Just in case anyone missed this. This is an extended cut of my friends Justin and Kelly winning the O. Henry Pun-Off World Championships "Punniest of Show" competition, in Austin Texas on May 22. It includes interviews before and after, and the trophy presentation.
May 2010 Archives
This was awesome.
My roommate Justin Golbabai and our friend Kelly Dupen perform their now famous pun-laden routine in which they play a five-years-dating, not-yet-engaged couple at the end of their rope. On May 22, 2010, in Austin Texas, their ingenious routine won first place at the O. Henry World Championship Pun-Off's "Punniest in Show" event.
Last night, T, her maid of honor, and I watched the Disney film The Princess and the Frog.
I've only been to New Orleans once in my life, which is weird for a Cajun boy from Lafayette. But based on my limited experience, it's pretty spot on. Spot on in a cliché way of course, but as my fiancé observed, they were respectful of the Cajun people. The writers could have been a ot more ridiculous and poked a lot more fun at Cajun culture. But then, if they had, the last thing you would see is a group of politically correct Cajuns protesting the movie. There's no Association Against the Defamation of Cajuns or anything like that.
Some parts of Cajun culture are omitted from the film -- including its deep religious elements. I found it interesting that the clearest depiction of religion or the supernatural was the voodoo villain Dr. Facilier. There is a good-guy voodoo lady in the film as well, but of course, she fights voodoo with more voodoo. Other than them the closest thing to religion in the film is wishing on a star. The central character recognizes at one point in the film the utter futility of doing so, while the voodoo powers are clearly very real from beginning to end.
This is not a big surprise, of course. It's a Diseny movie, and Disney has never been about the kind of religion one finds in the real world. Disney is about "magic." Disney characters don't pray. They "wish upon a star," because that is supposedly more appealing to a mass audience.
None of this is a deal-breaker, mind you. The movie is fun and laugh-out-loud funny at times. The characters are all endearing in their own way. The coolest one is Ray, an adorable firefly who helps guide the central characters through the swamp. Ray's Cajun accent is uncanny. He is voiced by Jim Cummings, who among other things has provided the voice for WInnie the Pooh (and Tigger too) going back to the 1980s.
I give it three stars out of four, which in the world of Ebert and Roeper is a thumbs up. I liked it.
... Ha! I just looked up Roger Ebert's review and he gave it three stars too! He actually makes the good point that the film reverts back to classic Disney animation. No CGI, no 3-D chicanery. Just great and simply drawn characters living in a world of painted backdrops. Awesome.
And the film got 84 percent at Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven't seen this movie yet, and you're looking for some funny, classically animated Disney adventure, this won't knock your socks off but it is a safe bet.
Came across this passage from Hebrews Chapter 3, verse 13 while praying the Divine Office this morning:
Encourage yourselves daily while it is still "today," so that none of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin.
It reminded me of that Kris Allen song "Live Like We're Dying," which is basically about not waiting before you say or do something really important to or for a loved one. The song definitely has a Christian element to it, about how we never know when the end is going to meet us face to face, and we need to always make sure we are reconciled with others.
Encouragement does not only mean "affirmation," telling someone he or she is doing a good job. It can also include telling someone that he or she is capable of doing better.
None of us, in this life, will ever reach a point where we cannot be any holier than we are at the present time. There will always be something more we can give to God. There will always be a way for us to grow closer to Him, to invite Him more into our hearts. There will always be some aspect of our lives in which we can be more like Jesus. That is a good thing, not a bad thing.
Think about who in your life needs to hear that.
Because the key is not to beat ourselves up for not being better than we are now, but to encourage each other to grow.
Prayer is like planting a tree in an empty backyard. One may not always feel like planting a tree. One may even be pressed into doing so by a friend or politely asked to help do so by a dad to whom one owes much of his present success.
Planting a tree takes a great deal of effort, especially in a place like Central Texas, where one encounters hard rock about an inch beneath the surface. You plunge the shovel into the nice brown dirt a couple of times, and then, CLANK.
At that point, all you can really do is keep plunging the shovel into the ground again and again. And what difference might you see between one plunge and the next? If you're not the strongest dude on the block, probably not a whole lot.
So it is with prayer. It may have a certain novelty and fun at first. But then it becomes work. And at times it may appear to be fruitless work. You may not see much if any difference in your life from one prayer to the next. In that way, it may be easy to get discouraged. But one must keep the end in mind.
You might ask yourself, while you're plunging that shovel into the ground over and over again, only to dislodge a couple of tiny limestone shards, what is even the point? The point is not merely to plunge away with increasing impatience and anger at the rock. The point is to make room in the ground. Why? To plant a tree.
You're plunging that shovel into the ground over and over again, at great discomfort to yourself, blistering your hands, in order to bring new life, new beauty into your backyard (or your parents' backyard, as the case may be). The tree spices up the backyard and brings shade to the grass below. It turns the backyard from a flat, uninteresting place to potentially, one day, a garden.
But it starts with plunging that shovel into the hard rock ground.
So it is with prayer. It is the first step to bringing new life into the spiritual soil of one's soul. And at first all one can do is repeat the motions. But one must keep the end in mind. The end in mind is holiness -- turning our flat, uninteresting lives into something more, something blessed and joyful. Prayer is making room in our very crowded hearts and minds for that new life -- which is God.
If I had brought the new tree into the backyard and just thrown it on the ground without first making room for it, the tree could not have taken root. No roots, no life. No life, no shade. No new beauty. In order to enjoy the benefits of the tree, I have to make room for the tree.
If we want to enjoy the benefits of God in our lives, if we want the deep interior happiness and comfort that only He can give, we have to make room for Him. Over and over again.
I was very sickly and pathetic on Friday. After spending the day mostly sleeping off a dreadful sinus headache, my beautiful fiance, whom I love very much (and who alone knows where this is going), came by my apartment to take me out to get dinner. Again, I very much appreciated this.
At this point I should make clear that while I have a history of indecision and second-guessing when it comes to big choices, like what to do with my life, I have no such problems when it comes to little things, like where to get food on a Friday night. With that in mind, observe the following exchange with T and me, as we sat in her car.
T: So where do you want to eat?
I rub my forehead in pain. I should also mention that Terri hhad her keys in the ignition, but she had not yet actually started the car.
T: Awww, baby.
Me: I don't know. I can't think.
T: How about Elevation Burger?
Now at this point, I'm thinking, Oh that could be good. That's the moment of decision for me. So I say to her --
Me: Sure honey.
Here's the problem. When you are very sickly and pathetic, you can't really sound very enthusiastic about anything. Not even Elevation Burger.
T: Do you want to eat somewhere else?
Me: No, Elevation Burger is fine, honey.
T: Are you sure?
Me: Yes, I'm sure.
T: But you don't look sure.
Me: Could you please start the car, honey?
T: You're sure you don't wanta eat somewhere else?
I rub my forehead again.
M: Ummm ...
At this piont, she has almost convinced me to start considering other possibilities. She pats my knee reassuringly.
T: Anywhere you want, honey ...
My head was spinning. I almost said Plucker's. I summoned up all my strength ...
Me: Oh! I have an idea.
T: What?
Me: ELEVATION BURGER!
I reached for the keys and and turned the car on myself.
But again, I really appreciated it very much.
Of course, Chick-Fil-A is relatively close to Elevation Burger. So naturally as we were approaching, Terri asked:
T: Do you want to go to Chick-Fil-A instead?
I rubbed my head again.
Me: Why, do you wanta go?
T: No I just thought maybe you would like to.
Me: ...Well now that you mention it ...
T: Yeah? You want to?
Me: ELEVATION BURGER!
