Monday Morning Confessional

Last updated on: June 2, 2014 at 7:37 am by Tim Suttle

Monday Morning Confessional 2014-06-02T07:37:01-06:00 Tim Suttle

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I confess that I have initiated operation woodpecker lockout. I didn’t really give it a name, but it’s getting pretty real around here nonetheless. I have previously confessed my fear of heights. (Technically, I’m not afraid of heights I’m afraid of falling. And not so much falling as hitting the ground at a high rate of speed and breaking something. And not even so much breaking something as just general pain. So I guess I’m afraid of pain & that’s my excuse for why I haven’t gotten on top of a ladder and fixed the problem before now. I figure as long as I’m forcing myself to wet my pants, I might as well change a high-up lightbulb and clean the gutters. Anybody want to hold the ladder for me? Bring a raincoat…)

As it turns out I really am afraid of heights, because I nearly have a coronary every time I climb up the 30 foot extension ladder I’m using. I managed to tape some paper over the holes, not enough to really keep a bird in or out, but enough to know if there’s still something living in there. Nothing was disturbed after 24 hours, except for me at the prospect of getting up there to check. So I nailed a patch over the hole and sealed it with silicon caulking. As soon as I prime it I can move the ladder around to the other side of the chimney in order to patch the hole on the other side–If I have not had some sort of nervous episode, that is. I did manage to clean the gutters last week as well, although I realized last night that I neglected one short section at the back of the house. I’ll be attempting to clean it this week.

I confess that I am powerless against a brownie sundae. Seriously, I could have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be happy.

I confess that I am a chronic Googler (which sounds naughty). I’ve noticed that I no longer have the patience to just wonder about something–the name of the actress from that movie, the name of the song I just heard, who did this, where was that person from, what year did this happen?–I have lost the ability to not know facts (trivia really), if at all possible. I have to look things up immediately. I’m not sure this is healthy. It feels like a nearly a compulsive reaction to anything unknown.

I confess that we went to a couple of movies last week while the kids were with the grandparents. We saw Chef, which was pretty good. It’s actually not a bad story, and Jon Favreau (yes, I had to Google his name), does a brilliant job. I generally think that writing, directing, and starring in a movie is not the best idea. It seems to insulate the creative team from the kind of important self-critique that is essential to making a good film. Favreau pulls it off, though. He’s really good in this film, and he clearly knows how to make a movie. There were a lot of A-list stars for an indie film (Roberty Downey Jr., Scarlett Johanssen, Sofia Vergara, Dustin Hoffman, Oliver Platt, John Leguizamo), which made me think that Favreau must really be a nice guy. I’m guessing nobody got their normal fee.

We also saw The Immigrant, and I was blown away by this film. The turn of the century period is one of my favorites to study. The first book I ever wrote dealt heavily with Walter Rauschenbusch, who was a pastor in Hell’s Kitchen during that time. I’m fascinated by how our society functioned back then, at least in part because I think we are headed toward a similar situation again. This film is so irresistibly sad and beautiful. It’s dark like The Godfather–like the whole movie was shot with a sepia tone effect–and the plot is crushing. But the film is a redemptive experience on the whole. Joaquin Phoenix is a freak. He played a perfect manipulating villain. I don’t know how he did it. I mean I hated him, but I didn’t quite hate him. He was so horrible, but terribly human at the same time. Marion Cotilliard was simply stunning the entire time. I want to watch it again.

Okay friends, I’ve made my confession. Now it’s time for you to make yours:

Uncategorized

Chef

Monday Morning Confessional

The Immigrant

Previous Post

May 30, 2014

At What Point did Laughter Become a Problem? (A Little Friday Funny)

Next Post

June 3, 2014 On the Hubris of Prayer Experts: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Part I

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion corruption Donald Trump elections Empire Entertainment Ezra Klein ideology Justice Lacan politics race Sports Ta-Nehisi Coates Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 March 2026 September 2025 March 2025 June 2024 January 2024 December 2023 May 2023 February 2023 October 2022 April 2022 March 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 September 2020 July 2020 June 2020 March 2020 September 2019 July 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 August 2010 July 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many times did Elisha multiply food?

Select your answer to see how you score.

1 4 2 3