As suggested by Micah, I’ve decided to write a top-5 list of Bible verses taken out of context. The Bible is a huge collection of books and it is easy and tempting to take verses or pieces of Scripture out of context in order to twist them into something that we want them to say, or to lessen the challenge they present us. In recent years, I’ve had a guilty pleasure of watching TBN. The prosperity gospel or word of faith theology espoused there is built on rather shady exegesis in my opinion. This would be a long post if I were to include all the bad Scripture quoting I’ve heard there, so I’ll leave much of it alone. Here are my top-5 verses taken out of context. I’m curious to see if people agree with me that they’ve been misused, as well as what other texts do you think are commonly made to say something that their original context doesn’t warrant. Some could make a strong argument against the Gospel of Matthew’s use of biblical texts, but I won’t open that can of worms. All the verses here will be taken from the NRSV, unless otherwise noted.

I had lunch with Timbo and he suggested to me that I do another Top-5 list, except we couldn’t come up with a category. My request to you faithful reader(s) is to offer categories for which you would like to see a Top-5 list.

I went to see Michael Bay’s latest film, Transformers this afternoon. It got me thinking that I should do a Top 5 list of his films. Where does Transformers rank next to films like The Rock or Armageddon? You’ll have to click the READ more button below.

Last year Carey and I had the blessing to spend a few weeks in New Zealand. I really enjoyed my time there and saw some things about Kiwi culture I would like to import to the United States. I’m no expert on New Zealand and these are pretty superficial suggestions. I hope you enjoy them.

1. Toilets. The US has done a great job moving toward low-flow toilets that save water, but toilets in New Zealand take it a step further. They have two buttons for flushing: half-flush and full flush. Depending on the size and type of the, um, deposit left in the toilet, one can determine what level of flush they need. A great way to conserve. The attitude toward conservation and ecology was refreshing.
2. Currency. I mentioned this issue a while back in another post on currency, but I really enjoyed the fact that New Zealand had one dollar and two dollar coins. The paper money varied in size and color. And perhaps most important, they had eliminated the one cent coin. All transactions were rounded up or down. Imagine a world with no pennies. (Longing sigh.)
3. Roundabouts. Once the anxiety produced by driving on the other side of the road subsided, I came to really enjoy using roundabouts at most intersections. The flow of traffic slowed but rarely stopped, except at the busiest times. They also made me fondly remember the bike circles at UC Davis. This suggestion, however seems least likely to gain any traction here in the States, especially in Los Angeles. We have way too many cars on the road and I think the learning curve of the roundabouts would result in a lot of accidents initially. When you’re the one learning and you share the road with other drivers who know how to use roundabouts, that’s one thing. When everyone is learning to use them together, that would be chaos.
4. Paninis. We have them here in the US, but they were everywhere in New Zealand. Nearly any coffee shop or restaurant carried the pre-made sandwiches in a refrigerated glass case and would heat them up for you on demand. A great alternative to lots of the fast food here. Because there were so many paninis, the variety was nearly endless. My favorite was a really simple recipe that Carey and I have copied here. Two slices of sourdough, a grilled chicken breast, Camembert cheese, and cranberry sauce. Slap it all together, put the sandwich under some heat and pressure, and you have a great dish. We substitute Brie for the Camembert since it’s easier to find in grocery stores here. Also, we use boneless, skinless chicken thighs from time to time.
5. Rugby. We had the opportunity to attend a Super XIV match in which the Chiefs beat the visiting Stormers. Both Carey and I enjoyed the match greatly and any match we saw on television during our trip. Rugby has the hard-hitting edge of American Football, but, like soccer, play generally doesn’t stop, so there is less time to preen and people only celebrate goals. The clock system is similar to soccer and games don’t last three hours. It takes some getting used to, with all the rules, but a spectator can grasp the gist of the sport rather quickly.

In the comments of an earlier post on my top 5 closing lines of novels, Timbo suggested that a top 5 list of closing lines of movies would make a post. I agreed. Now, remember, these are my top 5 lists, not lists that I’m arguing are the best of all time for all people. I also decided not to use the line from The Return of the King since I already put that in my list for novels—it’s no fun to have things show up in multiple lists unless it’s something like Richard Nixon showing up in historians’ lists simultaneously for the best and worst U.S. Presidents. Again, these are the last lines of movies, so there are likely spoilers. Consider yourselves warned.

In an earlier post I gave my top-5 opening lines in novels. Here is that post’s counterpart, which gives my favorite closing lines. Be forewarned that some of these may contain spoilers and others won’t make much sense unless you know the context of the whole story. Do you have any favorites?

This Top-5 list came to me as I drove around after work. Actually, I’m more interested in what biblical books others would say are their favorites, or what books have affected them or are affecting them the most and why. Here are mine, in really no particular order. Your answers don’t have to be as long as these.

A strong opening line to a piece of fiction cannot be over-valued. Sure there are some great opening lines to mediocre or bad novels. Charles Dickens wrote one of the most famous opening lines ever in his novel A Tale of Two Cities [1] and yet I despise that novel with a searing hatred usually reserved for the Los Angeles Lakers or broccoli. Then there are completely forgettable opening lines to brilliant works. Anyone remember the opening lines to Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment [2] or Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird [3]? Didn’t think so, but the rest of those novels haunt the reader for a long time. Sometimes the strength of the opening line can only be appreciated after reading the whole work and going back to the beginning as is the case of the seemingly innocuous opening to Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay [4].

If an author can begin with something that immediately piques the your interest and draws you into the subsequent sentences, then he or she has immediately gained the high ground. Below are my top-5 favorite opening lines to novels. This is a tough one to narrow down and I decided to limit the list to novels I’ve read. And since I haven’t read every novel written I’m sure I’m missing some excellent examples. Please tell me your favorites.

As I recollect last night’s concert and the opening act, Mates of State, I started thinking that opening acts at concerts would make a good top-5 post. So, without further ado, here it goes. My top-5 favorite opening acts of concerts I’ve attended and the artist for whom they opened the show.

1. Paul Simon for Bob Dylan (Arco Arena, 1999). Okay, so technically both Dylan and Simon shared top-billing on the tour, but Simon came on stage first at this show. That counts as opening up for the other artist—Dylan would open other shows on the tour. Simon gave a wonderful performance only to be overshadowed by Dylan later. The two came out between their sets and sang three duets: “Sound of Silence,” “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” and “I Walk the Line/Blue Moon Of Kentucky.” Amazing.


2. McCoy Tyner and The Dave Brubeck Quartet for Ramsey Lewis (Hollywood Bowl, 2004). Another example of cheating since all three shared the bill as the “Piano Masters.” I was excited to see Brubeck who delivered and then some. Tyner, whom I had never heard or heard of was simply amazing. It was a great evening of jazz. Lewis was also good, but both Tyner and Brubeck had set the bar so high as well as taken most of the audience’s energy that Lewis just didn’t have the oomph needed to close out the show. Not his fault, however. Seriously, Brubeck at 84 gave one of the best performances I’ve seen and worked the crowd like an old, stately Bono in a white tuxedo.


3. The Blind Boys of Alabama for Peter Gabriel (Staples Center, 2002). The gospel quartet was simply awesome as their harmonies filled the arena. They easily stole the show that evening, and it was a good show on Gabriel’s part. Though I was a bit worried when one of the Blind Boys walked around the stage unaided and came close to the edge.


4. Black Eyed Sceva for Poor Old Lu (Shadrach’s, 1996). Along with Dime Store Prophets—who I liked live, but never cared for their albums—this show was one of the most consistent bills I’ve ever seen from top to bottom. For those who don’t know, Black Eyed Sceva sounded like a harder Toad the Wet Sprocket and later changed its name to Model Engine.


5. Spiritualized for Radiohead (Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, 1998). Spiritualized complimented Radiohead perfectly and set up a sonic atmosphere that readied the audience to have their minds blown away by the headliner. Perhaps the perfect example of an opener—didn’t draw too much attention to themselves, but drew the audience in and prepared them for a great night of music.

In case you’re wondering, some of my least favorite opening acts include No Doubt for U2 (Oakland Arena, 2001), DC Talk for Michael W. Smith (Selland Arena, 1993)—a bad show all-around—and Fight for Anthrax (Wilson Theater, 1994). That last show was near the end of my metal days and I plead whatever Ammendment it is that grants you immunity for some of your musical tastes when you were fifteen.

For my first official Top-5 List post, I’ve decided to tackle superhero movies. They seem to be pretty ubiquitous during the summer months and there have been some that transcend the genre into simply being good or great films, while there is a slew of mediocre fare and some ugly gunk that shouldn’t even be on the bottom of your shoe.

Anyway, here are my top-5 superhero movies.

1. The Incredibles, (d. Bird, 2004)


2. Batman Begins, (d. Nolan, 2005)


3. X2: X-Men United, (d. Singer, 2003)


4. Spider-Man 2, (d. Raimi, 2004)


5. Batman, (d. Burton, 1989)

All of these films have something in common: they focus on characters rather than on the super powers of the heroes. These are fallible heroes faced with choices and limitations. Also, each of these films have strong lead actors with whom we empathize perhaps more than we dream of being them. Most of the films have been made within the last decade, because before Burton’s stylized, but dark Batman, superhero films were rather campy. Even Donner’s Superman (1978) is a bit too cornball to make my list, though I enjoy that film greatly. Except for the “Can you read my mind?” sequence. And the turning back time sequence. An honorable mention goes to Unbreakable, (d. Shyamalan, 2000).