2008-12-14

I went to church this morning amidst very warm breezes as our area prepares for a big clash between these southerly winds and a big arctic front coming our way tomorrow. It felt a bit eerie to feel the 60-degree F warmth while dead leaves scuffled across streets lined with bare trees.

We sang Mendelssohn’s “How Lovely Are the Messengers” this morning and enjoyed a good sermon on getting right with our neighbors before Christmas comes. I love St. Luke’s services! There is such a festive and loving atmosphere there.

After Mick finished his cleaning and I my church-going, we settled down over lunch to watch The Dark Knight, the umpteenth sequel to Batman. It is the best episode of that franchise for a long time – perhaps ever. Christian Bale was a fine, gravel-voiced Batman and Heath Ledger will probably receive a posthumous Oscar for his portrayal of The Joker. It was a subtle and nuanced performance which made Jack Nicholson’s turn some years ago as The Joker look overdone and naïve. Aaron Eckhart, playing a good guy gone bad, was also excellent and the ensemble of Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Eric Roberts and Morgan Freeman was superb.

It was a long film! After 90 minutes Mick put the movie on pause and we snoozed for an hour or so before finishing the last hour of it with some popcorn. Then we took a break until dinner. I found Gary’s additions to the Gatherings Newsletter waiting in my Inbox and read through them, editing the copy and turning it back around to him. Now Gary can send the newsletter to our “send” list for that periodical. I am excited to see the response to our addition to the schedule of a Gathering in memory of Bob Riedel.

Wynn F wrote to let me know that the Las Cruces group wanted me to join them by telephone on January 15th. I added that to my schedule. They will be asking questions about The Law of One.

Over supper Mick and I watched our second film of the day, The X Files: I Want to Believe. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, both looking as pretty as ever, were again the doughty duo of Mulder and Scully, searching for the answer to an enigmatic series of killings. It felt like a very enjoyable, double-length TV episode.

We offered the Gaia Meditation, with Gary praying at the close, before finishing our day with two beautifully rendered episodes of House. Hugh Laurie is surrounded by an excellent ensemble as he puts on a terrific portrayal of the offbeat doctor-genius in consistently well-written and sharply directed pieces.