Some good movies with good male rolemodels

I just spoke with a coworker who says that he has completed 1 movie in the last year+ with his wife. Part of the problem is that it is hard to find a good movie. By my estimates, in the mainstream, there are probably a 12 bad movies made for my market segment for every movie that is worth while. So, here is a quick plug for a few movies that are for adults (not perverts) who would like to see a good male role model on the screen.

"Rocky Balboa" Drama. If you have seen other Rocky films it will help you appreciate this one because you will know somethng about his life, especially if you see the first one where he meets his wife, "Adriannnnne." And although it features an under-dog Rocky fight it is not like the other films. It is a very touching and transparent look at a man dealing with life as a retired athlete and widower in a world that has changed for the worse. It is deeply emotional and touching. It is also believable in every aspect.

"A Beautiful Mind" Drama. 2001. Russel Crowe and Ron Howard team up to present the Holly-real story of paranoid-schizophrenic Nobel-Prize winning mathematician John Nash. This version omits the real-life divorce and second marriage among other details to create characters that have more ... character. It makes the story strongly inspiring and more simple, which is good because it took all 135 minutes to tell the story right as it is. And they definitely told it right, at least the portion they were trying to tell.

"Cinderella Man" Drama. 2005. Russel Crowe and Ron Howard team up to make a boxing film! Inspite of what you might think, this is not just a hybrid of the other two movies ... really its not. Okay, so it sort of is. But it is realllllly goooood. This is the real story of James J. Braddock the great-depression-era fighter that inspired a desperate nation. If you see only one movie from ths list, make it this one.

"Remember the Titans" Drama. A football film featuring the Holly-real story of the first integrated (black and white players) highschool football team in the south. It is more of a football movie than it is about racism and oddly focuses more on the white characters than on the black ones. But pretty well told and acted. Very mainstream with good appeal to a wide audience demographic, if you are white. Does a great job with the natural conflicts between two very good men in a situation made difficult by a lot of not-so-good people. Very light film considering the topics involved.

"On a Clear Day". Drama. This is the story of 55-year old blue-collar worker who is laid off and how he deals with it. Not mainstream, not hollywood, not fast. But I loooved the characters in this. The main character is quiet and leaves a lot to conjecture by his wife, friends and the audience. But he does decide to deal with life's stresses by swimming the English Channel. It really is a remarkable character film in which nothing very remarkable happens.

"Up". Drama / comedy / animation. This also has broad audience appeal with a very improbable story that only a child can really appreciate and relationships and characters that it takes a parent or grandparent to really understand. It starts out with a silent montage that only lasts a couple minutes but will take adults through a wide gambit of emotions. Bring a hanky. Most of the film is lighter and the villans are traditional one dimensional movie villans.

Terorists do not want to destroy us

Throughout history, even modern history, there have been many examples of individuals or groups who truly hated and wanted to eradicate another individual or group. However, even considering the population difference and distance between population centers ... we are still far more vulnerable than the damage that has been inflicted. The conclusion this leads me to is that they really don't hate us as much as we think they do.

Perhaps they are just more in love with our money or some other thing that they purport to despise from our culture. Perhaps the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, and everybody else are just better at their jobs than I give them credit for. I prefer to think that deep down, most people are inherently good; that the good in people far outweighs the bad. Or at least that they are smart enough to understand the oft unspoken social contract of mutual group protection.

No, I really just prefer to think that people are basically good, even the jerks.

Adam = God

To limit any misunderstanding, I am of the opinion that ...

Adam is NOT God

and

LDS (Mormons) as a church NEVER taught that.

It is commonly cited by anti-mormons as clear evidence of the falseness of their religion.
It is also occasionally believed by an odd Mormon.

The problem is that the evidence is weak. There are several "quotes" from Brigham Young (second president / prophet of the church) that are construed to mean just that. I call them "quotes" because really they are notes from somebodies journal about what they heard Brigham Young say, and most often the ones that are cited are taken out of context to be more easily misconstrued and hence misquoted.

There are two simple pieces of evidence that for me are sufficient to debunk this. First, in the same discourse (journal entry describing the discourse) there are also various clear references to Adam and God as distinct individuals. Second, some years later this was denounced in print by an Apostle John A. Widtsoe (Improvement Era in December 1943, republished in 1960 Evidences and Reconciliations) and later by the Prophet Spencer W. Kimball (general conference edition of the Ensign, November 1976). These denouncements of this theory are very strong and clear. Being in print approved by the sources at the time of printing and never denounced by the authors or other church leadership.

So, despite the vast volumes published by others. To para-quote Widtsoe

The only people who believe the adam-god theory are "Enemies of the Church, or stupid people..."

Enough said.

Can I just pick a flower?

Can I pick a flower
without destroying the ozone
without warming the planet
or ruining the view
for strangers
for neighbors
for my children's
children's
children?
Can I just pick a flower?

My lawn is a tribute
to green living
to biodiversity
to environmental preservation

My trash is rich with easy-to-digest nutrients
supporting indigenous life

Can I pick a flower?
Can I enjoy it guilt-free?

I reuse plastic bottles and bags
carrying them like money

I use fluorescent lights
that flicker and glower
during my short cold shower

So, can I pick ...
sorry
MAY I pick a flower?

May I enjoy its succulent power
with my eyes closed

ignoring the island of trash
bigger than Texas
the mountainous landfills
all seeking redress
the dying and drying
of all land into desert

What could picking this one flower hurt?

Can I just pick a flower?