Who wants normal? Not me

I’m starting to grieve the idea of going back to normal. Not that I think ‘normal’—meaning the way things were—is achievable, ever again. We won’t come out of this and return to what we had, ever. But some things will return, for sure. Some I’m happy about. Others I’m not looking forward to at all. …

“He is risen”? I’m not convinced

I just wasn't into the whole "He is risen" thing this Easter.Don't get me wrong, I still believe. At least I think I do. Maybe I don't—not in the way I'm supposed to, anyway. I saw friends posting the typical messages on Facebook on Easter Sunday and I just didn't feel it. I don't blame …

Good Friday: A face-off with anxiety at the edge of the ocean

Today, I walked alone to the edge of the ocean, to confront my cross. It's Good Friday, after all, it's what you do. But my cross isn't in the church. It's there on the beach, in the shadows of the cliffs, right on the line where the surf comes to the end of itself and …

Escape From New York: Even the ultimate dystopian classic could not anticipate 9/11

One of my favourite dystopian thrillers in the 1980s was Escape From New York, which even after almost 40 years is still one of my favourite films. Its vision of the future was so bleak that it stayed with me all the way through my teenagehood—scenes continued to haunt me for years afterwards, from the …

American Movie draws back the curtain

The Dysfunctional Williams Family's expedition to watch one movie from our iTunes library each night for the next year continues. After Friday night's solo viewing of Alien, I followed that up Saturday night with Aliens—also alone. There's just no stomach in the Williams household for movies about creatures that burst from ... the stomach. I …

On solo movie nights, no one can hear you scream

Question: is a family movie night still a family movie night when the family clears off because they don't want to watch the movie? Hmm, in my book, yes. The movie in question was Alien, which none of them have seen, and which none of them want to see. Which left me alone, crusading onwards …