Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

As seems to be the theme for this term, I ventred south of the border again to hook up with some friends to see the opening of Clive‘s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Cinerama last night. There have been numerous reviews and discussion of the movie, so I will only offer a few brief comments. Amazing. Really. I don’t think I could have been happier. Andrew Adamson vowed to do justice to Clive’s original and I must say he succeeded wonderfully. The battle scenes were extended somewhat, but its a big epic movie, it is only natural, I don’t think it hurt the book at all (plus I enjoy big battle scenes… did anyone happen to see Return of the King?). I also don’t think they played down the allusions to Christianity at all. I was worried that one of my favorite quotes had been cut, but they got it in (with slightly different wording, but the just of it was there):

“Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” [said Susan about Aslan]

“…if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else justsilly..” [said Mrs. Beaver]

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

Two more of my favorite quotes from the book that the movie grabbed as well:

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

And

The rising of the sun has made everything look so different – all colors and shadows were changed – that for a moment they didn’t see the important thing. Then they did. The Stone Table was broken into two pieces by a great crack that ran down it from end to end; and there was no Aslan

And He was back! Now, if we can get people to read the Bible as well…

Since the lines were not nearly as long as those for King, Erin and I almost went to see another movie while we waited, but thought better of it. We waited for about four hours in the freezing cold and it was totally worth it. Although we were first in line but when we got inside there were people in the “prime” seats that we wanted… that was pretty shady if you ask me. Got to hang out with Chad and Meghan and Leann and Marcie (I still really do like her too much I think… I know Jae, leave me alone!) so that is always fun times!

GO SEE NARNIA!! Three or four times. Now!

-Matt Jones

Fitting alliteration. Tonight I skipped my last Christian Spirit class (did I mention that I will eventually be a teacher?) and drove down to Bellingham to enjoy a lovely evening of some amazing music offered by Late Tuesday and John Van Deusen at Bay Street Coffee. I know I have talked about these two groups before, but really, they are amazing and you should be listening to (and buying) their stuff! If you want to read/see/hear more about both from me, click my tags below, if you want to get more from them, click their links above.

John started the evening and played both old and new. I am blown away by his abilities (he is only 18!), his lyrics are clever and original and his voice is one that isn’t expected from a teenager. That is not to mention his magic on the guitar and keys. I guess my point is this: be on the lookout! He seems to be pretty down to earth and he has amazing support from both his parents (I met his mom tonight – very nice lady) so I hope everything goes well for him down the road. One of his new songs, Upside Down Tree, is pretty good and I am looking forward to hearing it on his forthcoming release. I would love to see a full length JVD show sometime! I recorded part of it at the show for you to see and hear (although the quality isn’t very good…). PLEASE NOTE: the file is very large, if you need me to break it down into small portions, please email me. Click to download (85.2 MB).

Next, the lovely ladies of Late Tuesday played a variety of songs but focused on their Christmas stuff (they have a great Christmas EP available at their site). The trio plays so well off each other and know how to entertain the crowd (it was a big crowd in a small coffee place). Their harmonies can’t be beat! Every time I see LT play I am left wanting more! They are playing again at the Q Cafe in Seattle the day after my last final (Friday, December 16th) so I might just have to head down earlier than planned… I also recorded a bit of their performance of Silent Night complete with Tara on the accordian! Again, PLEASE NOTE, the file is large, and still not very good quality… Click to download (72.0 MB). [EDIT: I have broken the clip into three somewhat smaller pieces, the links are available in the comment section.]

I hope I have convinced you that you should be listening to Late Tuesday and John Van Deusen, if not, I can’t comprehend why! Also, I noticed that no one has set me up with Dana yet, what’s with that?

Finally, here are a few pictures. Like the video, I am not very pleased with the picture quality. I think I need to start bringing my better quality camera when I am going to be in dark enviroments. But here they are anyway! Click a picture to take you to a larger version and the gallery.

So I am assuming I will see you at the Q Cafe in a week? Thought so. Hopefully I will get some better pictures next time.

-Matt Jones

It is time once again for the ever popular Christian Carnival! This week rev-ed over at Attention Span has done a lovely job of bringing Christian posts from around the blogosphere to Christian Carnival XCIX – Famous 99′s in History! Stop of and see what is happening this week. If you would like to read up on some previous posts and entries, please stop by my Christian Carnival Archive. Chasing the Wind has also created a blogroll script that you can use to easily link to recent Carnival posts.

I have contributed my “No Christmas For You” – a look at a letter I wrote to my home church regarding its decision to not have Christmas worship service on Christmas Sunday. There has been some really good discussion in the comments so feel free to chime in! Also, in a wonderful turn of events, the session called a special meeting to discuss the issue two nights ago and ended up reversing the decision! I am VERY thankful about that!

Another thing to point out is the Late Tuesday and John Van Deusen show TONIGHT! 7:00, Bay Street Coffee, come dig the music!

-Matt Jones

I am in the midst of papers, reading, and finals – so naturally the most logical thing to do is head down to Bellingham for some lovely and festive Christmas music! Bay Street Coffee is hosting both, yes, that’s right, both, Late Tuesday and John Van Deusen – this is an amazing combination folks! If you are in the area (or even if you aren’t!) on Wednesday (the 7th), come check it out. The show starts at 7:00pm and I don’t believe there is a cost, although you are to bring a coat, blanket, or food to donate. This is going to be an amazing show with two great bands and is well worth your time. I hope to see you there!

If you want to know more about the bands, either see their sites (linked above) or see my posts on John Van Deusen or Late Tuesday. And for your listening pleasure, here are two of Late Tuesday’s Christmas songs off their Christmas EP: This Holiday (3.05 MB) and Storybook Beautiful (3.57 MB). Enjoy!

-Matt Jones

Last night was Regent College’s annual Christmas party. It was good time of eating snacks, talking with folks, and listening to some great music and the Word. A lot of times I don’t really like parties like this because there ends up being a lot of small talk and I am not very good at small talk… But that’s ok, the music and the service make up for it. The program was very well organized and things seemed to go very smoothly. I think the two highlights were the “Scandinavian” quartet and the gospel chior (although the story times were very enjoyable too). I took some pictures that you can view below (click an image for larger version and the gallery), they didn’t turn out very well because, well, it was dark and I was far away. Oh well.

I also have three video clips of the gospel chior. PLEASE NOTE: these files are very large and will take a lot of time to download! I had to reduce the resolution of the third one because my camera’s memory card was running out of space. Gospel 1 (98.0 MB) – Gospel 2 (88.7 MB) – Gospel 3 (39.3 MB)

If you want, you could also check out the Regent Christmas 2004 Gallery.

-Matt Jones

Both Sky and Telescope and APOD beat me to the punch, but I won’t let that stop me. This week I bring you M1: The Crab Nebula:

Source: NASA, ESA, J. Hester and A. Loll (Arizona State University)

The Crab Nebula is a supernova remnant (the supernova, which was recorded in the 11th century was apparently visible for nearly a month in daylight!) located in the constellation Taurus some 6500 light years away. This HST photo from five years ago was just realsed to the public on thursday. The stunning image shows gorgeous structure in the 6 light year wide expanding nebula.

The orange filaments are the tattered remains of the star and consist mostly of hydrogen. The rapidly spinning neutron star embedded in the center of the nebula is the dynamo powering the nebula’s eerie interior bluish glow. The blue light comes from electrons whirling at nearly the speed of light around magnetic field lines from the neutron star. The neutron star, like a lighthouse, ejects twin beams of radiation that appear to pulse 30 times a second due to the neutron star’s rotation. A neutron star is the crushed ultra-dense core of the exploded star.

Click the image for a larger version or this link for a larger 1280×1024 image.

Resources
HubbleSite: A Giant Hubble Mosaic of the Crab Nebula
SEDS: M1
APOD: Crab Nebula Mosaic from HST
Wikipedia: Crab Nebula
Sky and Telescope: Hubble Dissects the Crab
AAS 205th Meeting: HST WFPC2 Imaging of the CRAB NEBULA EJECTA

Check out my other astronomy photographs at my Space Saturday Archive.

-Matt Jones

Something bizarre happened at my home church down in Tacoma, WA. Apparently other churches have done this before, but this has never crossed my mind: No Christmas! That’s right folks, you walk by our church Christmas morning and you will just see a Please see the chuch down the street, God is there this morning on the readerboard.

For the record, I am Presbyterian, not Baptist. I made this sign at the Church Sign Generator

How is this possible? How is this justifiable? Why did that even come up as a possibility? The “rationale” (if you can call it that) is that people don’t come to Sunday worship services if they happen to be the same date as Christmas (which this year it does), but are willing to come to Christmas Eve services. The way it usually works is the final Sunday of advent is celebrated the weekend before Christmas and then there is a Christmas Eve service on… well the eve of Christmas. So I am to believe no one will show up? That is just ridiculous. I am appalled that the Pastor could suggest this course and that the session would go along with it.

I have posted my letter to our session members and pastor below the cut (or you can view the letter in PDF format). Has anyone else had a similar experience? Does your church do this? How does the congregation handle this? Any other thoughts? I apprecaite your input!

Matt Jones
xxxx Shaughnessy St
Vancouver, BC V6P 3Y2
Canada

November 28, 2005

Skyline Presbyterian Church
6301 Westgate Blvd.
Tacoma, WA 98406

Dear Session members and Pastor Hogue,

I know this letter of concern will not have the same impact as one coming from an active member, but I am a member nonetheless and feel it is still my duty to speak up when I see something of concern in my church. The church not being open on Christmas day has me deeply concerned both as a church member and as a Christian in general. I am confused by the lack of and weak rationale in this choice. From what I have heard (and this is second hand so I would gladly hear something to the contrary from one of you), the main rationale for not having service on Christmas Sunday was either the worry that no one will come to church or that it could cause strife in families trying to decide whether to go to church or stay home with family in the morning. I feel these reasons are not appropriate or sufficient considering the role of the church. It is not the role of the church to decide for its members (or visitors) if they should or should not come to church. Assuming people will not come suggests that you do not feel the church body can make correct decisions which then implies that 1) the church can make that decision for them and 2) the church has failed in its mission to build up the body of Christ and to make Godly decisions.

For the following reasons (along with those mentioned above), I feel that there is no rationale that warrants the closure of the Church on Christmas Sunday:

It is also understood that the Session has the right and power to democratically choose when the Church meets (W-1.4004), but that in no way invalidates my reasons above. Let people decide whether or not to come to Church, that is between them and God, the Church has no place deciding that for them. Regardless of how many people want to come to Church that morning, it should be open. This is not meant to suggest that there needs to be anything elaborate. Reading from the Gospels, prayer, a short message, and some worship songs would surely suffice. Granted, Session had the power to make this decision but with something this significant I believe it would have been prudent for the church body at large to be included in this decision. I hope you do not take this letter as being one of hostility, but merely me voicing my concerns about what this will do to the Church and its community. I pray that you would please take this to heart.

God Bless,

Matt Jones
matt@mattjonesblog.com
November 28th, 2005

Luckilly we still have Festivus. I guess this was part of my Airing of Grievances. I am now ready for the Feats of Strength. Festivus, truly, a holiday for the rest of us.

-Matt Jones

[UPDATE 12.6.05 8:00pm]: Apparently a special session meeting was called to discuss the issue and the decision was REVERSED! It will be very interesting to talk to some elders as well as the pastor to find out more about this process.