‘The Scarecrow,’ by Michael Connelly, book review

The Scarecrow Michael Connelly The Scarecrow was Michael Connelly’s first release of 2009, being followed by the recently released 9 Dragons. Two major hardback releases in a single year is unusual for many writers (a notable exception is James Patterson) and Connelly, if not suffering from a lack of productivity seems to be suffering from a lack of creativity.

Scarecrow features one of Connelly’s four main protagonists, L.A. Times reporter Jack McEvoy (the others being LAPD detective Harry Bosch, FBI agent Terry McCaleb and attorney Mickey Haller ) and begins with McEvoy’s investigation into the arrest of a young man, Alonzo Winslow, who is found driving around with a body in the trunk of his stolen car. A call from the accused’s grandmother/mother gives the soon-to-be unemployed (due to corporate downsizing) reporter a final big story, which he hopes to turn into a Pulitzer as a means of payback to the paper which no longer needs him. The “big story” is that Winslow has been wrongfully charged for the crime; a charge from which McEvoy’s investigative skills will extricate him.

At this point of the narrative I had high hopes. The book is quite thick, so I was prepared for many chapters of L. A. culture, racial apprehension and tension, legal maneuvering and a bang up finish.

Maybe next time.

Instead, the story takes a turn into serial killer land and only returns to its start as Alonzo is paraded out unceremoniously for a TV appearance. McEvoy ultimately is teamed with a recurring Connelly character, FBI agent Rachel Walling, who is also a former love-interest of McEvoy’s (and Bosch’s) hearkening back to Connelly’s earlier effort, The Poet. Other than background information on the ease by which one’s entire life can be pieced together via public information on the Internet, this book simply does not work. There is too little character development, the action is predictable and the ending unsatisfying. Rather than being a story that draws one into a vortex, it ends up more as a sermon about the dangers of the Internet.

Having read virtually all of Connelly’s novels, McEvoy has always seemed his weakest character and The Scarecrow does nothing to dissuade me of that thinking. If Bosch was not to appear this time around, I was hoping to see another full length Haller story since Connelly’s turn at the legal genre was quite satisfying. (Haller does return in 9 Dragons along with Bosch.)

The Scarecrow will, quite likely, please some, perhaps many, die-hard Connelly fans, but new readers wanting to absorb his finest work should look earlier to Trunk Music or The Concrete Blonde or later to The Lincoln Lawyer, each of which may be purchased below.

‘Hello Hurricane,’ CD Review

Hello Hurricane Switchfoot
Hello Hurricane is the most recent release from Switchfoot, a group whose music spans genres and whose fans span generations. Those fans will not be disappointed. Little new ground is broken here, but the ground covered is covered very well. ‘Hello Hurricane,’ also featured on the recent Blackberry Storm 2 television commercial, is one of the few unapologetically Christian bands to have successfully broken into the mainstream music scene and seen critical success there.

The first into give a window into the project’s composition: melodic, strong rock with lyrics have come to know and expect from Switchfoot. “Needle and Haystack Life” explores the theme of living life as the person you were created to be while “Mess of Me” acknowledges the damages that we’ve done to ourselves in trying to live life our own way, ie, apart from God, but includes the plea “I want to live the rest of my life alive.” This idea returns in “Free” a song that should receive continuous airplay if the music industry is paying any attention at all. The messages present in Switchfoot’s music echoes in all hearts. They are meaningful and true songs, that will reach all listeners. Whether you are young or old, with perfect or impaired hearing (www.miracle-ear.com) you will resound with the strength of the songs. “Your Love is a Song” explores love in musical terms: “Your love is a symphony/all around me/running through me/your love is a melody/underneath me/running to me/your love is a song.”

“The Sound (John M. Perkins’ Blues)” returns to a thought that plays often in Switchfoot history: the condition of the country. As with “Not My American Dream” (Oh, Gravity) and “Politicans” (Nothing is Sound) the residence of Christians in this country is subjugated, as it should be, to our higher calling as citizens of the kingdom of God. If all of those churches hosting “Love Out Loud” campaigns are looking for a theme song, this is it.

With all 12 songs written or co-written by the prolific Jon Foreman (ten feature help from brother Tim) Hello Hurricane is another worthy release from Switchfoot and good addition to any collection.

The Hello Hurricane CD can be purchased below through either Amazon.com or downloaded via iTunes.

The great 2009 Christmas ‘nook’ e-reader giveaway

The 'nook' e-reader pack from Barnes & Noble

The 'nook' e-reader by Barnes & Noble

The launch of martyduren.com is being celebrated with a giveaway: a brand new ‘nook’ by Barnes & Noble. The soon to be released e-reader is being called a “Kindle killer” and a “game changer”, while Wired.com says, “The Nook is already starting to look like the real internet to the Kindle’s AOL.” Other information and technical specs about the ‘nook’ can be found at the B & N website.

The contest is open to anyone (18 years of age and over) who follows the correct entry directions; each entrant may be entered up to seven (7) times. The contest is now open and will end at 11:59 pm (Eastern), Friday, December 11, 2009.

To enter, complete the form below. One entry will result for each of the following:

1. Your name, City and State and email address (winner will notified via entered email address)

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4. Subscribe to martyduren.com via RSS feed or email (located on the upper left of the page). Email subscribers will receive a confirmation email; click on the enclosed link to complete the subscription process.

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THE FINE PRINT:
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5. MARTYDUREN.COM MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ‘NOOK’ E-READER WHICH IS THE SUBJECT OF “THE GREAT 2009 CHRISTMAS ‘NOOK’ E-READER GIVEAWAY.”

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This contest is closed.

Welcome to martyduren.com

Thanks for stopping by and checking things out. This is not going to be the normal website…if I can help it. A big announcement is coming just after 6:00 EDT today, November 9, and I hope everyone will participate.

As you can see, content is just now being entered. Some will be moved over from previous writings and then new content will be added along the way. This site is monetized (ie, contains ads with the hopes of making mooloah), so check out any links that interest you. The ad base will grow with the site and, hopefully, you will be able to see things that interest you.

Be sure and subscribe by using either e-mail or RSS, both located in the top left portion of the page. By doing that you can keep up with new material without having to check back all the time.

‘The Prodigal God,’ book review

The Prodigal God, is the latest book by New York Times best selling author and New York pastor Timothy Keller. Keller, of Redeemer Presbyterian Church, has been called a “C. S. Lewis for the 21st century” as his books are for thinking people, Christian and irreligious alike. Keller’s previous book, The Reason for God, was named book of the year by World magazine.

Exploring the familiar New Testament story of the son who asks for his inheritance and then proceeds to squander it on wine, women and song (well, mostly wine and women), The Prodigal God uses historical and cultural realities to bring out nuances in the story that the modern reader might easily overlook.

Moving the emphasis of the story from the rebellious younger son to the “obedient” elder brother, Keller demonstrates that the true focus of the parable is not on the “prodigal” at all, but that both brothers had, in their own way, rejected the love of the father. And it is the love of the father toward each brother, offering each the redemption that they need, that reveals the true Father of the story, God. The lostness of both sons relates to the people who were in and around Jesus’ ministry. The younger, rebellious son with the drunkards, prostitutes and thieves that were entering the kingdom of God, and the prideful, older son with the Pharisees and religious hypocrites who refused to enter God’s kingdom and who made up the actual audience for the parable in Luke 15.

After exploring the family dynamic in its cultural sense and it’s relation to the kingdom of God, the story turns to a person who is missing from the narrative, but would have been expected to be there if the story was fully joyful: a true older brother–an older brother who would have left home to find his life-wasting sibling and spared no expense to return him to his father. This true older brother, who was absent from the story, is present for every believer. He is Jesus Christ.

Writes Keller,

Jesus’ message, which is ‘the gospel,’ is a completely different spirituality. The gospel of Jesus is not religion or irreligion, morality or immorality, moralism or relativism, conservatism or liberalism. Nor is it something halfway along a spectrum between two poles–it is something else altogether.

It is Jesus’ saving work available to the younger and the elder, pictured by the Father’s lavish party, that is the ultimate focus of the story and of the book. The Prodigal God is an amazing, thought provoking, illuminating work that demands beneficial self examination from the reader.

You can purchase The Prodigal God directly from Amazon.com by clicking on the image or link below.

‘9,’ movie review

A scene from '9.'

With “good day to be alive” possibilities swirling around the “calendrical anomaly,” September 9, 2009 (9/9/09) seems the perfect time for a CG animated catastrophe movie. Set in a post-apocalyptic near future, ‘9‘ opens today from producers Tim Burton (The Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Beetlejuice) and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), writer Pamela Pettler (Monster House) and director Shane Acker (from his Academy Award-nominated 2004 short film). ‘9‘ tells the story as it might happen if Dr. Frankenstein animated your grandmother’s sewing basket just as the Terminator’s Skynet was becoming self-aware. The movie, thankfully, is more simple and more complex than that.

With the world in pieces, nine “stitchpunks” must band together to fight the machines that have destroyed it. The titular character (voiced by Elijah Wood, Lord of the Rings) rallies his compadres to band together and defeat the still marauding enemies. The group learns the value of individual strength and communal perseverance as they face the challenges of their new reality. They also learn that the safety of old thinking can be matched with the wildness of the fringe dwellers.

Each primary character has a number instead of a name, adding to the impersonal feel of the world gone awry. #1 (Christopher Plummer, Inside Man, Up) is the unofficial leader of the group, #2 (Martin Landau, Without A Trace, City of Ember), an inventor, #3 and #4 need no voice talents-they are twins who communicate with movie camera eyes, #5 (John C. Reilly, Talledega Nights), an engineer, #6 Crispin Glover (Back to the Future and kicking David Letterman in the head), a visionary artist-literally, #7 (Jennifer Connelly, House of Sand and Fog, Blood Diamond) and #8 (Fred Tatasciore, the voice talent of numerous cartoon and video game characters) #1’s dimwitted, knife-wielding enforcer.

This ragtag, pardon the pun, group comes together, falls apart, is victorious and regathers over the course of the 80 minute film.

As can be seen in the trailers both on TV and online, ‘9‘ is a visual feast. When 9 pushes open the attic shutters early in the film, the ensuing widening shot in remnisent of the bombing of Dresden. The colors are muted earth tones, with fire, smoke and smog. The bad machines are the denizens of any kid’s nightmares: a mean dog, an angry bird, and a vicious snake, all with machine underbellies.

The enemy in ‘9‘ is the unchecked advance of technology, ending in war and destruction. A subtle spiritual parable exists that has “the scientist,” also called “the Source,” recognizing the malevolent evil in the world and giving of himself to save it. That giving is the transfer of his life to his creation giving them the opportunity to create a better world. In the end, ‘9‘ is at least a 7 from being an effective story about friendship, hardship and the power of courage. It actually could have used another fifteen minutes, but seems targeted for the late childhood early teen years, despite the PG-13 rating.

‘9,’ from Focus Features is rated PG-13 for violence and scary images.

Christianity or Americanism?

For many years, observers of the church in America have been warning that too many believers may have inadvertently swallowed a bitter pill thinking it was good medicine. The re-prioritizing of the two kingdoms, man’s and God’s, has long been a temptation and it seem that we are destined to see it repeated over and over again until the return of Christ.

Whether the belief that England was in a covenant relationship with God, thus the moral authority to launch crusades against infidels, or that France was in a covenant relationship with God, thus the moral authority assumed by Joan of Arc to crusade against the antagonistic English, or the belief that “New England” was in a covenant relationship with God since “Old England” has turned away from the covenant, nations and peoples since the ascension of Christ have sought to pick up, dust off and wear the mantle of Israel’s covenant with God. Almost without fail this leads to an idolatry from which there is rarely a return. Even many pre-WW2 Christians in Germany welcomed the influence of the Nazi Party as if it were the evident blessing of God on “the Fatherland.” Thankfully the Confessing Church stood against the embodied blasphemy that was the 3rd Reich.

Amid the many “taking America back” ideas that permeate that portion of Americans who are Christians there seems to run a common thread of misunderstanding. There has never been a Christian America and never will be. Just as there has never been nor ever will be a Christian Sudan, Ghana, Canada, Russia or Egypt. “Christian” should refer to people who have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, not countries, bookstores or concerts. While it should be obvious to any reader of the Scriptures that Jesus died to save Americans, He did not die to save America. To think that God has only used America for His purposes is to misunderstand history; to think that God has chosen American for special blessing in a way that He has chosen no other country is to misunderstand theology. Second Peter 2:9 makes it clear that the “holy nation” God has chosen in these day is the church, not a geopolitical entity. The church exists within the borders of United Nations national charters, she does not take the place of them or become them. The ongoing conflation of the two kingdoms has created an unhealthy relationship between church and government even here in the United States where both left and right leaning Christians equate the presence of the Kingdom of God with whether or not we get a single payer healthcare option or we finally drill for oil in the arctic preserve. It bears remembering for all American believers that every time the church has crawled in bed with the state, the government prospers and the church is left cold, wretched, miserable, blind and naked.

Valid questions for all American Christians are: Do we worship America or Jesus Christ? Have we been brought into the relationship marked by Christianity or the religion of Americanism? Consider the following as possible indicators that we might have switched kingdoms:

Does your blood pressure goes through the roof when you see someone burning the American flag, yet you can hear someone take the name of Jesus in vain and you don’t flinch?

Are you angered when you see disrespect to an American soldier, yet when the persecution of Christians is reported on the news you give it not a second thought?

Will you walk across a restaurant to thank a service man/woman you have never met, but never thank your pastor for taking care of the flock?

Are you worried more about the country going into socialism than you are praying for the financial obedience of your own church?

Do you actively recruit people to your political positions, but ignore the need those same people have to know Jesus?

Does the national anthem or “American the Beautiful” brings tears to your eyes while worship songs bring dullness to your ears?

Are you more concerned when the Constitution is ignored than when the Bible is ignored?

Are you more appreciative of freedom of religion granted in the First Amendment than of freedom in Christ promised in John 3:16?

Is there a greater place in your heart for Washington, Adams and Jefferson than for Abraham, Paul and Peter?

Is it more important to you to support war or to try and bring peace?

At the National Prayer Breakfast in 1973 Former Senator Mark Hatfield said, “Let us beware of the real danger of misplaced allegiance, if not outright idolatry, to the extend we fail to distinguish between the god of an American civil religion and the God who reveals Himself in the Holy Scriptures and in Jesus Christ.

If we as leaders appeal to the god of civil religion, our faith is in a small and exclusive deity, a loyal spiritual adviser to power and prestige, a defender of only the American nation, the object of a national folk religion devoid of moral content. But if we pray to the biblical God of justice and righteousness, we fall under God’s judgment for calling upon His name, but failing to obey His commands.”

Hatfield had it right. God help us not to get it wrong.

‘District 9,’ movie review

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The idea of a space ship "breaking down" over Johannesburg, South Africa is so outlandish as to be relegated to a Saturday afternoon Syfy flick. District 9, however, is more than a Syfy movie or than most movies one might see this year.

Directed by first time directer Neill Blomkamp, produced by Oscar winner, Peter Jackson, and starring nobody that anyone outside their families have ever heard of, District 9 is a thought provoking, digital wonderland. Part Cloverfield, part Alien and part Black Hawk Down, the movie is a apartheid allegory of sorts, a love story on another level, an action story and a look at how we deal with those different from "us" on yet another level. "While District 9 delivers thrills and chills to spare…what lingers is the casualness with which we are willing to reduce others to sub-human conditions," writes Robert Newton.

Throw in more plot twists than a box full of Hitchcock DVDs and it’s quite a feat for anyone, much less a first timer. And speaking of first timers, lead actor, Sharlto Copley gives a dizzying turn as the government representative charged with relocating more than a million aliens from District 9 to the new refugee camp 240 km from Johannesburg, District 10. Alternately, funny, angry, hopeful and hopeless, his is an astounding performance.

District 9 is rated R for graphic violence toward aliens and humans, gore and pervasive use of the f-bomb.

District 9 is available for purchase beginning December 29, 2009. DVD or Blue-Ray disc may be purchased through Amazon.com by clicking on the links or images below.

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