Dreams Unlocked

Well - Here it is. I spent a lot of time at home this year with the kids, feeding them, etc. - But, I still had time for my favorite past time (besides reading) - going to the movies. Here's my list: 1. Tree of Life - I have a funny story about this film. I went to see it in the theater... and walked out after 20 minutes. It had the typical Terence Malick artsy heavy handedness that make his films hard to endure. And then I was at a conference in Colorado, and the host of the conference was raving about it. Brian Doerksen (the famed worship leader) was also there. He and I started chatting, and he also raved about it. So... I thought I need to give it another chance. I am so glad I did! This is a stunning piece of work - easily one of the best films I've ever seen. You do need to have patience to stay until the end. It's a good idea to watch it with a group that you can discuss it with after. 2. The Muppets - This was the second best movie of the year because rarely have I ...

I let Adam stay up tonight to watch the Glee Christmas special. I had heard that they were going to be singing "Do The Know Its Christmas" - the charity single from 1984(!) that was recorded to raise finds for the famine in Ethiopia. I have watched this show maybe 2 or 3 times in the past. Not really a huge fan. I was very impressed with the episode tonight, though. I know the show has courted controversy before by having openly gay characters. I believe there was a same-sex kiss that riled up some conservatives. In tonight's episode, one of the characters changes a scripted reading of Frosty the Snowman and instead reads the Christmas story from the gospel of Luke. I was very surprised and inspired that they would do that on one of the most popular shows on tv. I also hope those former critics will be as vocal in their praise of the show and will commend the producers and Fox tv for having the scripture read on tonight's episode. The episode continues with the cast s...

My article on Occupy Vancouver that appeared in a local paper: Welcome to the Occupation by Santosh Ninan T he Occupy Wall Street movement began on September 17, 2011 in New York City. Since then, it has escalated to 95 cities, across 82 countries. At one point, there were 600 Occupy sites in the U.S . alone. However, the spark for the movement’s fire actually began in Vancouver through the creative minds at the anti-consumerist magazine, Adbusters . In mid-2011, the magazine proposed a peaceful occupation of Wall Street to protest the corporate greed and its influence on democracy, the growing disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and the absence of legal accountability behind the recent global financial crisis. This theoretical proposal was enfleshed in what we have seen in Zuccotti Park in the financial district of New York City. The movement came back to the city of its origins in the Occupy Vancouver encampment at the Vancouver Art Gallery and, most recently, on the...

I had a meeting a couple of days ago in a neighboring city in Metro Vancouver. As I drove to my meeting, I passed a church building - it was set off from the high-way, and quite isolated. There were no other buildings anywhere near this church, no houses, no offices, no schools... nothing. I realized this isn't the first time I had seen this before. I have seen this same phenomenon in Saskatoon, Regina and another city in Metro Vancouver - and all of the same denomination.That is - church buildings built far far away from any visible civilization, some even built outside city boundaries! Now - I understand the logic behind it - buying land is much cheaper the further you move out from a city center. Land that is not particularly desirable is cheaper. But - is this right? I would argue that it is wrong. Why in the world would you locate your church where nobody lives? Jesus came to the people, he didn't expect the people to come to him. We have been sent out into the world: into...