5.22.2010
2.23.2010
Natalee Holloway:
So, today, Joran Van der Sloot has once again tied himself to the disappearence of Natalee, and this time, has admitted just how he disposed of the body. To say that this infuriates me is moot. The police department in Aruba has been useless from the beginning. From the early 1950's, the American justice system has had to learn the hard way that a criminal doesn't always wear all black, hang out in ally ways, or act suspicious. Sometimes, the killer is living next door, paying his taxes; sometimes the killer is as close as the pillow next to yours. So when authorities in Aruba discounted Joran Van der Sloot's obvious guilt on account of his prominent last name, I was concerned about the validity of the investigation. Now, four years later, Natalee is still missing, Joran is still free, and both sets of parents are forever changed.
Having my own child now, I can image to some extent how Beth Twitty, Natalee's mother, must feel. To get a call in the middle of the night that the baby you carried for nine months, gave birth to, and fought so hard to protect is missing, has to be the absolute worst and most helpless feeling. And now, as if this over privledged ass of a young man parading around freely and shopping his knowledge of Natalee's last moments around to any well-paying tabloid isn't enough salt in the wounds, he's now admitted to disposing of the body, which he won't be prosecuted for. Why? Because Aruban authorities believe he's "making it all up" and that these supposed confessions are "lies and fantasy". At this point, the best Ms. Twitty can do is have faith that Joran will get his punishment in the end.
Now, I'm not saying that Natalee's own actions didn't get her into some sort of trouble. Barely legal teens allowed to party over seas, and especially on an island that promotes free sex and early-age binge drinking, can spell disaster on any level, but disaster aside, it should never spell homicide. The problem with losing self control in a foreign environment is not unlike the problem of losing it at home: men are lurking at every corner looking for the girl who's easiest to take. Back before I converted to the church, I was one for cocktails at nice clubs and restaurants with my good friends. The danger isn't always in the alcohol, but in the company you keep. One night, my friend and I dressed up and went for margaritas at Chili's, just the two of us. She and I were young, and for that reason alone, a bit careless. After just a drink or two, I noticed a man staring at us from the bar. He was much older, and staring with an intensity that made me nervous. A few hours passed, and I suddenly noticed that almost everyone in the bar area had left with the exception of us and him. I was ready to leave, and had been for a while, but my friend (insistent on taking her drinking to the next level) wanted to stay, the worst part being that she was my ride. The more she drank, the more this man became interested in our table, so much so that he bought us each a drink. This was the point in the evening where I had finally hit my limit. I grabbed her arm and told her it was time to go, but not before I spoke with the host working the door. I ended up offering him five dollars to walk my friend and I to her car, and explained to him what was going on. He didn't take the money, but he did walk us to her car, and before we got in, shared a piece of advice, "Being a girl is dangerous enough, " he said, "don't make it harder by being out late, out numbered, and on alcohol." I took his advice and got my friend safely home to my parent's house, glad that someone was willing to help in some way. I felt like an idiot for being in that situation in the first place, and that was difficult enough, but I felt even worse that I had to employ someone else's help for my mistake.
Seems like I've digressed a bit? Not in the slightest, I promise I have a point to all of this. My point is to reach out more. Find some way to help these young girls feel content with being their age and nothing more. The adult lifestyle can be quite enticing to a young woman who's used to hearing the word "no", or feeling like she's still an awkward 8th grader in braces. I say it's enticing because these young girls don't know the truth about life, or the danger that loose behaviors will bring. If we make an effort to educate our girls, maybe these recent cases of girls out late at night going missing, or girls murdered by overly possesive boyfriends could begin to go down as myth instead of the headline of a CNN report.
Altogether, I wish the best for Ms. Twitty and Mr. Holloway. Life has delt them a cruel hand and they are missing a daughter and all of the wonderful things she could have delivered. I hope that in time, we will get to the bottom of this case and Natalee's parents will have the peace of mind the deserve.
1.15.2010
11.23.2009
House for Sale, House for Rent
So last week, Ross and I went to look at homes in the Prov/Orem area. I found this one on a listing and just had a great feeling about it. It's not very large, but has great features and is brand new on the inside, including new appliances, and sits on a large piece of property. I think I'm in love all over again, only this house doesn't snore, or eat its weight in Hellman's mayonaise. The point is, I really like this place, and I'm excited to see what the future holds.
11.05.2009
Jack-a-potamus:
This was such a big moment for me because this was the first Chamberlain baby I had spent the most "unborn" time around. Aside from that, it was big because Rach and I were experiencing all of this for the first time.
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love having sister-in-laws all around me who have been through every phase of child rearing, literally, but there's something special about talking to a woman who's just given birth an hour or two before you showed up, and for the first time. It sounds strange, but I needed to see Rach so soon after to better imagine myself there in less than three months. What I was not prepared for was the flood of emotions I would have.
As soon as Ross and I walked in, we saw Ned sitting in the post-partum room with Jack. I felt like I was walking in on a very private moment, but I couldn't look away. Suddenly, I began to understand what people mean when they say that having a baby changes your whole life. In that moment, I realized how much this little person was going to need his daddy the rest of his life. I was about to get over to Rach when out of the corner of my eye, I saw what still makes me tear up even now. Ned was talking with the head nurse, and Jack, who was looking at Ned, stretched his little arm and reached for Ned's finger. As his tiny little fingers wrapped around Ned's one large finger, Ned looked down and just smiled. It's one of the sweetest moments I will ever experience, and I'm so glad I was there to see it.
Altogether, Jack is a total toe-head, has the sweetest little face, and is officially a Chamberlain. It's pointless to say I love him, but I honestly do.
10.29.2009
G e n t l e m e n B r o n c o s :
Before the movie came on the screen, there were the usual "look at me" types, the girl with the five colored hair and "dress" that was, by all definitions, a top; the guy who, you know makes at least 100+ grand a year who gets his kicks by looking homeless; and the snobby "artiste" types who, layer upon layer, become more superficial with every cliche sentence. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself an Arts/Entertainment person for sure, but in a respectful way, a way that keeps the sanctity of the work at hand.
So Ross and I sat there, hand in hand, and prepared ourselves for either greatness or a profound lack there of.
The opening scene was typical Hess in that the characters are always less than palatable looking. They're the sort of people you wish had as little close-up of as possible. Each character had a painful touch of the early 90's that, let's be honest, would make anyone who dressed in that time period cringe just thinking about it. The high rise Levi's jeans with the tapered ankles, the shirts tucked in and the looped braided belts, the jean jumpers and scrunchies, and of course, vests galore. Altogether, I felt like the only thing missing was Jesus Jones blaring, "You're Unbelievable" in the background while I flipped up the bill on my bikers cap and the second layer on my oh-so-round sunglasses.
We got through the movie, mostly by laughing at the look of the characters, not by the characters themselves, which was a bit disheartening. I felt, while watching this movie, that a few things kept it from being great:
1) These characters have been done. Both Nacho Libre and now Gentlemen Broncos feel like copies of Napoleon Dynamite.
2) The editing causes more confusion and displacement than a flowing story. I felt like randomness was fine with Napoleon, but with movies like Nacho Libre and Gentlemen Broncos, you have a decided storyline, and randomness causes more hindrance than helpfulness.
3) The music was wrong for the movie. The music actually felt more expensive than the movie its self. Having big name bands like Ozzy Osborne, Boston, and the Scorpions can actually do damage to your movie if you're constantly striving to make it look low budget all around.
4) The characters themselves were outdone by their own wardrobes, and sometimes, their overacting. I felt that the guy who plays Lonnie completely overacted, making his character unbelievable and fake. Michael Angarano who played "Benjin" was quite boring and never really gives you much to root for. Had his character been more in touch, I feel the ending would have had more of a purpose. In fact, the only three characters who really held their own were Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, and the female starring opposite of him.
5) The movie is hiding an inside joke which makes it that much more confusing to a national audience. Had I not known about the joke within the movie, I think I would have enjoyed the movie even less.
In a nutshell, I was disappointed. Cinema, to me, is serious stuff. If you're going to waste people's time and money on 2 hours worth of private jokes, then hit up Sundance and the IFC channel. This movie could have been the next big thing, but not by relying on what originally made you famous, by expanding on that genius and creating something new, something people aren't already quoting and repeating. I feel like, if this trend continues with the Hess movies, we're going to be looking at a M. Knight Shyamalan situation : Big Build-Up, no delivery.
