A List of My Life

Rather than writing on this blog, I have been reading and discovering the wonder that is Netflix. Consequently, here is a list of things that are awesome/terrible/a waste of time/thought provoking/a general list of my life recently.

Nomad By Ayaan Hirsi Ali – A MUST read. You may recognize the name because I wrote about her memoir “Infidel” at the end of last summer. As an ex-Muslim, now a professing atheist, she writes a timely critique of multiculturalism, blind tolerance, and the undercurrents of our culture. If I were to summarize this book, it is her reflections on “why”. Why did her life turn out as it did, why could her father never leave Islam, why was her mother so angry, why are immigrants stuck in cycles of poverty and isolation, etc. Probably most interesting for readers of this blog is her call to the church, the Christian church, the moderate, non-liberal, and certainly non-fundamental church, to act as a necessary agent in settling and socializing Muslim immigrants. In addition, her rebuke of feminism is astonishing, as she claims the path feminism is now taking is effectively neutering its own cause, rendering it useless to promote its cause in other countries.

The New Testament and the People of God – N.T. Wright. I am just beginning, and I love it. Academic, sharp, challenging in terms of allusions to Greek literature and mythology, and postmodern (did I say that?). He certainly shies away from it, but his critical realism only truly makes sense for those who have dabbled in postmodern thought, because it certainly lacks the hard and fast linear rationalism of the enlightenment thinkers. So far, so good.

Underworld – movie. Still awesome years after it was made.

Love and Other Drugs – movie. Worthwhile. Anne Hathaway has had a little piece of my heart ever since “Rachel’s Getting Married” and in this film, there are segments that show the same calibre of acting. Moreover, it is a sappy love story, with unadulterated sex, disease (not what you think), and really F***ed up people who somehow come together and are messed up together.

Dexter – TV Show. Not that I need another series to watch, but Netflix draws me in. So far, intrigued.

Criminal Minds – Season 1 & 2. When I started dreaming about serial killers, I knew I needed a break. I have watched a lot of this show in the past, but never in order. It is better following the character development, because lets be serious crime shows are all the same.

How I Met Your Mother – This season has been awesome.

The Apocrypha – Still a must read. Spending time on my lunch breaks at work reading this has been a lot of fun. Tobit is just a good story, and Judith dominates on behalf of women. Lots of weird stuff, it helps me return to other literature, the Bible included, with a more critical eye.

Spy Game – Movie. Fun flick while it lasted, but completely non-memorable.

Skiing – yes please. A fantastic weekend last week up at the Deep Winter Photo Challenge in Whistler, watching my brother take home 3rd prize, and winning most banger shot of the entire show. The snow was also great, wind loaded slopes with up to knee-deep powder. Extra fun was had showing my older brother around the mountain, he flew out from Edmonton. Tonight I am driving back up to Whistler to chase the snowstorm and take some pictures with my brother tomorrow.

Thus concludes the whirlwind trip through my life of late.