Jodi Speaks Her Mind

Matrix Reloaded 5/17/2003

Steve and I actually went to see The Matrix Reloaded Wednesday night, but I’ve been holding off on my thoughts while it had a chance to sink in. We also took some time to discuss what we thought was going on. I love that the Wachowski brothers don’t just spoon-feed the plot to you. You have to really engage with it, think about it, make the connections, and then hope you didn’t miss anything (which you probably did).

I didn’t really suspect that the concepting and philosophy of The Matrix could get more complicated but I was so wrong on that point! Reloaded takes the concepts that we all spent 3 years “getting” and to a degree turns them all upside down. Ouch - it makes your brain hurt!

Of course the special effects were awesome. Some of the fight scenes were longer than they needed to be, but I often think that when watching fight scenes. I loved the Twins and all the implications of the various types of “rogue” software that is in the Matrix.

Also, remember the questions we asked ourselves while watching the Matrix (e.g.: “Who is this Oracle and how is it that she has been with the resistance since the beginning if the resistance has been around for a couple of hundred years?”) Well, I set aside certain questions for the sake of the greater story. Yet the Wachowski brothers didn’t set these questions aside! There really is an explanation for darn near about everything. Wow. So you leave Reloaded with a few questions answered but mostly you now have a new list of questions. This time you have this excitement and anticipation because you know you won’t be disappointed when the answers come. You know the questions will ALL be answered and that likely the answers will NOT be what you expect. It all just makes me giddy with excitement!! Bring on Revolutions!!

Happy Mom’s Day 5/10/2003

Happy Mother’s day to all moms (and future moms) out there! This goes also for my grandmothers, aunts, mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, and friends! I love you all, and each one of you has touched my life in some way and made it better. To my mom especially, you’re the best and I treasure our relationship and hope each day that I’m becoming more and more like you - especially in the ways you reflect Jesus.

I generally like to think of this as a day to celebrate all women. Cheers to the global sisterhood of the human race! clink

Like an artist stumbling across his own painting… 5/7/2003

I received the following in an e-mail today:

Hi Jodi, I just discovered the banner on Steve’s blog leading to yours– and I thought it looked a bit familiar. I designed the typeface, “Sketch”, your site uses. I’m sooo excited: it’s the first time I’ve seen it “in the wild”, although it’s been free to download for YEARS and years. Glad you found a use for it! Toby

Here’s a link to the Sketch font for anybody else who may be interested in using it.

Oh, and Thanks, Toby! I really like it!

X2

Steve and I went to see X2: X-Men United yesterday, and I must admit I was exceedingly pleased! I think it was better than the first one, which is rare in our present world of sequels for everything whether they deserve one or not.

They were able to go a bit deeper with some of the characters, but they didn’t try to do it with all of them, which was wise. And they limited new characters to just a few and they were awesome! I also liked that they didn’t try to reintroduce everyone. It’s a sequel, and they shouldn’t have to. They treated the viewer with respect, and I appreciate that. And that Nightcrawler character was just soooo cool. Don’t I wish that I could teleport like that!

The only negative in the movie at all is that it was generally more violent than the first one, and I’m not huge on violence. But it wasn’t so bad that I didn’t like it. Wolverine just slashes away, and I guess that’s ’cause he can and he had to. In any case, I am looking forward to seeing it again.

And of course it encourages me to think that I may not be disappointed with The Matrix Reloaded ’cause I don’t know if I could handle that.

the interview 5/6/2003

I had the interview last week for the latest job I applied for, and it is by far the best job I’ve interviewed for in the past year and a half. I would thoroughly enjoy it and be able to use a lot of my gifts and experience to impact a small and growing company. I’m hoping I left a good impression. Will update when I know more.

Try to wrap your brain around this guy’s ideas…

We visited both Cosanti and Arcosanti, which are the home and “laboratory” for Paolo Soleri. His amazing ideas for urban living in the future are really astounding.

In all honesty, when we first arrived at Arcosanti, I thought it was rather ugly and too “industrial” looking with all the concrete structures and such. But after reading about it, seeing the model, understanding his vision, and then experiencing some of it firsthand, I must say I was drawn in and found it appealing, practical, intelligent, creative, and workable! He has designed an alternative to urban sprawl that is ecologically, economically, and socially sound.

I highly recommend a visit if you’re ever out this way. It’ll really get you thinking!

More Ivy’s on the web soon

Steve’s mom is preparing to launch a pretty cool site for the family. She’s currently planning and preparing content for her own site and is going to set it up so that the other kids in the family can have sites, too. All of them will of course contain weblogs.

Keep checking back and I’ll announce when it’s been launched.