Heroes, Once, and A Piece of my Mind

So as part of my procrastination therapy I went out and purchased the first season of Heroes. I have only one word …

Ohmygoshthisshowissofreakingcool!

Aside from being a semi nerd this show really does have a good mix of storyline, character development, and showing off cool abilities. I think the thing I admire the most about the show is that it does have that mortality aspect that sometimes doesn’t exist. I liken it to a cross between The Incredibles and Spiderman but with more people. A couple parts are not for the squeamish and there are a couple of moments where there are some very … visual effects. In general the show has a sense of greater purpose and larger scale than one season can encompass (similar to Lost, I’ve been told). It does have all the standard superhero abilities that you come to expect: flight, regeneration, variations on telepathy, and so on … but puts them in characters that are not always able to do much with them. I also appreciate the fact that some of the more prominent characters have no powers yet are still able to make contributions.

So cool a show … which brings me to a really cool movie: Once

It is an independent movie that is from Ireland and is really one of the more beautiful love stories that I have seen in a long time. It has won two Audience Awards (one of which was at Sundance) and I highly recommend it. I could go into more detail but it really needs to be seen and talking about it doesn’t do it justice. It will probably be playing at the independent movie theaters for a while as it is just starting to come into buzz in the US.

Which brings me to a portion of my Mind

Beginning these are always dangerous and I’m not sure what is on my mind at the time. I think right now it is watching the differences between newer students and graduating/graduated students and the differences between them. I was picking up one of my neighbors from the airport and we were talking about the sociology project that could be done on Fuller’s Campus. It was interesting to figure out some of my own thoughts in broad generalizations that have their exceptions but it was interesting to consider some of the differences between the schools in mindset and age. Looking at the Psych school they have the ‘older/wiser’ aspect as most of them are PhD candidates who are paying cash for 5-6 years (in most cases) to get their degree and do counseling once they graduate. For the Intercultural Studies (Missionary) group there is one of two mindsets: I want to go into missions, or I need to know more so I can do missions better. In general I think of this group as a couple of years older and with some experience going outside of the US to do missions work. In general I find that this group of people come with a sense of purpose and a maturity and perspective that has been tempered in another country. Which brings me to the Theology Students … My guess is that about 70% of the non-doctoral students here are fresh out of undergrad and I would say that the Theology students are probably the youngest out of the three groups. I get the feeling that many of the Missions and Psych students view Theology as the misfits of the campus, but these are my ‘perceptions’ of which I have very little to base it upon, I’m a Theology student … and a closet misfit.

Here is the part that confuses me … Missions and Psych have integrated communities within their programs. These groups are called cohorts and they basically allow for outside integration of class material as well as providing a place for discussion and friendships to form not only with each other, but also with professors. Theology doesn’t and this confuses me. A Theology student could effectively do an entire M. Div (pastoral degree) without ever really engaging with fellow students, and yet these are the people who are going to go into congregations and lead a group of people towards God. As I approach the end of my 2nd year in Seminary I look at this picture and I don’t really have to say much about how upside down my head is at times (see some of my previous entries). I’m sure I’m not the only one but here is the fun part. It has been my experience that many people are very careful about who they have the deeper conversations with. I have encountered a number of people who I can only touch on the surface with about the things of life and confusion. Now I’m not saying the Missions and Psych don’t need their cohorts, I’m just wondering where ours are.

Am I far off in my assumptions or am I close enough to be scary. Also, those of you who have been having some conversation about the past post I made, I have responded in the comments if you wish to ‘counter-counter-point’