That's What Jenni Said

I've been varying my media diet as of late and ingesting a lot of content that I don't normally favor and it's been GREAT. I want to highlight some of the stand outs. Movies 1. Hillsborough. This documentary is part of the ESPN 30 for 30 soccer stories that have been produced and are being released in advance of the upcoming world cup. The film draws us into the scene of one of the worst soccer stadium disasters in history during a soccer match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England. It's not so much about sports as it is about crowd behavior, police cover up, politics, and the importance of proper architectural design. Even if you're not a sports fan you'll be riveted. It's airing again on June 6th at 10pm on ESPN. If you don't mind spoilers, the in-depth discussion of the film can be found here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/espns-30-30-soccer-stories-694728 2. Hoop Dreams. This documenta...

It was a very full weekend around our household. Friday I prepped and executed a birthday party for Literary Elly May . It was her 27th and we employed a zombie theme for the event. It was nice to have all her friends join us to celebrate. Saturday I led my walking meetup ( NoVA Walkers ) on a moderately challenging 6.8 mile hike in the Shenandoah Natl Park. We hiked Piney River Falls with a group of 8 and stopped for lunch once we reached the falls. The trail configuration is out-and-back, with a 3.4 mile decline down the valley to the falls and likewise 3.4 mile incline return. My recent running program has dramatically improved my cardio so I had no difficulties on the return section with breathing. However, despite my  muscle building (also thanks to running) it was clearly not enough to prepare me for a trail with this kind of protracted incline because although I was fine during the hike, I was very sore all day Sunday. Still, it was great to get out there and rise to the ...

  Last night I saw Mist , the new Stephen King movie. It was ok. The plot narrowed in on a few key themes that were repeated throughout the movie- regret, guilt, death, fear, and base instincts of mankind. The movie ends with a sense of hopelessness and regret. I think there were also some subtle digs against the current White House administration and the war in Iraq but that could just be my own bias talking. He also picked on religion as well. Overall the story kept me riveted and the movie was fear inspiring without being too gruesome (still not safe for the little kids of course). One of the things on my mind today is the famous expression "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". This is a quote of Friedrich Nietzsche. Do you think this sentiment is actually true? Do you think there is scriptural support for such an assertion or is it a case where man's accepted wisdom is off kilter from scriptural realities? Another thing on my mind is an article I read in...