54 lbs.

Finley Rae Is Here

She was born yesterday and is happy and healthy. Weighing in at 7 lbs 6 oz.

Had to Put Lily Down Today... Sigh

I'm pretty bummed about it. She was a sweet girl we rescued from the pound four years ago. Lily was eight when we adopted her and was always such a good dog. She wasn't super playful, but had a very nice and gentle spirit. When my son was born, she was always nice and patient with him... even when he learned to walk and chased her around the house.

She had been sick for some time and had lost almost half her body weight over the past year. She got sick in the house late last night and we knew it was time to put her down. I stayed in the room with her, which was very sad, but I'm happy I could kiss her snout as she went down.

RIP Lily. You were a good dog and a good family member. We will miss you.

New Band of Horses Song and Video- "Compliments'

This really makes me look forward to May 30th when I'll see Band of Horses with She & Him!

Top 21 Films of 2009

click here to see my top films of 2008.

I saw a total of 34 films released in 2009. Obviously being a new father means that I can't watch as many movies as I'd like, but I feel like I still got to see some really, really good flicks. All the movies I watched are either on this list or my previous non-top 21 post. So if you don't see a film on either list it means I didn't get a chance to see it yet.

N.K's Top 21 of 2009

1. Goodbye Solo, (dir. by Ramin Bahrani)


2. Inglourious Basterds, (dir. by Quentin Tarantino)


3. Sin Nombre, (dir. by Cary Joji Fukunaga)


4. Away We Go, (dir. by Sam Mendes)



5. Big Fan, (dir. by Robert D. Siegel)


6. Into Temptation, (dir. by Patrick Coyle)


7. Up, (dir. by Pete Docter)




8. I Love You Man, (dir. by John Hamburg)


9. (500) Days of Summer, (dir. by Marc Webb)



10. Where the Wild Things Are, (dir. by Spike Jones)


11. Zombieland, (dir. by Ruben Fleischer)


12. Adventureland, (dir. by Greg Mottola)



13. World's Greatest Dad, (dir. by Bobcat Goldthwait)


14. The Hangover, (dir. by Todd Phillips)


15. District 9, (dir. by Neill Blomkamp)


16. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, (dir. by Werner Herzog)



17. Sunshine Cleaning, (dir. by Christine Jeffs)

18. Ink, (dir. by Jamin Winans)


19. The Brothers Bloom, (dir. by Rian Johnson)


20. Visoneers, (dir. by Jared Drake)


21. Humpday, (dir. by Lynn Shelton)

2009 Movies That Didn't Make My Top 21

I'll post my top 21 movies of 2009 tomorrow or the next day. In the meantime, here are the other movies I saw this year that wont make my list. Most of these movies I liked, but didn't love:

Shrink
Its Complicated
Beer Wars
Tokyo!
Paper Heart
Taking Woodstock
The Invention of Lying
Avatar
Julie & Julia
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Phoebe in Wonderland
New York, I Love You
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

Where the Wild Things Are (2009)

The imagery is really, really beautiful, especially the scenes at sea. Spike Jones does a great job mixing special effects and puppetry to make the monsters seem completely real and alive. Making the book Where the Wild Things are into a full length movie (with interesting and meaningful plot lines) seemed like a daunting task considering the book's strength lies in the pictures. While not perfect, I think Spike Jones and Dave Eggers did a great job making the story say something. The music is fits perfectly with the film (and, based on my best albums of 2009 list, it can stand alone too!).

District 9 and Tokyo!

District 9 (2009)

Watched this last night and was pretty impressed. The way the first 30 mins or so were shot was very, very cool. The last act had a little too much typical 'final battle' scene for my tastes. But overall a pretty cool film.

Tokyo! (2009)

The first and third short films in this anthology are pretty great. The middle one was random and not in a good way. Worth checking out, but not an absolutely must see.

Into Temptation (2009)

Into Temptation (2009)

I was a little worried about watching this film as the poster and synopsis initially seem like a trap, a story built around a priest bound to fall from grace. But its so much deeper and impressive than that. Carefully tackling some huge issues without minimizing or trivializing them, this film is honest, real, and haunting. I don't want to reveal more, just watch this film.

Beer Wars (2009)

Beer Wars (2009)

A pretty cool doc about the battles between independent breweries and mega-beer makers. It covers a lot of interesting ground, but I feel like it missed the knock out punch that great documentaries have. It should have spent more time with the shady tactics of the big companies (copy catting micro-brews, labeling their beers with fake indie-brewery locations, filing chicken shit law suits on small breweries, etc.) instead of just glossing over them.

Shrink (2009)

Shrink (2009)

A decent film that kept me interested and seemed to have something to say. Spacey is great as usual and there are some memorable performances from some of the other actors. Unfortunately the level of coincidence is pretty laughable and the writing never seems to 'get there.' Maybe it suffers from too many stories trying be weaved into one.

WARNING: Controversial Post Coming...

Let me start by saying that I'm positive I have readers of this blog who disagree with me on this issue. I welcome the disagreement and would love to be in discussion (either through this blog or otherwise) on my beliefs on this topic. Please be aware that my thoughts on this issue are rooted in a love for Christ, love for others, and my continual quest to know God on a deeper level. I will not publish hateful, ignorant, or judgmental comments.




I just finished reading a fantastic book called "What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality" by Daniel A. Helminiak. It features a chapter by chapter break down on the texts of the Bible commonly used to claim that homosexuality is a sin. The book features in depth word and translations studies to help back up its point. Its well thought out and well written. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested on the subject, regardless of your currently held beliefs.

Like slavery, woman's suffrage, and segregation in the past, many people try to use the Bible to back up their errant claims. With this issue, I'm happy to know that I'm on the side of loving inclusion and tolerance.

Phoebe in Wonderland (2009)

A cute idea of a film that has some amazing moments. Its the story of Phoebe, a adorable and lovable girl who struggles to fit in due to her apparent obsessive-compulsive disorder. Yet when cast as Alice in her school's rendition of Alice in Wonderland Phoebe begins to shine. There are some great acting moments especially by Elle Fanning as Alice and the Gothic and odd drama teacher Miss Dodger played by Patricia Clarckson.

In addition to the obvious conflict, there are some other very serious issues covered in this film such the emotional effect on siblings of special needs kids, parents struggling to be good parents, and the treatment of gay children in school. The problem with having so many conflicts in one film is it becomes very tough to sum them all up in the end. Its a decent little film that falls into the Lifetime movie trap in the last twenty minutes.

World's Greatest Dad (2009)

World's Greatest Dad (2009)

"The only thing worse than being alone is being around people who make you feel alone."

Just finished this and was pretty overwhelmed. I was really surprised by this (I thought at first it was another Robin Williams RV/Wild Hogs type film) and I couldn't help but be deeply moved. The first half was really difficult to watch as a fairly new father; pretty intense and dark stuff going on. Sabara does a fantastic playing the creepy and disguising son and Williams does a great job as the annoyed, yet loyal father. Its a really bleak and black film and centers on a subject matter that many people aren't comfortable talking about, so proceed with caution.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009)

I would have never even watched this if it wasn't for the Roger Ebert review that praised it. While I agree with Eberts's premise that a comedy doesn't have to contain nudity, a billion f-bombs, and raunchy jokes, that doesn't automatically make a movie that doesn't include those things funny. I would go on about the many not funny and utterly ridiculous parts of the movie, but it just seems too easy and unnecessary.