Meditating

I've been meditating on these words and images from the Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011).  Enjoy.



The nuns taught us there are two ways through life...
The way of Nature
And the way of Grace. 
You have to choose which one you'll follow.

Grace doesn't try to please itself. 
Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. 
Accepts insults and injuries.
 
Nature only wants to please itself. 
Get others to please it too. 
Likes to lord it over them. 
To have its own way. 

It finds reasons to be unhappy--
When all the world is shining around it,
When love is smiling through all things.
They taught us that no one who loves the way of grace
Ever comes to a bad end.

Lord, why? Where were you?

Did you know what happened? 

Do you care? 

Help each other. 

Love everyone. 

Every leaf. 

Every ray of light. 

Forgive. 

The only way to be happy is to love. Unless you love, your life will flash by.

Clips: The Way of Nature & the Way of Grace  and the incredible Creation Sequence.

Film Studies 101

Now that I can talk about going back to school, I'd also like to share a bit of preparation I'm doing to a) re-adjust to academia, it's lingo, trends, etc... and b) to better educate myself in film, as I've never formally studied it.  

As for the latter, I asked the film professor I'm going to be working with for a list of films he teaches on in undergrad courses.  He agreed to in return to the link for the Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which I readily obliged.  He held up his end by giving me the lists he uses in his survey classes.  In total, there are about 50 films, some of which I've seen (a few of which I'll be passing on for now) but I wanted improve my percentage.  

A few of the films are available to stream, some others my friends offered to let me borrow, but many still seemed hard to come by.  Until a friend's sister and brother-in-law needed a house-sitter.  Lucky for me, said brother-in-law is a film critic and has amassed an impressive dvd library.  It was inspiring and now I definitely want to start my own Criterion Collection.

So for one glorious weekend, I had a house and this library all to myself.  So my self-appointed mission for the weekend was to watch as many of the films on my list as possible.  The only rules were: they had to be ones I'd never seen before and ones that I didn't readily have access to.

 

All that said, I thought it might be good to give you a little run down on each film [Disclaimer: These are hardly reviews, more like "initial thoughts"].  Alright, in viewing order:

1)  The Lady Eve - A very good romantic comedy caper.  It hits all the classic notes - girl and boy meet on a cruise, girl is trying to con boy, girl ends up falling for boy - without falling into trope (though maybe creating trope?). 

Outstanding feature: Edith Head costumes

Favorite performance: Barbara Stanwyck as Jean / Lady Eve

Recommend it: Yes, widely

Misc: I could see Amy Adam's being influenced by this for her role in American Hustle

2)  Thin Red Line - One of the best war movies I've seen - especially due to Malick's philosophical questions paired with jaw-dropping cinematography and a superb cast.

Oustanding feature: You mean other than Jim Caviezel's eyes?  Malick's cinematography is some of the finest ever.  [Trivia: after shooting over a million feet of film, the original cut was six hours long]

Favorite performance: I can't decide between Sean Penn and Jim Caviezel (I'm pretty sure this was his audition to play Jesus)

Recommend it: Yes - especially as a war movie

Misc: The score for this film was marvelous - and I was grateful to discover only after-the-fact that it was composed by Hans Zimmer (he wouldn't have been my first guess).

3)  Trouble in Paradise - An even earlier romantic comedy caper - I liked it, though not as much as The Lady Eve.

Outstanding feature: Fur! Ok, kidding... kind of.  The camera showed only what was necessary, often implying rather than showing.

Favorite performance: Herbert Marshall

Recommend it: Yes

Misc: Rather steamy for a 1932 film ;)

4) Breathless [Originally: À bout de souffle] - Hello new-wave!  I could see what this film was trying to accomplish and can appreciate that, but it didn't align with my tastes - except for Jean Seberg's pixie!

Oustanding feature: popularized the jump-cut

Favorite performance: Jean Seberg

Recommend it: Only to film enthusiasts

Misc: One of my favorite quotes - 

Patricia: Greatest Ambition?

Parvulesco: To become immortal... and then die

5)  The French Connection - A gritty exploration of the anti-hero.  Though iconic, content here was not compelling to me. 

Oustanding feature: the train chasing scene - classic sequence

Favorite performance: Gene Hackman

Recommend it: Depending on the person

Misc: Based on a true story, the film included a lot of actual officers who were actually involved on the French Connection heroine bust.

6)  The 400 blows [Originally: "Les quatre cents coups" a French idiom "to raise hell"] - The first ever French New-Wave film, The 400 Blows was released at the Cannes Film Festival in 1959 to wide acclaim--and it's easy to see why!  This film is stunningly tragic and tragically stunning. And I preferred this to Breathless.
Outstanding feature:  Inventive imagery - where Malick's cinematography captures the grace of moving pictures, Truffaut's cinematography moves the audience with the subject

Favorite performance: 14-year-old Jean-Pierre Léaud

Recommend it:  Yes - especially to film enthusiasts

Misc: Another beautiful score!  Also, this film is dedicated to one of my favorite film theorists: André Bazin. I can see Wes Anderson being very influenced by this film and it's main character.

7)  Rushmore - This one wasn't actually on the list.  It was a fun one because Wes Anderson!  I loved it just as much as I expected to.  Jason Schwartzman - a long-time favorite of mine - makes a marvelous film debut in this examination of community-making and belonging.

Outstanding feature:  In this, Anderson's 2nd feature film, his now-familiar style emerges with flair - people moving in and out of shots, hand-written letters, intimate close-ups, filming through windows, long pans, etc.

Favorite performance: Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray - these two play marvelously off one another.  Personal theory: it's because they've mastered the hilarity of silence.

Recommend it: Yes, to mature audiences

Misc: Full of Coppola in-jokes [the whole trivia section of IMDB is delightful].  Also "I saved Latin. What did you ever do?"

8)  American Graffiti - I doubt anyone had any idea at the greatness this seemingly easy-going film contained.  Early performances by Richard Dreyfuss and Harrison Ford, written and directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola - this film is a powerhouse.

Outstanding feature: Set on a single night, the plot and characters are carefully interwoven in an excellent balance.

Favorite performance: Both Richard Drefuss and Ron Howard do an excellent job.

Recommend it: Yes

Misc: Filmed in sequence in 29 nights so that characters appear tired as the actors grew tired.

9)  Bonnie and Clyde - Another iconic film, this is so much more than a film about a bank-robbing duo.  Exploring the true story's 1930 setting, Bonnie and Clyde is a romanticized story of disappointment.

Outstanding feature: This is the first film to show a bullet being fired and hitting it's target in the same shot (before, the norm had been to show a gun firing and then cut to the affect)

Favorite performance: Warren Beatty and Faye Dunway

Recommend it: Yes, some mature moments

Misc:  Bonnie Parker's wardrobe is classic - pencil skirts, sweaters, and berets forever!

For all the intense films, it was a wonderful weekend!  I'm so glad I got the opportunity.  

What were your impressions of some of these films?  Let me know in the comments and let me know if you have any related recommendations.

Next Steps

Have you ever told yourself that this thing you love is just a side thing, a hobby, something you will only love amateurly? And then one day you woke up and realized that all along it was the thing?

Well, I have.

If you've read much of anything I post on here, you know I can boil down quite a few of my favorite things to stories, narrative, adaptations, novels, films, that sort of thing...  Last fall, I began really wrestling with what these passions are for and how they might all fit together.  Graduate school had been weighing on my mind for some time - but grad school for what exactly?  Somehow, I didn't think, "I just really love stories - will you let me back in?" was going to cut it for a personal statement. But, there were times sitting at an office desk when I couldn't help but whisper to myself, "I don't belong here..."

When I finally did allow myself to believe that maybe I could actually pursue this thing I love so deeply, it became clear that going back to school was the necessary step.  So I entered this marathon of applications, I put a label on what I want to research - "transmuted adaptation" - and I started asking for a lot of help.  After a very grueling application process, a lot of prayer, too many vague posts, and anxiously waiting...

I am very excited to announce that I am returning to school this September. I will be pursuing a Master's in English and Film at Oregon State University and, thanks to their generous funding package, I'll also be teaching English composition.

Thinking about graduate school makes me feel like I'm returning home and that I'm venturing into some wilderness all at the same time.  And I'm so excited!  Though I try again and again, stories matter more to me than I can articulate.  So for the next two years, I'm going to give myself to stories, to the power of a classic novel told in a new way, and to inspiring others why we need to keep reading these narratives.

I am going back to school.

Latest Powell's excursion...

[via]

This time I was really good.  I mean it!  I only bought 2!

//  Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art - Madline L'Engle
I've been wanting to read this one for a while and am bringing it this weekend on my family's getaway.

//  Lilith - George MacDonald
Cami has been on me for a while for not having read this.  I loved At the Back of the Northwind, but have stopped part-way through some of his other fantasies.  I'm thinking this one may be up my alley, though.

Just noticing a theme these two books carry - pioneering fantasy authors?  You don't say!

They were sold out of Tolkien's Beowulf already, so my spoils totaled under $15!  For. the. win :)

Metamorphosis, Pt. 4

Being
moved by a Dylan Thomas quote

while the Zimmerman who borrowed
both his inspiration and his name
croons overhead in this cafe
fueled by community rather than corporation.

A reminder that "You can find
beautiful instruments anywhere in the world."

Yes, beautiful conversations with beautiful friends
that embolden my resolve
to embrace mystery and revel in complexity.
Translating Baudelaire direct,
marveling at de Tocqueville,

Dancing away the despair.
Daring to hold both the light and the dark
within my weary soul.
Turn the corner and find beauty again.

Adulthood in a nutshell:

And here we have Emma Stone displaying how adulthood feels quite succinctly:

You say something.

You make the decision.

You do the thing.

* fist pump! *

And then:

Oh crap!

Did you actually just do that?

Welcome to adulthood.

Lately...

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Adaptation Week got delayed.  It will still be happening! I have (at least) 3 more installments for you.  But I've been busy living - which is wonderful, but not so conducive to consistent blogging.

A few random updates:

//  Life has been "everything, all at once" lately.  While it can be emotionally taxing, it simultaneously makes me feel more alive.  It's like a peony blooming.

//  In other news, I turned 24!  24 is one of those ages where you imagine "life" happening.  And, the funny thing is, life is happening.  It's a constant adventure - never certain, never satiating.

//  Last month I wrapped my first-ever Lent.  I thought I would mention it before now, but didn't know how to casually bring it up.  Like, "hey, I'm not doing [this] right now, but it's all good."  Now that it's concluded, it's easier to talk about.  I went to my first Ash Wednesday service and received the imposition of ashes.  I started a list on the first day, a list of specific things I was praying for in my life or the lives of people I love.  And it was incredible to watch things actually change or move while I was praying for them.  It was, not coincidentally, one of the most potent seasons I've had in long while.  I will certainly be participating in Lent in the future.

//  My younger sister posted a bunch of great pictures of our niece and nephews, including this one:

//  Speaking of my younger sister, we've decided sunny days are for picnics and silliness

//  I have been doing a lot of research and re-evaluation lately.  They've led me to some incredible authors and bloggers.  One of them, Sarah Bessey, did somewhat of a series of open letters to those leaving evangelicalism, to those who stay, and to pastors. I find peace and a piece of myself in each of these.

//  This is the most Seattle-esque proposal, and I can't stop watching it...

Zac & Kiri - The Proposal from Zac Schwiet on Vimeo.

Adaptation Week: Classic Alice

Welcome to day 2 of Adaptation Week!  You can check out Day 1 (BBC's Mansfield Park) here.

Today's featured adaptation is a new web series called Classic Alice [which, turns out, is sadly not a modern adaptation of Alice in Wonderland - still waiting on that one!]  But what it is is pretty cool! The show's synopsis, according to their website: 

It is the story of Alice Rackham, a college student with a huge drive to succeed. When she gets a bad grade on an essay because she isn’t emotionally connecting to material, she decides to take it a step further and live her life according to classic novels. Her friend, Andrew Prichard, uses the opportunity to make a vlog-style documentary about the process, and together they create ‘Classic Alice’.

This "adaptation" is different in a couple of ways. Unlike other adaptations where actors directly assume the characters and attempt to convince you of the life-likeness (or "verisimilitude" ;) of the played out narrative, Alice drops the pretense of meta and just lives it: she is actively emulating characters rather than pretending to be them.  Also, the construct of why they're filming makes this adaptation more believable than many others.  These strengths allow the series to avoid forced plot points, feel more realistic, and (best of all) explore more than one story within the same series.  Their first book was Crime and Punishment - an arc they played out over 7 weeks.  They are currently working on the next book/mini-series, due to air in June or July.  

While it may seem like a weakness to dedicate only a few months to a summarized view of the story, I think this could turn into a show strength in that this team will be able to tackle books that would be much harder to focus a whole series to.  Pemberley Digital, for instance, has chosen stories that adapt rather well across the years.  But Classic Alice has the potential to take less accessible stories (like Crime and Punishment) and explore it's application without forcing certain aspects that wouldn't fit in today's setting (e.g. no down-and-out prostitute, thus far). 

Alice is a fun and engaging character.  [Though, I may be biased because when I showed these videos to my flatmate, she just kept saying "Oh my gosh, she's you!"  I'll let my friends be the judge of that :]  She is played well by the show's creator, writer, and executive producer: Kate Hackett.  The show also has a fun sub-plot in (and many BTS videos dedicated to) her "friendliership" with Andrew.

Classic Alice is currently on hiatus, but you can catch up on both the Crime and Punishment episodes along with a host of additional content here.  You can also follow on FaceBook [source for all of the above pictures] or Twitter.  If you get a chance to check out the show, let me know what you think in the comments below!

* * * * * * * *

Update: 7/2/14

Classic Alice will return on August 5th with Season 2 / Book 2 - Pygmalion!  Could not be more excited!!

Adaptation Week: Mansfield Park

The winner of the Wait and Hope 1000 Giveaway is my good friend and fellow blogger: Cami!  Congrats, Cami, and thanks for everyone who entered.

* * * * * * * * *

Anyone who chats to me long enough is bound to discover I love adaptations.  I simply love classic stories retold well.  Adaptations serve to introduce some to a story for the first time, others get to relive it and rethink their prior assumptions.  What's more, they often prompt great discussion about characters, plot points, and the way in which we understand a narrative. Being that I love adaptation so much, I thought I'd take this week on my blog to hi-light a different adaptation that is new or currently going on.  So, welcome to Adaptation Week!

[via]

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, the BBC is re-airing a radio drama they recorded initially in 2003.  That's right, before Tennant flew the TARDIS, before Felicity Jones played Northanger Abbey's gullible heroine, and far before Cumberbatch sleuthed in a long overcoat - they all were in a production of Austen's third novel.  Mansfield Park is interesting in that it is the author's most controversial novel as it can be read as exceedingly moralistic or covertly subvertive.  Due to the fact that she sits in the canon between Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse, Fanny Price seems a frail and prudish heroine by comparison - but, this of course depends on how she and the novel is interpreted.

The BBC will be airing 10, 15-minute episodes beginning today, May 12.  You can listen to these episodes within a week of their airing via iPlayer Radio.  The stellar cast includes:

Fanny Price: Felicity Jones  
Sir Thomas Bertram: Tim Pigott-Smith
Lady Bertram: Liza Sadovy 

Tom Bertram: David Tennant  
Edmund Bertram: Benedict Cumberbatch  
Maria Bertram: Kate Fleetwood  
Mrs. Norris: Julia McKenzie  
Mr. Rushworth: Toby Jones  
Henry Crawford: James Callis  
Mary Crawford: Susan Lynch  
Narrator: Amanda Root

24.

You're raising these twenty four voices
With twenty four hearts
With all of my symphonies
In twenty four parts
But I want to be one today
Centered and true

Wait + Hope - 1000

Welcome to 1,000.

Yes, this is my 1,000th post!!

I wrote a bit on this blog's journey recently here.

But this space has been a gift to me and I hope, in one way or another, it's been a gift to you too.

But just to be sure it has - I'm hosting a giveaway!!

The winner will receive a framed print of my favorite Obvious State poster:

[via]

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty."

- John Keats

To win this gorgeous poster and simultaneously help celebrate 1000 posts on my blog,

you can earn entries 4 possible ways:

- Leave a comment below, sharing one of your favorite posts

- Re-gram my insta and tag me @iwaitandhope with the hashtag #waitandhope1000

- Share this post on facebook with the hashtag #waitandhope1000

- Tweet this post tag me @iwaitandhope with the hashtag #waitandhope1000

The drawing for the print will be next Friday, 5/2.  Good luck!

Spring has sprung!

Hello :)

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend - I know my family did!!

My brother and I visited Bethany's Good Friday service.  I've also begun to read the Catholic daily mass readings - and they're incredible!

Saturday was just the right combination of relax / get stuff done / spontaneous have-people-over time.

And then Easter Sunday with the fam was, of course, amazing.

We celebrated as only the Surfaces do, with both tofurkey and ham (and you better believe I had slices of both) all 11 rambunctious family members.  There was an Easter egg hunt for the little people, afternoon naps (my favorite), and lots of laughter.  We even scheduled our first, full family vacation in over 5 years!  But more than anything, it was just one of those days that filled my heart to the brim.

Here are a few fun moments from the day:

[On of her favorite things is to quote Frozen: "Hhhhhhmmm... Chooocolate!"]

[Long and blonde, short & brunette... but definitely sisters!]

[We seriously did not coordinate.  We just showed up to church and laughed.]

[Giggles!  This one comes courtesy of Melissa]

[candid moments of family fun. and Uncle Jo does his velociraptor impression]

By way of comparison... here are a few of us last year. 

What a difference a year can make!

Also, I may be obsessed with coral :)

So there's a snap-shot of my Easter.  I hope you had a good one :)

Also, be sure to check back in tomorrow for a special surprise as "Wait + Hope" hits a pretty big milestone!!

 

h a i (r) e v o l u t i o n

5 years of hair... 

 It's been a tale of bangs and buns, pinned up-dos and now pixies.

"Life is too short to have boring hair." 

- Kayla Roberts