Yo, Adrian!

The other day I was lounging around and one of the cable networks had a 'Rocky' marathon going on. Rocky is one of those iconic movie franchises that's always on TV, so I remember it in bits and pieces rather than as a whole.  It's unlikely that I've ever seen most of the movies in their entirety, uncut, but I've seen some of the scenes a half-hundred times.  How many times have I seen Rocky running to the top of the mountain somewhere in Siberia and think, yeah, I need to get outside more?

But the other day I caught the beginning of the first Rocky, when he's in the middle of the fight at Resurrection A.C. and after getting head butted he knocks the crap out of Spider Rico before going back to the locker room to get his $65 (minus the cost for the towel, locker, cutman, and taxes).  Since I had little else to do (actually I did, but didn't want to) I tuned on in.  A few thoughts on Rocky, 38 years later.

1)Adrian isn't nearly as much a wet blanket in this movie as she is in later years ("YOU CAN"T WIN!"); she's just a homely girl from the neighborhood who lives with her abusive and drunk brother.  To me she's one of the more fascinating characters at this point.  I fear that at some point she was molested by her brother or another relative.  But what gets me about Adrian and Rocky's relationship in this movie is how at first he's really a bit of a stalker, and second, when she finally goes out on a date with him that he basically date-rapes her in the end.  She walks him home (!?), then he practically forces her to come inside of his apartment.  Then, when she keeps trying over and over again to leave, he won't let her go...and then they do the deed. Society had a much different perspective on power roles of men and women in those days.  Today if that scene was re-made, there would be huge protests about how Rocky forced himself onto her, and rightly so.  Hey Rock, NO MEANS NO.  Creep.

2)During his training Rocky goes into a frozen meat locker and finds that he likes hitting a side of beef.  Paulie says that his boss says it's OK...but is it really?  And if it is, aren't there huge health code violations there?  Where is the USDA?  Yes, there's prime, choice, and select cuts of beef, and finally beef that has been used for a punching bag.  And who, after the news report of what he's been doing, does any reputable restaurant or grocery in the area want to buy meat from Shamrock meats?

3)Apollo Creed didn't know it was a damn fight, he thought it was a damn show!  That's why he allows himself to be knocked around for 15 rounds before winning in a split decision.  Apollo, after a long period of being champion (had he beaten Smokin' Joe Frazier into retirement?  And where was Foreman and Ali?  Jerry Quarry, anybody?) really was focusing too much on the PR stuff and wasn't ready to fight.  But then, what about Rocky 2?  Was Apollo simply past it at that point?  Had the first fight ("AIN'T GONNA BE NO REMATCH!") taken too much out of him?  Not really...he really whipped up on Rocky most of that fight, and only lost because of a lucky punch at the end.  The reality is this: Rocky was lucky to land in that period between the great heavyweights of the early 70s and the reality that was Larry Holmes.  That's why in the first montage of Rocky 3 he was able to beat all those tomato cans that Mickey set up him up to beat.  To sum up: Rocky wasn't a great fighter, just a really tough guy who a)got lucky to catch fat Apollo b)then got lucky to get Apollo at the end, be way behind on the cards and get a lucky punch in and c)finally got lucky to face tomato cans before Clubber Lang came along who, truth be told, was a much better fighter.

4)If Rocky was made today, he'd never get the chance.  Two days after the announcement, Outside the Lines would report that that Rocky beat up deadbeats and broke their thumbs and hung around with the mob.  Fight off.  Either that, or the story would have to be that he had spent time in jail and was now trying to be reformed and put his life back together.  The backstory would have to be totally different to fit in our times, and it would fundamentally change the story.  Rocky was too much a bum as he was to survive today.

Thoughts on painting my house...

So this summer I decided to paint our house.  It has been a combination of brick, yellow, and and faded brown trim...you can't do much about the brick, so the other two have needed work for awhile.  Instead of getting a power sprayer, I am using only brushes.  We are doing some other projects that we are having to pay people for, so I decided to do this myself.  Here, about a third of a way through the project, are some thoughts about painting my house.

1)Brushes matter.  Don't buy the cheap brushes, because they suck.  Spend a few extra dollars for some good ones.
2)The concept of a trim color adds about another 50% time needed for a project.  Do one color, and it doesn't matter when a misplaced brushstroke touches an edge.  Do two colors, and that misplaced stoke makes me want to curse.
3)I've got about 4 hours of good painting in me a day, broken down into two segments of two hours.  If I keep pushing on, my strokes get sloppy.  Enough is enough.
4)The whole project is taking a lot longer than I thought it would.
5)Painting is not hard work, but it requires a lot of concentration.  Having to watch the kids at the same time doesn't work.
6)Rough wood requires the most paint but needs less touch-up.  Smooth surfaces paint easier, but usually need a second coat.
7)Finding the proper placement for ladders over shrubs and bushes is vital to not messing up your back and not having to strain to get that one little spot.
8)Why on earth would anybody have painted this house yellow?  C'mon now.
9)I need a taller ladder, but thankfully I have friends who can loan me one.
10)It's the trim and the little areas around windows that take the most time.  Big patches of wall are easy.  It's the little things that take the most time.

Background Jesus

I've noticed a strange thing in local businesses in recent weeks:  contemporary Christian music being played as the slightly audible music playing in the background.  My local grocery store has done it for awhile, and last week the same thing was at Wendy's.  It's not just that one song has snuck onto a playlist, but I stopped and listened...the whole time I was in these businesses, I could hear the quiet sounds of this music filtering into the heads of those who shopped and ate at these places.

I'm not here to say this is a bad thing.  I'd much rather have my children hear this kind of music than most of the stuff on country or pop radio these days.  To hear about how God is awesome is much more preferable than hearing about tractors, dirty girls, and the grunts that make up most of the stuff one hears today.  I'm grateful that management of these businesses are happy to play this kind of music.

But it got me to thinking how very American this kind of influence is.  We really like having Jesus in our lives, we like talking about God's goodness...but we like it as background music.  None of the times I have heard this music was it blasted...too loud, and probably there would be complaints.  But keep it in the background?  Great.

American culture wants there to be Christian influences today...but we want it in the background.  Don't make it too loud, don't make it too noticable, and certainly don't make it something too real.  Even those who decry the fading of Christianity from our national landscape probably don't want Loud Jesus in their lives.  They want a Jesus who waves the flag, tells us our consumerism and militarism are great, and generally marches to the beat of our drummer.

No, background Jesus suits us just fine.