time.

It is one thing to stop and pick up cans. It is another to block traffic to do so. If you’re going to stop your car, please make sure you are not in anyone’s way.  And if you are stuck behind someone, do give them the benefit of the doubt

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
– Romans 12:18

I hope, for America’s sake, that the new TV show “The Moment of Truth” does not do well. It is setup to embarrass people or damage their relationships.

The TV show “The Biggest Loser” seemed at first to be not a nice show. Just watching the previews, I thought that the show was making fun of fat people.

The TV show “Average Joe” seemed at first to be a nice show. Just watching the previews, I was thought that the show was helping average guys.

After watching both shows, I switched my opinions of each. It seems that a bunch of people have the same opinion, as Biggest Loser has continued success but Average Joe is gone. Some of that may be due to the element-of-surprise nature of Average Joe.

I believe that America likes Biggest Loser because it is a show with a good intent – helping people. Average Joe had the guise of helping people but turned out to be a mean show – humiliating people.

I believe that “Moment of Truth” is a mean show – the goal is to humiliate people. And I do not want to watch it. The show is meant to capitalize on the bad parts of human nature. The contestants are, in effect, selling their souls. They are trying to win money and are apparently ready to sacrifice other parts of their lives (friendships, marriage, dignity) for that money.

Both the contestant and the network share blame for any fallout. The contestants have a choice in the matter and are responsible for their actions and words. But who is writing the questions? Who is placing the contestant is such a predicament? Just as the participants are placing money above all else, so the producers are placing ratings (and therefore money) above all else.

“But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
– I Timothy 6:9

We have just gone through the saddest day of the year, the third Monday of January.
The theory is based on a number of factors, but one that I did not see in there was that January 21 was the day after the last football playoff game and people have realized that there is only one game of football left.

I don’t know what combination of factors affected me, but I did notice a downswing in my mood this last week. It started when I was watching The Jungle Book with my son. At the end of the movie is the song “My Own Home” sung by the girl from the village. As she was singing about how she is fetching the water and some day she’ll have a daughter who will fetch the water, I was remembering how I watched the movie when I was a child.

Now I have a child and he’s watching the movie, and some day he will have a child and that child will watch the same movie. That got me feeling old. Then the next day I heard most of “Summer of ’69” (Bryan Adams) on the radio, and a little while later I caught the end of “Glory Days” (Bruce Springsteen). Those two songs will get you feeling very sentimental, and they just added to the this-life-is-short feeling. I wasn’t feeling sad or depressed, just nostalgic.

The one song that is supposed to make you feel old is “Time” by Pink Floyd. It has the right words and does cause me to think about how time is flying, but it doesn’t have the same emotional quality as “Summer of ’69” or “Glory Days”. So although I didn’t hear “Time” last week, I think it wouldn’t have affected me much.

“Do not say, “Why is it that the former days were better than these?” For it is not from wisdom that you ask about this.”
– Ecclesiastes 7:10

Last week, I read my copy of the Inspire (the alumni magazine for Cedarville College). I know that Cedarville likes to call itself Cedarville University these days, but to me it will always be Cedarville College.

One item that stood out to me was an article about Peace Bears. It is a sad but worthwhile story about an organization that gives teddy bears in memory of stillborn children. That way the parents have a memento and an outlet for their grief. And, as the website says, it allows them to take something home rather than leave with empty arms.
I think the reason I noticed the article was because of the photographer we had take our family picture last summer. She was involved in Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, an organization that provides infant bereavement photography. It was one of those things that I had never even considered before – what to do when your child dies.

“and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
– Revelation 21:4