amc best picture showcase

i wanted to let you all know of a cool thing that is happening for those of you that are movie lovers.

every year, AMC shows all the best picture oscar nominated films in one day for $30 ($25 for movie watcher members which is free to register online). it's february 21, starting at 10:30am. i know that meagan and i wanted to go but we have a meeting that day.

you get to see all 5 films, you get complimentary popcorn, and if you've seen one of them and don't want to see it again, you can go get food and come back. you also get a souvenir lanyard instead of a paper ticket.

tickets go on sale friday so check your local AMC and see if they are offering this deal. for those in the rowlett/garland/rockwall area, AMC firewheel is participating.

you can click here to get more info and find a participating theater near you.

test your inner spy

bond...

...james bond.

that's right folks. bond is back and grittier than ever! casino royale was flippin' amazing and it looks as though quantum of solace is going to be just as good.

relaunching the series with a new actor has always been nerve-rackiing im' sure, but daniel craig proved with casino that he is by far the best bond since sean.

you should definitely check out the website and watch the new trailer.

i can't wait till nov. 14.

at the movies

well, this weekend is our first gathering in the movie theater in rockwall. we will be meeting there till our building is built. yesterday, levi and i loaded up all the stuff from the big trailer into a small uhaul trailer and "haul"ed it over to the theater and loaded it into the storage under the screen. we didn't even take up 1/3 of the space with the stuff. we'll still have the staging and the lights but we should have plenty of room.

i'm so pumped.

speechless

we saw the dark knight last night at midnight and it was amazing! i don't know what to say. heath ledger was incredibly scary, insane, demented, and spot on. the script was a beautifully crafted masterpiece that only with seeing it 4-5 more times will i be able to grasp it. the ending was awesome. a lot of people won't like it because it's not a happy ending, but i thought it was incredibly beautiful. can't wait to see it in imax :)

got a long night ahead of us

i just purchased our the dark knight tickets for tonights midnight showing. we're probably going to get there about 8pm to get in line. it'll be a long night but totally worth it.

google comes through again

i ordered a poster for my new office. it's one for "the dark knight." it's really eerie and i love it. so, i ordered it last week and i got an email saying it had mailed and stuff but i hadn't received it yet. i got an email last night from somebody i don't even know saying that they had gotten a poster in the mail for me.

come to find out, i entered the wrong address (i am staying with my in-laws so i am justified) by one number. so i go by to pick up the poster and the lady jumps out the door with a big smile on her face (she didn't want the dog to get out). i asked how she emailed me cause there was nothing on the package that had my email. she said she googled my name, found my myspace. since she didn't have a myspace she couldn't message me there, but she saw that i was pastor at catalyst and she went on the church website and found my email and emailed me.

awesome!

star wars

here is a funny video that someone has made using star wars. think darth vader meets austin powers. hilarious.

the bat is back

here is the trailer for the new batman movie, the dark knight.


click here to watch the high-quality version.

menu item #1: puerco pibil

i have a specialty dish that i make: puerco pibil.

i got the recipe from the dvd extras of the movie once upon a time in mexico. in the movie, johnny depp's character eats puerco pibil in every scene that he's at a restaurant. he loves it so much that in one scene he has to kill the chef in an effort to "bring balance" to mexico. it was just too good.

the director, robert rodriguez, made his first film for $7,000, and every chance he gets, he encourages amateur filmmakers to get out their and make movies. so much so that on the dvd extras of his films he includes a 10-minute film school (except on mexico he called it "flick" school because he used hd video cameras, instead of film cameras).

another addition to the mexico dvd extras was the introduction of the 10-minute cooking school, with the disclaimer that "you're gonna eat the rest of your life, you might as well know how to eat well." he says to pick your favorite meals and learn how to make them. once you have a few of them down pat, you can create a menu for your friends to order from when they are coming over for dinner.

so, one afternoon, i sat down and watched the featurette and typed up all the ingredients, and instructions. the cool factor is that the recipe calls for making the marinade from scratch, including grinding up all the whole spices for a mix. it was so fun the first time i made it that i have added it to my "menu."

we had our neighbors over for dinner tonight and i made it. thought i'd share the recipe (and some pictures).

puerco pibil
servings: approx. 8
prep: 1 hr
cook: 4 hrs

spice ingredients*
5 tbsp - annatto seeds (also called achiote, 1 packet at a mexican market)
2 tsp - cumin seed
1 tbsp - whole black pepper
1/2 tsp - whole cloves
8 allspice

marinade ingredients
2-3 diced habenero peppers (cut out seeds and veins)
1/2 cup - white vinegar
1/2 cup - orange juice
2 tbsp - salt
8 cloves of garlic (1 clove = 1 teaspoon of minced)
5 lemons for juice (approx. 2/3 cup lemon juice)

grind the spices into a powder and add to the marinade. blend to smooth. this is called achiote paste. cut a 5 lb pork butt into 2 in. squares, set in large Ziploc bag, and pour the achiote paste over the meat. mix it up so that each piece is covered. line a pan with tin foil and dump meat into it, covering again with tin foil (nice and tight).** cook at 325 degrees for 4 hrs.

serve over a bed of white or spanish rice. (also, chili's black beans go great as well)

*you'll want to buy a coffee grinder specifically to grind spices. you wouldn't your coffee to begin to taste like mexican pork.

**if you have means, he suggests lining the pan and covering the meet with banana leaves instead ("not necessary, but cooler.")

enjoy!

speed racer

i just watched the trailer for the new "speed racer" movie that is coming out. you should definitely check it out when you get a chance. the visuals are amazing (colors galore!)

peace

"this great evil..."

where does it come from?
how'd it steal into the world?
what seed, what root did it grow from?

who's doing this? who's killing us?
robbing us of life and light?
mocking us with a sight of what we might have known?

does our ruin benefit the earth?
does it help the grass to grow and the sun to shine?

is this darkness in you too?
have you passed through this night?

- excerpt from a thin red line (20th century fox, 1998)

thought this was a beautiful inner monologue from this movie that does an outstanding job of showing the horrors of war and also the inner war as the soldiers struggle to find meaning in all the killing. definitely worth checking out.

here's more info...

imax u23d was amazing!

levi called me up today and said that he had something planned for us this afternoon. so he came and picked me up and we headed out towards north dallas. on the way, he told me we were going to see a u2 concert in imax 3d! i was so pumped! we ate at taco cabana right next to the theater and then headed into the theater, picking up our 3d glasses along the way.

if you haven't been to an imax movie before you definitely need to check it out. the screen is stinkin' huge. and if you haven't seen an imax 3d movie before...well...prepare yourself for visual euphoria :P

the stuff that they are doing with 3d movies these days is incredible. we saw beowulf in 3d and it was insane. i didn't realize this but 3d movies have been in production since as early as the 1920's. crazy right? back in the 80's when 3d hit the big time with movies like jaws 3-d and amityville 3-d, and who could forget about the epcot movie with michael jackson, captain eo, characters were in 3d but the backgrounds were still. with new technology, utilizing high-def video, they are able to create depth like never again.

this concert was incredible in 3d. from the first time the camera pans over the drums, to when the edge is standing jamming on the seat in front of you, to when bono bends down and wipes your tears away, you'll think they are really there.

kudos to my buddy levi for a great idea.

YES!

i got "everything is spiritual" on dvd. i have been talking about this teaching for a year and half and now i can just let rob say it. i'm so pumped.

we came down south to hang out with my other parts of family. i gave my cousin ableton live 6 le for his graduation present. he was pumped and so was i.

the best music movie ever

one of the things my dad wanted for Christmas was the soundtrack to this little low-budget film that they saw called once. they kept raving about it so we thought we would just get him the dvd also. we watched it this morning after presents and it is one of the best movies about music of all time.

this movie dives into the lives of two sing-songwriters who happen to meet and inspire each other to better themselves, musically and in their relationships. unlike other movies about musicians that usually talk about the rise, then the fall, and then the comeback, this movie focuses on the musicality of the unknown musician. set in dublin, ireland, the music is very folky and reminded me of damien rice (website, itunes, amazon), who is one of my musical heroes. the camera work and editing is very raw but beautiful and creative. this movie gives validity to every songwriter that's out there. it is possible to do something great.

you've got to check out the soundtrack (itunes, amazon) and they have cd called the swell season (itunes, amazon) that has some songs from the movie as well.

enjoy

everything is spiritual on dvd

this past month, an incredible teacher/speaker went on tour around america called "the god's aren't angry." he blew peoples minds with thoughts on what role religion has had on humanity. rob bell has become a great influence on the way i think about God and the "way" we are to live. he has written two books (velvet elvis and sex God), been featured in the short film teaching series nooma, and you can subscribe to his teachings on iTunes (search for Rob Bell and you should find the Mars Hill Bible Church podcast).

last summer, he did another tour called "everything is spiritual." this talk dealt with creation and stuff (horrible explanation, but...) you can buy it by clicking on the add in the featured section.