First off, if y’all don’t already know, I’m going into my junior year of college for a major in History, and I hope to someday obtain my doctorate in Ancient History. As cheesy as this is going to sound, Indiana Jones was one of the reasons I first started to get interested in history…I mean, who wouldn’t want to be just like him. I’m now older and understand it is just fiction, but I love history and I even research it for fun during my free time. Anywho, I was excited about the film when I just heard the title, because it was about the “Crystal Skulls.” For those of you who don’t know what the Crystal Skulls are, here’s an article written for FOX news about the subject and also an article written for “Archaeology (a publication of the Archaeological Institute of America).” So, if you read the articles, this is actually an idea that comes from possibly the biggest archaeological hoax that has fooled and continues to fool people to this very day. How cool is that!

When the skulls were first discovered, it was believed that they came from the pre-Columbian Mesoamerica culture. At the time, it had some backing because human skulls were used in the natives’ worship of their gods, through sacrifice. I mean, the Aztecs liked to rip the beating heart out of their victim for the god Huitzilopochtli. So, the people in the 19th century probably had no problem believing that the crystal skulls were part of some pagan practice, especially when it was prevalent in the Mesoamerican drawings. Later, theories developed about the skulls being made by Aliens or coming from another galaxy, and this crazy idea does make for a great movie. What’s cooler than a bloody pagan religion and aliens? Sounds like a blockbuster hit to me.

I think one of the coolest parts in the movie was the pagan beliefs that were presented. Like I said, I want to get a doctorate in Ancient History, and one of the most important parts of studying them is understanding what their pagan beliefs were. Let me tell you some of them are so far out there, the idea of Aliens teaching the Mayans how to farm sounds pretty sane. Anyways, the Mayans did have a religion that was centered on the movements of planets and stars, and some people out there do believe that the aliens taught the ancient cultures, including the Mayans, how to do things. Oh, and this belief does not solely belong to the atheists, I know plenty of people who proclaim to be Christian and they actually believe in stuff such as this. Surf the web about aliens, and I bet you’ll find some people out there, just like the ones I’m talking about.

Actually, one of my favorite TV shows puts a spin on this idea and it became the longest running sci-fi TV show, because of it. I’m talking about Stargate SG-1, of course. Now that I think about it, the whole movie was basically Indiana Jones meets Stargate in the middle of the Amazon. In fact, now I know why I loved it so much…it reminds me of Stargate…it’s all just good clean sci-fi fun.

Personally, I think you should just take it for what it is. It’s a fun, clean, cheesy movie just like all the other Indiana Jones films…I loved the story and found it funny, because I read about people talking about this stuff all the time. I love to study the Mesoamerican mythological beliefs and loved to see this fun little spin placed on it. Plus, the Greaser references and the fact that it takes place during the Cold War make it a good movie from yet another historical perspective. So, I have to say I give this movie 4 ½ out of 5 stars, because I really enjoyed it. I hope y’all give it the chance it deserves, and if you don’t like it, oh well…I loved it…and I hope some of you enjoy it at least as half as much as I did. Just remember to keep in mind that it is an Indiana Jones movie, so be prepared for unbelievable fight scenes and the stars living through situations where a normal human being would die. I have to say that I’m hoping they continue with the franchise…possibly starring “Mutt.” ;-)

The Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth has been presenting the exhibit, “Picturing the Bible; The Earliest Christian Art.” Now, I know when many people hear “The Early Christian church” they immediately think Roman Catholic, and hopefully you weren’t one of those people. Pre-dating the Roman Catholic Church, there were numerous Christian communities and churches around the known world. Now, this is not to say that the Roman Catholics are not renowned in the art world for their portrayal of Bible stories through pictures. However, the beginning of the exhibit focused solely on art that predated the Roman Catholic Church.

In the early church, in the 4th century, the art focus was on the Holy Sacraments and the means of forgiveness given to us by Christ. They used Old Testament motifs to represent the important beliefs of the church. They focused on the salvation from Christ and not on good works. One example that was used quite frequently was that of the story of Jonah. They depicted Jonah being lowered over-board into the open mouth of a great dragon like creature and then three days later being spat back out. This picture symbolized, in the early church, many things including Baptism, Salvation, and Christ himself. During this time-period, Bibles where also being hand copied and illustrated, but sadly none of them remain today.

It wasn’t until the sixth century that the early images were replaced by those showing the life and miracles of Jesus. This switched the focus of the pictures from saving grace to good works. This also coincides with the rise of the Roman Catholic Church. This artwork included the “gem-encrusted gold cross presented by the emperor Justin II to Pope John III in the late sixth century, on loan from the Treasury of Saint Peter's in Vatican City. This cross functioned as a reliquary, containing a piece of the True Cross.” The center of the cross has to be covered whenever it leaves the Vatican, because it is able to perform miracles for those people who look upon it. I think you know what I’m getting at with this, so I’m not going to spell it out for you. I have to admit that, this cross was one of the gaudiest things I have seen in my life. However, it was still insanely neat to see it, considering that it was one of the very things Luther wrote against, when he talked about all the relics circulating in the church.

I am watching Battlestar Galactica - Season One Release Date: 20 September, 2005

Isn't it so awesome!!!! I found this poster at Cinamatical, and for your latest and greatest Narnia news feel free to check out the following websites:
Narnia Web, Narnia Fans, and IMDb

I am listening to From Yesterday Release Date: 29 May, 2007

I never really like any of the other HP movies I’d seen so far, so I was floored when I was sucked into this movie…and yes sucked in would be a pretty accurate description. I really never get so engrossed in a movie that I lose track of movements from the crowd, and totally ignore everything around me. But, today, I was totally oblivious during this movie. I actually sat in the exact same position for the whole thing and had a crick in my neck by the end. The time flew during the movie and it totally kept me entertained the whole time.

Despite the fact that I must grudgingly admit, that Harry Potter is pretty darn cute…the movie had wonderful acting, a well written plot (slightly different from the book, of course, but that really can’t be helped), and cool digital effects. It’s hard to make the magical world of Harry Potter come alive on the screen, and I think they really did achieve it wonderfully. Oh, and the emotional scenes didn’t even seem cheesy like they do usually in other movies. The action was great…hehe, I think that’s enough about the generics…I would break it down more, but I don’t want to spoil the plot for the readers.

I just have to add that Evanna Lynch who played Luna “Loony” Lovegood, was a great actor…I think she might have even made good old “Loony” my new favorite HT character. The only part that I did find kind of disappointing was when a certain someone died (again I can’t go into details for the sake of keeping my life from the raging Harry Potter fans that haven’t read the book or seen the movie yet). I expected it to be sad and heart breaking…but I didn’t really feel all that bad for him or Harry. Maybe it’s because I already knew it was going to happen…I guess all you folks who haven’t read the books yet, will have to let me know if it was kind of un-climatic for you, as much as it was for me.

I am watching Band of Brothers Release Date: 05 November, 2002