By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

With lightening and Led Zeppelin, Thor: Ragnarok opens this weekend with full sound and fury. As part of the Marvel Comics universe, Thor 3 feels more like the levity of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie than the character seriousness of an Iron Man, Spider-Man or Captain America movie. With the inclusion of the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Cate Blanchett as the villainous sister Hela, Thor Ragnarok is a critic proof movie that will be on the big screen through New Year’s Day.

While sticking around for only three more weeks, The 2017 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) kicks into high gear this weekend with the annual Opening Night Party at the Seminole Hard Rock Cafe, which features Burt Reynolds and Graham Greene receiving their Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Graham Greene first came to fame with his Oscar nomination for Dances with Wolves. He has worked steadily as an ensemble player in big budgeted films like Die Hard with a Vengence, The Green Mile and The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Recently seen in the Western-Noir drama Wind River, Greene is a festival favorite and was seen in George Hickenlooper’s last movie about South Florida Casino gambling, Casino Jack, which debuted at the 2010 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Greene is expected to attend Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World, along with Executive Producer Stevie Salas, a guitarist who wanted to share the contributions of Native Americans to rock ‘n’ roll. This documentary is presented on the big screen at the Seminole Hard Rock this Friday at 5 p.m.

Documentaries will be the strong suit of FLIFF this year and variety is the spice. Echoes will be screened at the Savor Cinema this Saturday and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood on Monday with musicians Nell Byrne & Ryan Kelly (from Celtic Thunder) in attendance. Essentially a small concert to promote their new album release, titled Echoes, this documentary features beautiful folk music and awe-inspiring visuals of Ireland.

The majority of the documentaries cover a variety of topics from fashion merchandising (Larger than life: The Kevyn Acoin Story) to forgotten mass genocide (Intent to Destroy). Both documentaries are slickly produced and will hold a viewers interest.

Cries from Syria represents documentary in its purest form. The visuals are horrible, featuring dead babies on the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea. Told in English translation, mangled and deformed children describe the horrors of Isis on their Syrian homeland. This film fills in the bloody details of the Syrian Civil War that has taken on international proportions since 2011.

This film is a call for action, and the president listened… Having seen the slaughter of children from chemical weapons, President Trump launched 59 Tomahawk missiles last April in retaliation. It is appropriate that Cries from Syria screens Nov. 10, 2017 the first day of Veteran’s Day Weekend.

“Like a shepherd examining his flock, causing his sheep to pass under his staff”

(Ancient Jewish Prayer)

Why is this parable used to describe the experience of G-d judging us?

In Jewish law, we tithe our sheep, allowing each to pass through a narrow door, and every tenth one is dedicated for a sacred cause for an offering to G-d.

What happens if the animal has a blemish and is not worthy to be used as an offering? The animal still becomes sacred, yet exchanges it for money, conferring its holiness on the money with which we will purchase a complete one for an offering.

The only way that the animal can be disqualified is if the animal would have died within 12 months on its own due to an illness. Such an animal is not only not good for G-d on the altar, but cannot be eaten by kosher observant Jews even if slaughtered correctly. If the tenth animal happens to be disqualified, then it never becomes holy.

Why doesn’t the blemished animal get off the hook, but the ill one does?

Because the blemished animal is still kosher to eat if slaughtered correctly; however, it is only forbidden to be brought as a sacrifice on the altar. But an animal that is ill and forbidden even from Jews to eat, that can’t become holy.

This is a profound message. If I have a blemish and I can’t be brought as an offering to the Holy Temple, I am still holy and G-d forgives our blemishes. But if I am ill, if I can’t be taken even by people, if people hate me, then G-d can’t forgive me. I need to apologize to the people.

On this unique concept of clemency, in a show of unrestrained compassion, G-d forgives any sin He can, but He does not forgive those he “cannot.” How can G-d forgive a sin which I have committed against Mr. Goldberg? G-d is not Goldberg; for a sin I committed against G-d, G-d can forgive me. For a sin I commit against Goldberg — Goldberg has to forgive me!

Only those who were wronged can right. Only he who has suffered and only he against whom a crime has been committed is entitled to forgive, if he so desires.

The story is told of the rabbi of Brisk who was once unassumingly traveling home on the train. He shared company with a group of callous Jews playing cards. Bothered by his aloof attitude, one of them demanded that he join the game or leave the car. When the rabbi didn’t comply, the fellow physically removed him from the train car.

When the train arrived at Brisk, also the stop of the offender, he was shocked to see the throngs of people who stood there waiting to greet their rabbi. Mortified, he ran over to ask forgiveness but was denied. The rabbi would not forgive his abuser. Not able to be calmed, he tried again and again. Finally, he made contact with the rabbi’s son and begged him to find a way for him to be absolved.

The boy, surprised at his father’s uncharacteristic behavior, agreed to do whatever possible. He visited his father and began discussing the laws of forgiveness. Their discussion touched upon the law that a person must not turn away someone asking his forgiveness more than three times. Taking his cue, the boy asked his father, “What about So-and-So; he’s asked you to forgive him numerous times; yet, you deny him forgiveness?”

He replied, “Him? I cannot forgive him for he didn’t offend me, the rabbi of Brisk; he offended the simpleton he took me to be. If he would have known who I was, he would have never behaved this way; he assumed I was a simpleton and hence he can violate my dignity. I cannot forgive him, because it was not me who he shamed. Let him ask forgiveness from a simpleton.”

Rabbi Tzvi Dechter is the director of Chabad of North Broward Beaches, located in the Venetian Isle Shopping Center at 2025 E. Sample Rd. in Lighthouse Point. For all upcoming events, please visit www.JewishLHP.com.

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

www.emilyrosen424.com

November is calling, and perhaps I should be writing about turkeys or stuffing, or pumpkins, but I’m not. I’m writing about carrots. Stick with me here. I’m about to make my case, i.e. carrots as a symbol of what’s wrong with society. Well, it’s one of the symbols.

I remember when carrots were just in the produce department with the good earth still clinging to each bunch. Then someone came along with the brilliant idea of cleaning them up a bit and inserting them into a plastic bag; but that wasn’t good enough for the fast food nation and TV dinner families. We still had to peel them, or else we might ingest some of the residue of the good earth. So the next someone came up with the idea of baby carrots, sculpted out of the big ones or some sort of mutation — all peeled and washed, and cut and plastic-packaged. The consumer was relieved of all carrot responsibility, save having to chew and swallow. It comes in just the right size for good dipping, if you happen to be a dipper, conscious of avoiding the carbs one finds in crackers or bread.

But folks, I challenge you to compare the taste of an out-of-the-earth carrot to the ersatz orange, nutrition-drained elf-like, thumb-sized “things” packaged as carrots. However, if you want to substitute them for the traditional Thanksgiving yam (to save calories), the taste won’t matter too much when you add brown sugar or maple syrup, or even a marshmallow to it.

Okay, so this is not as tantalizing a subject as recent corroborating information about Harvey Weinstein, or as the thunderous danger of our relationship with the leader of North Korea, but indeed, it says something important about society.

It says that we, as a nation, prefer to have things “peeled” and “cut” for us and we kind of don’t really care about the quality of the final product. We can swallow it, become somewhat conscious of its inferior taste, accept “the deal,” giving up something (taste) to get something more valuable (convenience), and we go on with our lives, just as long as someone else does the “peeling.” It’s the long standing “let’s do stuff that’s easy-peasy” school of thought.

Of course, it’s not just carrots when it comes to “easy-peasy.” There’s a whole world of “bots” (robots for the uninitiated) out there waiting to do everything for us …Yes, pretty nearly everything …

It will soon be too late for us to consider how much of this is really good for us as opposed to how much we might still prefer to do things for ourselves.

I may be the only person in the world using baby peeled carrots in a plastic bag as a metaphor for a society that eschews the value of “doing the work and being rewarded with the flavor.”

Well, the good news is: We’re still eating turkey for Thanksgiving. Most people are still celebrating with family and friends, and maybe even dipping baby carrots into a dip; and, most importantly, actually sitting down at a table, and maybe even having face- to-face conversations. Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

By Gary Curreri

Deerfield Beach football coach Jevon Glenn knows bigger days are ahead for the state’s top-ranked Class 8A team.

The Bucks played three games in eight days and showed no signs of letting up last Friday night as they amassed 529 total yards of offense, while budgeting Monarch to 46 yards and crushing the Knights, 49-0, in a District 11-8A game at Coconut Creek High School.

“We are starting to peak at the right moment,” said Glenn, whose team also defeated Douglas, 35-0, and Blanche Ely, 55-8, in recent days. “Defensively, we knew early on they were going to have to carry us.”

“Offensively, our quarterback Tyron (Herring) has been doing a good job and our numbers have been starting to increase and we are getting a little more consistent on that end,” Glenn continued. “We are peaking at the right time.”

Senior Jakari Norwood rushed for 124 on eight carries and scored three times as the Bucks took command of the district race. Sophomore Jaylan Knighton added 16 carries for 140 and a 50-yard scoring run.

Deerfield Beach (6-2, 3-0) won its third consecutive game following a 14-0 loss at St. Thomas Aquinas. It also recorded its third shutout of the season and hasn’t allowed a score in 11 straight quarters, and just one score in its past 14 quarters. Monarch (5-2, 3-1) saw its four game win streak come to an end.

Deerfield got on the scoreboard first on a 33-yard scoring run by Norwood for a 7-0 lead with 7:53 remaining in the first quarter. The Bucks scored twice in the second quarter to open up a 21-0 halftime cushion.

Junior quarterback Tyron Herring scored on a 2-yard plunge with 11:10 remaining in the second quarter to cap an 11-play, 98-yard drive, and Norwood scored his second touchdown on a 27-yard run four minutes later.

Norwood scored on a 1-yard run, while Knighton added a 50-yard TD run in the third. Senior quarterback Kyle Kaplan threw touchdown passes of 60 yards to senior Mason Mobley and 14 yards to senior Ladarius Burrows to complete the scoring. Kaplan was 5 of 7 for 118 yards and two scores in the second half.

“We are battle tested,” Glenn said. “Some guys are running around and they got great records, but they haven’t played anybody. When they do, they get smacked in the face. Let’s just call a spade a spade. We know in our district we are not going to get challenged. That’s why we play teams like St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) and St. Thomas Aquinas. The kids can have that taste of defeat so they can stay hungry.”

Deerfield was 4-1 against Monarch since 2013. The Knights’ lone win over the Bucks came in 2014 with a 35-0 win. Monarch saw its four game win streak come to an end. The Knights won four straight following a 41-9 loss to Coconut Creek in the second game of the season.

Norwood said the team could still improve.

“This is real good performance,” Norwood said. “The O-line did a great job today and the coaches put us in a position to do well. This shows us that we are good, but there is much improvement to be made. We can get better in the running game and hit the holes better.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The Ghost of Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein will manifest this 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Deerfield Beach Percy White Library. Besides screening a Lon Chaney monster movie (title withheld due to licensing agreements), this program will discuss Shelly’s influence on popular culture. The program will also present a video about Kenneth Strickfaden, a pioneer in steam technology.

Written by Mary W. Shelley in the early 19th Century, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus contained elements of horror fiction, but the story was influenced by Greek mythology about creation. Through the creator’s neglect and irresponsibility, the creation causes chaos upon the status quo. Every generation has their own Frankenstein creation that becomes a monster.

During the 1930s, Boris Karloff became a household name when he portrayed the monster in a trilogy of Frankenstein movies. The Karloff Frankenstein movies were heavily influenced by European Gothic sensibilities. When Karloff stopped playing the monster at age 51, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange portrayed the character in the 1940s. Given the events of World War II, the monster was portrayed as a mindless lumbering brute to reflect Nazi aggression.

In the 1950s, Karloff portrayed the creator in Frankenstein 1970, which featured a sappy metaphor about nuclear energy and weapons.

Those who dare to enter the auditorium at Deerfield Beach Percy White Library this Saturday afternoon will see the Frankenstein monster from a variety of perspectives. Besides other surprises, the first 25 people in attendance will receive the catalog for the 2017 Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF).

Speaking of FLIFF, this week’s screenings at Savor Cinema and Hollywood Paradiso will honor the 30th anniversary of the European Film Festival Awards. Many of these films made their American debut through FLIFF. Among the classic titles returning to the Broward County screens: The Full Monty, Life is Beautiful and Amelie. This week’s screenings also include the winners of the made-in-Florida competition, featuring the Lifetime Movie Channel favorite Girlfriend Killer, starring Barbie Castro.

Thor Ragnarok will be getting the most marketing buzz next week; but, this Marvel flick will be on the big screen through New Year’s Day, whereas the Opening Night Party at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel only happens once a year. So plan accordingly. For ticket information and info. on all the events, contact 954-525 FILM or visit www.fliff.com.

Aida’s Secrets opens tomorrow. This documentary deals with Post Holocaust Europe and the long term effects on families and children. Aida’s secrets are two sons who never met, who form an instant bond. One son is blind, but, like a dogged detective, he is driven to uncover the mystery of this family separation.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween. Trick or Treat!

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

King Solomon’s observation of life and human behavior resulted in numerous conclusions which are undeniably true. This particular truth relates to the fluid nature of the human experience. Nothing remains the same, everything changes, and there is an appointed time or season when change will occur. In nature, we identify the progression of time through the changing of the seasons from spring to summer, from summer to fall, from fall to winter, and from winter to spring. Each comes with its own unique personality and characteristics (colorful flowers, hot sun, falling leaves, frigid temperatures).

Depending upon where one lives in this country or on this planet, some seasons are more readily seen and experienced than others. Those of us who live in South Florida feel like it’s always summer here, but the seasons still change. An awareness of the coming change in a season enables us to prepare for it and to adjust to its uniqueness. Summer weather calls for t-shirts, shorts and sandals, while winter’s cold necessitates sweaters, hats and scarves. As we age, we also go through seasons of life with characteristics, expectations, and responsibilities that are unique to each phase. The one constant, however, is that there will be change. Nothing lasts for too long, and each season fulfills some purpose.

The varying experiences that we face (challenge, struggle, satisfaction, success etc.) also tend to be seasonal. Sometimes life is great, and everything seems to be going your way with the wind at your back and calm seas all around. At other times it feels like you’re in a storm and you’re struggling just to stay afloat. We would love to park at the particularly pleasant and rewarding experiences of life and live the remainder of our days there in peace and tranquility. The inevitability of change though indicates that we’d do well to be prepared when our situation undergoes a transition to something else. Though we may not appreciate change, especially when it involves moving from something good to something bad, Solomon’s wisdom indicates that each season serves a purpose.

If you are favored with good circumstances (a good season), celebrate your accomplishments and enjoy your life. Be mindful, however, that things may soon change. If you are in a bad situation (season), seek to understand what lessons it may offer for your future benefit, or for others who are around you. Know that it will not last forever, and that you may well come out the better for it. Sometimes the challenges and difficulties of life are necessary to release the hidden greatness, brilliance, and potential that lies in all of us. Consider that the caterpillar must go through a period (season) of isolation, darkness, and struggle before it emerges as a beautiful butterfly. And oysters must endure a season of agitation and discomfort before producing the precious pearl.

Whatever season you may find yourself in, make the most of it by adjusting to its demands and facing it with confidence. Thank God for bringing you to it, and trust Him knowing that He will see you through it. You have not arrived at it by accident. Though you may be incapable of controlling what happens to you, the power to manage your response is all yours. Be grateful to God for His blessing or His mercy in each circumstance. He has brought you to this for a season and for a purpose.

Bishop Patrick L. Kelly is the pastor of Cathedral Church of God, 365 S. Dixie Hwy., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. 954-427-0302.

By Gary Curreri

Lighthouse Point’s Ryan Szklany is making the most of his senior cross country season.

The Highlands Christian Academy 17-year-old won a major invitational for the third time this season as he captured the Pine Crest Cross Country Invitational at Tradewinds Park in Coconut Creek last week.

Szklany ran a 17:08.70 on the 5K layout to win the boys varsity race by 11 seconds over runner-up Robert Pedroza, a sophomore from Key West High School, who ran a 17:19.52. They were the only two runners to run faster than 18-minutes in the boys race.

Szklany also won the individual championship in the Boys High School Select Division at the FSU Pre-State Invitational at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee, as well as the 35th annual Spanish River Invitational at South County Park in Boca Raton.

When he won the Pre-State meet, Szklany started out in sixth place at the mile mark as he went out in 5:00.7, but by the second mile he had moved up to first. With a strong finishing burst, he held off Lakewood Ranch’s Jonathan Reid to clock 16:21.3. Reid was second with a time of 16:25.1.

“The first mile we went out far and, after that, there was a group of a two or three guys that were about 20 meters ahead that I wanted to catch before they broke away,” said Szklany, who was third at last year’s Class 1A state cross country championships. “I was able to stay with them and pushed ahead.”

“This is good for confidence, knowing that I could hold down a strategy,” Szklany added. “I was a little disappointed because I didn’t get a PR, but I was able to get my second fastest time of the season and I am happy with that.”

Szklany said he is starting to return to the form he was at two years ago when he ran his personal best time of 16:13.00.

“I just think the development is starting to pay off,” Szklany said. “I think the training is starting to catch up a little bit. I am starting to transition back into it.

“I know what the course is now and I am a little more used to where I should go a little harder or maybe lay back a little bit,” Szklany said of the 5K layout at Apalachee Regional Park in Tallahassee. “I have that aspect of it and also being able to compete against the guys I am going to be racing against to kind of get to know their strategies and race against them.”

Trevor Foley, who transferred from Nature Coast Tech (Class 2A) to Citrus Park Christian (1A) before last year’s track season, is going to be Szklany’s main rival. Foley’s best time is 15:20, so Szklany will have his work cut out for him as his best time this season is a 16:16.40 and his personal best is a 16:13.0, which he ran in the Foot Locker South event in Nov. 2015.

In their lone head-to-head meeting, Foley won the Flrunners.com Invitational 18 Race of Champions Boys Division at Holloway Park in Lakeland on Sept. 30. Foley won the event with a 15:54.64 clocking, while Szklany covered the distance in 16:23.15. Szklany was third in the Jim Ryun Invitational by Fellowship of Christian Athletes (16:35.80).

Szklany has his sights set on competing in college at Emory Riddle.

“I haven’t committed anywhere yet,” Szklany said. “It is giving me a little more drive to keep working hard and training hard to make sure I am there at the end of the season.”

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

It has been 26 years since Anita Hill accused Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. It was riveting television, but Hill’s claims were proven not convincing through a lack of proof. Even though Clarence Thomas became a Supreme Court Justice, responsible employers mandated “Sexual Harassment Training” for their employers in the workplace. Apparently Harvey Weinstein did not attend this training in over two decades.

As disgusting as Weinstein’s behavior is, perhaps more abhorrent is the Hollywood’s elite being so complicit. Granted Weinstein produced some groundbreaking and award-winning movies (Shakespeare in Love, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Fahrenheit 911, all of Quentin Tarantino’s flicks) and actors/actresses need the work. It is the hypocrisy of morality that has truly struck a nerve in the American heartland. This latest scandal is a reminder that one must look beyond the headline of any news story, for objective journalism died when Walter Cronkite was forced to retire 36 years ago.

A look behind the scenes is what Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is all about. It is an historical drama about the first half of the 20th Century, though the Marston family has disavowed any involvement to the plot. Much like Ed Wood and Finding Neverland, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a story about the creation of one’s imagination.

Psychology professor and inventor of the lie detector machine, Professor William Moulton (Luke Evans) and his wife, Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) were renowned for his development of the DiSC Theory, which explained the behavior pattern of dominant and passive individuals. While hiring a teacher’s assistant, Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcoate), the Moulton family invites a new individual who submits to their academic ideals. The relationship between employee and employer crosses academic lines and the Moultons are expelled from academia.

Given that this firing occurred during the Roosevelt Administration, the Great Depression and the war years pay their toll of these former academic aristocrats. Elizabeth is forced to take a job as a secretary, Olive becomes a housewife and William becomes the jack of all trades. While passing a store and seeing a corset in the shop window, William has an inkling of an idea about a new comic book creation based on Rosie the Riveter, a sort of wonder woman.

For a film audience that had witnessed The Secretary and the Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequel, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women has been considered “subdued” by urban elitist critics. Writer/director Angela Robinson explores the exotic and the erotic with taste and reserve, which advances the nature of the creative relationship between the Marstons and Olive Byrne.

This film is a vacation from the ordinary film, which happens to be the motto for the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF). In the build up to FLIFF (which is held Oct. 27-Nov. 19), it has been announced that character actor Graham Greene will be joining opening night festivities at the Seminole Hard Rock. Besides receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award, Greene will be supporting the documentary, Rumble: The Indians who Rocked the World, which will be a full event. Burt Reynolds and Karen Allen are among the other celebrities slated to attend this year. For more information on the festival, visit www.fliff.com.

Dear Readers:

I write this article with a heavy heart in the wake of the senseless act of violence in Las Vegas. First and foremost, I grieve for the victims and grieve with their families and friends. The whole nation feels the pain and suffering, and it is my prayer that we stand united against violence and work together to prevent an act of this nature from happening again.

I also bear the responsibility of a religious leader who must respond to this act with words of healing and hope. I do not want to repeat the offenses of irresponsible religious leaders who seized the opportunity to grandstand or, worse, blame the victims for their demise. And considering the foolish responses of some, it is tempting to remain silent. Alas, silence is not an option.

After prayerful reflection, I went to scripture. How did Jesus respond to senseless acts of violence or random tragedies? The answer is in Luke 13: 1-5. Jesus was speaking to a crowd that had two tragedies on their mind as Jesus was speaking. One was an act of violence committed by Pontius Pilate’s soldiers against Galilean worshippers. While the historical details are fuzzy, the one thing we know is innocent Galileans were killed by Roman soldiers under the command of Pontius Pilate. This was a senseless act of violence.

The other event was a random event that probably was the result of faulty architecture. The Tower of Siloam collapsed and innocent people were crushed. Again, the people in the crowd wanted to make sense of this random occurrence.

Picking up on the buzz, perhaps even overhearing the conversations of the people, the question arose: “Did these victims do something to bring on the wrath of God?” Jesus gave two answers.

The first answer was “No.” In other words, these bystanders were indeed innocent. God did not punish them. The Romans were clearly the ones to blame for the senseless killing of the Galileans. And who knows who was to blame for the collapse of the Tower. One can only speculate; but it wasn’t God. That much was clear.

The second answer was “However.” The words that followed the “however” did not negate the first answer. However, they may be words that do not sound good to the ears when we hear them in our English translation: “Unless you repent, you will perish as they did.”

I think it is the word “repent” that gives me pause. The word “repent” conjures up images of self-righteous, sanctimonious, judgmental preachers pointing their fingers and frowning at the sinner. Shame-based motivation not only exposes the hypocrisy of the one who uses it, but also just plain doesn’t work. I certainly don’t want that image to remain on our minds, especially at the wake of a tragedy.

So I go to Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament, and come across a word that is much, much better than the English translation. That word is “Metanoia.” Metanoia simply means “to change one’s mind.” The prefix “meta,” which means change, is found in words like “metamorphous” or “to change form.” That word makes me think of butterflies. Butterflies are a much better image in the wake of a tragedy.

So, coming back from the Greek to the English, I can say these words that truly are helpful in the wake of a tragedy. “Unless we learn from this experience, or ‘change our mind,’ we will be doomed to repeat it.” If a tragedy of this nature comes and goes, and we don’t learn from it, then we really are in trouble. This is just common wisdom.

If Jesus is telling us anything, it is this: “Learn from this.” It is my prayer that people of authority can set aside their differences and work for common solution that will keep us safe. That is my prayer.

There are many more things to be learned from this experience that can benefit us right now. I will tell you a few things that I have learned, not only from this tragedy, but the ones that have preceded this (which is an unfortunately a long list).

First, love. Tell the people in your life that you love them. Love your family, your friends and neighbors. Love your enemies too. Love is hard work, but it is worth it.

Second, forgive. “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” (Ephesians 4:6). It is not worth it to hold on to a grudge. If you think a grudge is heavy, try a missed opportunity to forgive.

Third, embrace life. Life is a gift from God. Let us never take this gift for granted. Whatever your religious persuasion may be, I think we can all benefit from love, forgiveness and treating life as a gift.

May God heal us and change us for the better.

Pastor Gross is a pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, located at 959 SE 6 Ave., Deerfield Beach, FL 33441. For more information, call 954-421-3146 or visit www.zion-lutheran.org.

By “Cinema” Dave

http://cinemadave.livejournal.com

The biggest buzz in science fiction is the two minute, 30 second Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer that was revealed Monday night. Within hours, viral videos were created, in which detailed frame-by-frame analysis was provided by Star Wars fanatics. Clocking in at nearly three hours, Blade Runner 2049 has created less buzz in the social media.

Released 35 years ago during the summer of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn and Tron, Blade Runner was released to glowing reviews with a tepid box office. Through VHS and various re-releases and director’s cuts, Blade Runner grew into a cult phenomena, in which much attention was given to every nuance and cinematic detail. 

With the release of Blade Runner 2049, history is repeating itself. The new film opened to good, but not great, box office. According to Rotten Tomatoes.com, urban elitist critics rated Blade Runner 2049 better than the ticket buying public. The new film is not likely to make back its production costs during the first run, but Blade Runner 2049 is likely to be a science fiction, cult film for the next 35 years.

The film takes place 35 years after the events of the first film (a deliberate parallel with reality). The environment is still a mess. There was a massive electrical blackout and rogue replicants (cyborg slave labor) are still being terminated by blade runners. The film opens with K (Ryan Gosling) terminating Sapper Morton (Dave Bautista), who claims he witnessed a miracle.

With the help of his superior officer Joshi (Robin Wright), K investigates this “miracle,” which involves carbon life from a cybernetic organism. Through many detours, K’s investigation leads to Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a retired blade runner in exile. 

Harrison Ford’s character does not arrive until the final one third of Blade Runner 2049, which may have strained the patience of the cultists who want answers to the questions that were raised by the first movie. Instead, more ambiguity is served which seems to be the major theme of the Blade Runner movies.

With echoes of a Stanley Kubrick movie, Blade Runner 2049 is too long for its own good. Taking away the Harrison Ford subplot, the detours that blade runner K goes on are interesting and raise questions about individuality, relationships and the meaning of life. Blade Runner 2049 is a film to ponder.