My 50 Favorite Movies Of The Decade

Entertainment Weekly recently released their “Best of the Decade” issue, which included their Top Ten Movies of the Decade.

I thought I’d try my hand at coming up with my own list. But I couldn’t stop at ten. And I certainly couldn’t figure out how to rank them in any kind of real order!

I did come up with 50 movies I really liked from the past decade. I’ve sorted them into categories and then listed them in order of original release date within each category.

So, in no particular order…

Where’s My Tissue Box: Movies That Moved Me
A Beautiful Mind
Ladder 49
The Namesake
Then She Found Me
Slumdog Millionaire
Adam

Socio-Political Commentary Movies
With All Deliberate Speed
Crash
United 93
The Kingdom
Charlie Wilson’s War

Who Says They’re Just For Kids?
Monsters, Inc.
Elf
Cars
Kung Fu Panda
Up

Perfect Popcorn Flicks
Return To Me
A Knight’s Tale
Hitch
Ocean’s Eleven
Music and Lyrics
Dan in Real Life

Quirky But Really Worked For Me
Moulin Rouge
In America
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Elizabethtown
Before Sunset
Once
Lars and the Real Girl

“Guy Movies” This Girl Got Into
Gladiator
The Bourne Trilogy
Glory Road
3:10 To Yuma

Movies I Liked Even Though They’re About Teenage Girls And I’m 42
Bend It Like Beckham
13 Going on 30
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

Icons and Epics
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Star Wars: Episodes II & III
The Passion of the Christ
Spider-Man 2
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Superman Returns
Casino Royale
Star Trek

Completely Underrated Female-Oriented Films
Calendar Girls
Mona Lisa Smile
Something’s Gotta Give
In Her Shoes
The Duchess

What are your favorite movies of the past decade? What am I missing?

No Returns On This Gift

My oldest son ran into the family room yesterday and got out his art supplies. He emerged moments later full of excitement. He called his siblings and told them, “I have one more gift to give you this Christmas!” He handed each of them a folded up piece of paper.

This is what the one to his brother said (the letter to his sister was similar):



Just in case you have trouble deciphering it, the card says:

“J, I gave a lot of gifts to you but my biggest gift is me. Me myself is the gift.”

Queso Quote: Empty and Full

“While we strive to fill ourselves and remain empty, Jesus emptied himself and lived fully.”

—Edwin McManus

The Baby In The Hay

Every year my friend Steve Bateman, head pastor of First Bible Church in Decatur, Alabama, gives a Christmas present to his congregation on the Sunday before December 25th: An original poem.

This year I’ve been pondering his 2007 offering. Steve had been preaching a series on the hymns of Charles Wesley. On the Sunday before Christmas he examined the theology woven throughout Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

Then he closed with this:

The Baby in the Hay
A Christmas Poem On the Occasion of Charles Wesley’s 300th Birthday
December 23, 2007



We “Hark the herald angels sing”
To mark the virgin birth
They went between the go-between
And those at war on earth

They did their work with gentle joy
In terror-striking light
To bring the news of regal birth
And calm the shepherd’s fright

What makes this birth unique, you ask,
It happens every day.
Why all the regal drama for
A baby in the hay?

But this uncommon child was born
According to a plan
This sovereign, holy, silent night
When God became a man.

The baby had a job to do
He came to mediate
Between a God of free, full love
And man filled up with hate

There was no peace between the two
Their sin defied his rule.
He owed them nothing but his wrath.
They played the perfect fool.

But fools and rebels this God loves
It makes no earthly sense.
That he, the one who’d been defied,
Could look through this offense.

Yet how to overlook such sin,
And still be holy God?
He cannot leave this crime ignored,
Or spare his awful rod.

No, someone has to pay for this,
There is no other way.
So love and justice meet right here,
The baby in the hay.

He represented God to us,
The verdict clearly spoken.
Every law he handed down,
A statute clearly broken.

He represented us to God,
Turned in a guilty plea.
Made no attempt to hide our guilt,
And died upon a tree.

And we observe a great exchange
What we deserve, he got.
The punishment for grievous sin,
In keeping with the plot.

For God ordained before this night,
Before he made the earth,
Before he fashioned sun and moon,
That there would be this birth.

But that’s not all the holy work,
This baby would transact.
We even got what he deserved,
It stands as legal fact.

The merit of this perfect child,
That credits our account,
Exceeds what we could ever hope,
An infinite amount.

But this good news could never be,
If Godhead “veiled in flesh”,
Had not been born in Bethlehem,
In fragile skin so fresh.

God wrapped this gift in baby skin
And gave it to the world.
So we could cruelly rip it off
Amidst the insults hurled.

He was not forced by puny men,
To die this awful death.
He offered up his life to God,
For us, his final breath.

Just as he chose to freely come,
To open up the way,
Now “Hail th’Incarnate Deity”
The Baby in the hay.

And take this “herald angels” song,
And tell as you’ve been told,
That “God and sinners reconciled”,
Is not for days of old.

It is for now and for this time,
And for this very day.
Peace can come because of One,
The Baby in the hay.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.” 1 Timothy 2:5-6

(Shared with permission.)

You can listen to (or download) any of Steve’s sermons here, or subscribe to the First Bible Church podcast on iTunes. I got a sneak preview of this year’s poem—amazing, as always.

I Heart Facebook (And So Do College Students)

A recent Anderson Analytics survey revealed Facebook is the overwhelming favorite social networking site among college students.

Not that this should surprise anyone who knows any college students. But what did interest me was that Facebook is still considered “cool” by a vast majority of students. The experts predicted Facebook would lose its cool factor as it continues its “greying” trend. But that hasn’t been the case.

As a matter of fact, all other SNS were considered “lame” by a significant portion of college students. As a fervent Facebook fan I would have to agree. :)

My other favorite insight:

“Coke Facebook fans outnumbered Pepsi fans by approximately 20 to one.”

To read the article in its entirety, click here.

Thanks to Keith Davy and his CoJourner blog, where I first read about the article.

My Favorite Christmas Books For Young Children

We always haul our Christmas bins out of storage on the day after Thanksgiving. One of my favorite things to re-discover each year is our collection of beautiful Christmas books for children. They sit out on our coffee table or in a leather basket next to the couch, and we take turns reading them to each other throughout the season.

As part of my series on favorite children’s books, I thought I’d list the cream of our Christmas crop:

For my young ones (my oldest is only 7), I love metered books—they help hold my kids’ attention! Three that tell the biblical account of Jesus’ birth are Bethlehem Town: Where Jesus Was Born by Patricia A Hoffman, Oh, Come, Little Children by Anita Reith Stohs, and A Glorious Angel Show: A Pop-up Christmas Adventure by Dandi Daley Mackall.

I also love classic poem stories like How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss and The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore*, as well as the newer Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner. They don’t tell the story of Jesus, but are great examples of magical story-telling. (And the Snowmen do sing about “the birth of a King.”) ;)

Other fairly simple nativity-related narratives include Three Wise Women of Christmas by Dandi Daley Mackall and The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children by Katherine Paterson. The latter actually tells the whole story of Jesus’ life.

Most beloved by everyone in our family are our Christmas carol books! I hunt for ones with great illustrations. Two of our favorites are Go Tell It on the Mountain (illustrated by) Fiona King and Good King Wenceslas (illustrated by) Jamichael Henterly. And in the last year I picked up The Real Mother Goose Book of Christmas Carols, which contains the music, lyrics, and history of 22 classic Christmas carols…such a great find!

What are your family’s favorites? I can’t ever get enough of these, so please share them below!

*Make sure you purchase an unabridged and, if possible, unaltered version of the original poem. I couldn’t find the exact book we own online.

And The Winner Is...

…Kelley Sautner!

Kelley’s entry into IQ’s “Haiku for the Holidays” Contest won the most votes. So she is winner of a $10 gift card to iTunes or Starbucks. Just let me know which, Kelley! (Although I can make a pretty good guess as to which you'll choose.)

Big thanks to everyone who submitted an entry and voted in the contest.

Happy Holidays!

"Unnecessary" Quotation Marks And Apostrophe Catastrophes

I am passionate about punctuation. And other grammar issues. And spelling, for that matter.

It's not that I never make mistakes in these areas. I just have specific grammar issues I feel strongly about.

Like the use (or misuse) of a possessive apostrophe, particularly when describing a family’s last name. For instance, it’s not:

Welcome to the Smith’s!

It should read instead:

Welcome to the Smiths’!

Or, in an even worse scenario, it’s not:

I like the Smith’s.

In this case an apostrophe isn’t necessary at all. It should simply read:

I like the Smiths.

This issue becomes a daily problem during the holiday season. Many a Christmas card or mailing envelope bears the mark of this scourge. (Now I’ve made all of you paranoid about sending me your card.)

My running theory as to why apostrophe misuse has always bothered me is that my maiden name ends with an apostrophe.

For the first 25 years of life, my last name was Chesebro’. Pronounced “cheese-bro”. The name used to be Chesebrough, but generations ago some genius in my family thought it would be useful to chop off the last three letters and insert an apostrophe instead.

This brought me no small amount of grief when I needed to use my last name in the above scenarios. In my case, “Welcome to the Chesebro’s’” and “I like the Chesebro’s” were actually grammatically correct. What’s an English minor to do?

But all of this doesn’t explain one of my other big grammar pet peeves: unnecessary quotation marks. Although quotation mark misuse can turn out quite (unintentionally) funny:

Don't even get me started on "there/their/they're."

Or my gripe with American grammar rules that tell me I had to put the above period inside the quotation marks, even though that's completely illogical.

I'll stop now.

Vote Now! Haiku Finalists Have Been Selected

Big thanks to everyone who took the time to enter my “Haiku for the Holidays” Contest!

I’ve selected four finalists. And they are (in order of original post date):

From Gordon Ebert:

eggnog in cartons
trimming artificial trees-
Christmas in a box

From Amber Lo:

Eat too much-feel sick
Dread time with distant family
Ugly sweater, thanks Aunt Kit.

From Kelley Sautner:

starry eve, silence
seam,rift,tear,chasm,earthquake--
joy unspeakable

And in a controversial move, I’m allowing a submission from my husband to make it to the finals. From Scott Nannen:

Tree branches sagging
Ornaments are sliding off
Still Thirteen days left

Now the contest is in your hands. Who will be the winner of the $10 gift card to iTunes or Starbucks? Vote now with the polling booth on the left side of this blog. [UPDATE: The polls are now closed.]

The polls will close at midnight (CST) on Wednesday, December 16. The grand prize winner will be announced on Thursday, December 17. Happy voting!

MIXTAPE: Mistletoe Medley

I have very particular rules about Christmas music. (This will not surprise anyone who knows me well.)

In my house Christmas music may only be played from the day after Thanksgiving through Christmas day. I love, love, love Christmas music…so as difficult as this rule is to follow at times, I believe doing so helps preserve the specialness of my holiday music.

I plan on posting at least a couple of my Christmas mixes this year. This first one is my party mix. So if you are hosting friends in your home for the holidays and want to create a festive atmosphere, these tunes should do the trick.

Mistletoe Medley

1. Winter Wonderland – Tony Bennett
2. Santa Claus Is Back In Town – Elvis Presley
3. Mistletoe – Colbie Caillat
4. It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas – Harry Connick, Jr.
5. Sleigh Ride – The Ronettes
6. Last Month Of The Year – Chris Isaak
7. The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year – Brian McKnight
8. Louisiana Christmas Day – Aaron Neville
9. White Christmas – Diana Krall
10. I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm – Frank Sinatra
11. Santa Baby – Eartha Kitt
12. Here Comes Santa Claus – The Mills Brothers
13. Jingle Bells – James Taylor
14. We Need A Little Christmas – Percy Faith
15. 2000 Miles – KT Tunstall
16. Cool Yule – Louis Armstrong
17. Last Christmas – Jimmy Eat World
18. What Christmas Means To Me – Stevie Wonder
19. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear – Jaci Velasquez
20. Deck The Hall – Nat King Cole
21. The Christmas Can-Can – Straight No Chaser
22. Frosty The Snowman – Ella Fitzgerald
23. All I Want For Christmas – Mariah Carey
24. Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry
25. Mele Kalikimaka – Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters
26. Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses
27. Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow – Michael Buble
28. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan

What's your favorite holiday party song?

Gifts That Keep On Giving

I just did some online Christmas shopping at my new favorite gift store, created by a friend of a friend: Bajalia Trading Company.

A little about their mission and products, from their website:

"Bajalia Trading Company uses trade, training and other forms of community development to alleviate poverty and empower low-income people as they work to improve their lives.

We are committed to providing fair wages and good employment opportunities to economically disadvantaged artisans and entrepreneurs worldwide.

Our diverse product line includes authentic handmade products from India, China, Africa, Afghanistan and other war-torn countries. These products include women's accessories, shawls, wall art, handmade papers and stationery products, handmade baskets and Folk Art Dolls. Our ethnic trend jewelry and crosses are made from silver, bidri and amazing metalwork and beadwork."

I bought some friends beautiful scarves hand-knitted by women in Rwanda.

To see more of their products or learn more about Bajalia Trading Company, click here.

Would anyone like to share other favorite shopping sites that support local artisans or are making a difference in the world in other ways?

Thanks to Judy for letting me know about this wonderful opportunity!

Who Doesn't Love A Good Quote?

I just discovered a great resource I thought you might enjoy.

A group of three men have put together a blog called Of First Importance. The concept is simple:

“Each day this blog will provide a thoughtful quote to help you remember what's ‘of first importance’: the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

You can subscribe to Of First Importance so that a new quote is sent to your email inbox or RSS reader each day.

I especially liked yesterday’s quote, from Tim Keller’s Counterfeit Gods:

“The living God, who revealed himself both at Mount Sinai and on the Cross, is the only Lord who, if you find him, can truly fulfill you, and, if you fail him, can truly forgive you.”

To Santa Or Not To Santa

When we added children to our family, my husband and I began to discuss in earnest how we would handle “The Santa Issue” at Christmastime.

We knew some devout Christians who were “anti-Santa”: Parents who wanted to make sure the focus on Jesus didn’t get lost amidst secular Christmas celebrations, and so did not include Santa as part of their family’s traditions. While we could appreciate this sentiment, we also recognized that Santa was a prominent feature in mainstream American Christmas. We wanted our children to equate Christmastime with joy, not “Christmas is the time when we don’t get to take part in all the fun things our friends get to.”

It’s a delicate subject.

My wise friend Tracy provided some helpful advice: “In our family we handle this issue by making Jesus so much fun that Santa simply pales in comparison.”

This approach really resonated with us. And so began a many-years-long effort to establish creative and meaningful traditions to help our family focus on the “Christ” in Christmas. Santa’s there—he’s just kind of in the back seat.

By the way, several resources exist to help parents explain where the tradition of Santa Claus originated. Most of it is the stuff of legend and has morphed into different renditions over the centuries. But most versions agree that the original St. Nicholas was a godly, generous man who was devoted to the poor. Not a bad role model, if you ask me.

For a helpful overview of how Santa has evolved over the years, check out the History Channel’s article here.

How do you feel about Santa? Does your family include him as part of your Christmas celebration?

"Haiku For The Holidays" Contest

Announcing: The official opening of my 1st Annual Haiku* for the Holidays Contest!

The grand prize (ok, really it’s more like a stocking stuffer) will be a $10 iTunes or Starbucks gift card.

Here’s how to play…

InfiniteQueso’s 1st Annual Haiku for the Holidays Contest Rules:

1. All entries must follow haiku form: 17 syllables in three lines—5 in the first line, 7 in the second, 5 in the third.


2. Bonus points will be awarded for adherence to traditional Japanese style and nuance. For more information, read here.


3. All haiku must be related to the theme of “The Holidays”. Feel free to interpret that as you wish.


4. Judging will be based on creativity, insight, depth, and/or humor.


5. All entries must be clean! No vulgarity or cursing. Any entry violating this rule will be deleted.


6. All entries must be an original composition of the entrant.


7. All entrants must reveal their identities. Anonymous entries will not be eligible for the grand prize. (If you don’t have a Google or Blogger account, feel free to just include your name in the body of your comment.)


8. There is no limit to the number of entries a contestant may submit.


9. All entries must be posted in the comments section of this post by midnight (CST) on Saturday, December 12, 2009.


10. Finalists will be announced in a new post on Sunday, December 13, 2009.


11. The grand prize winner will be selected from among the finalists by a public vote. The polls will close at midnight (CST) on Wednesday, December 16, 2009.


12. The grand prize winner will be announced on Thursday, December 17, 2009.
    

I’ll leave you with a haiku of my own:

some read the rules, think
steph has too much time on hands
or maybe just: “dork”

Facebook readers: Click here to post your entry on the InfiniteQueso website.

* I realize many of the entries in this contest will technically be senryu. However “Senryu for the Season” didn’t quite have the same accessibility as “Haiku for the Holidays”. My apologies to purists.