Sam Pink Christmas Post

I like this Sam Pink post

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite movie.

Every December I watch it and cry.

Every year that I watch, it seems like something new, I notice new things about it and feel differently about it.

That is probably because I've changed a little over the last year.

This year this is what I noticed.

George Bailey symbolizes Christ

Mr.Potter symbolizes Pontius Pilate or the Roman Empire or even the Devil.

And Father Bailey symbolizes God, the Father.

The Bailey Savings and Loan symbolizes God's goodness, or Light in the darkness.

At the end.

When the 8,000 is lost.

George Bailey goes to Mr. Potter and asks for money.

Mr. Potter tells him he is better off dead, because his life insurance is worth 15,000 which will save the Bailey Savings and Loan, which will save all the poor people from losing their houses and having to live in Potter's shacks.

Mr. Potter passes the verdict, George Bailey must die to save goodness.

George Bailey goes to the river and decides to kill himself, to sacrifice himself for the sake of the poor people and the dream of his Father.

George Bailey must save Bedford Falls (Israel or his people from the ethics and justice of the Roman Empire symbolized by Mr. Potter.)

George Bailey is willing to throw himself in the river, to kill himself. One could say that George Bailey is committing suicide, or that Jesus committed suicide, since they knew what was going to happen. But no, I think it was more of an act of war. The way a soldier dies in battle. Many soldiers that have died knew they were going to die if they ran up a certain hill or landed on a certain beach. But they knew, it had to be done, it was their duty because people were depending upon them to do it.

George Bailey wasn't going to commit suicide, he was going to sacrifice himself.

Before George Bailey goes to jump off the bridge, he faces a few small hardships, his car breaks, he is forced to walk. He goes into a bar and gets hit by a man. Resembling Christ being beat by the Roman soldiers.

George Bailey is ready to kill himself and Clarence shows up. Clarence shows George Bailey that he doesn't need to sacrifice himself. That Christ has already sacrificed himself. That no man needs to do so after he did. Clarence shows George Bailey what life would be like without him, that he needs to stay alive and keep being the George Bailey everyone loves. That he has even surpassed his Father in greatness. George Bailey's father never indirectly saved transports of men and built whole neighborhoods for the poor.

That George Bailey had surpassed the Father.

George Bailey realizes that he must take on the mode of Christ to survive, to never be afraid and to forgive. George Bailey runs up to Mr. Potter and even tells him Merry Christmas, George Bailey shows no fear of the bank examiner and possible jail time.

At the end George Bailey carries several of his children down the stairs and all the way into the living room. Which is such a powerful image. He realizes that one should not commit suicide because we are carrying each other.

Review of The Insurgent

A review on Descripted Lines.

I like this review.

It reads like a nice little essay.

The Insurgent will be out this winter or early spring.

Local News Coverage

Coverage

I sat at my kitchen table and stared at it on the front page, it was right under the Pavlik fight news.

It was strange, I've seen my writing translated and published in all kinds of random of places.

But seeing my name in the local paper I grew up with, the paper my dad read everyday after work, gave me a strange sense of satisfaction that I never had before.

The Filming is Almost Over

Here is some photos and news about the film.

The filming has been going for three weeks. The people making the film have been working 12 hour days to make this happen.

I've met a lot of cool people in the last few weeks.

I thank everyone involved in it.

Good Youngstown Music to Make you Feel Good

Winter Break Poems

Dots

After we got naked
we looked at each other
she said
these are my flea bites

I said
these are my dry skin dots
I get them in the winter

Santa Claus

I stood there
helping poor people
with their poor children
see Santa Claus

They were in a long line
But they were patient

Teeth were missing
some of the parents
smelled of beer

They looked like
the crowd
Jesus was speaking to
when he gave the
Sermon on the Mount Speech

Errands

She said we did
my errands together

I replied
Yeah
you don't do errands
with one night stands

Sufrimiento

I keep ending up
in situations
with 22 year olds
in their junior and senior
years of college

I tell them I'm 29
That I went back when
I was 27

While I state those facts
I think to myself
and not say outloud
what I did with
those lost years

I want to say
in the most polite
but terrifying voice
possible

"I have suffered"

Athesti Christmas, DUMBEST FUCKING ARTICLE EVER

Here is the article

I think I'm an atheist.

I mean

I know

And there is good evidence

That Noah Cicero never does anything for god. He never says, "Thank god." Or, "I'm doing this for God." "Noah Cicero never enters a church."

I don't.

It never occures me to do so.

Probably because I wans't raised with religion.

I guess that in terms of naming things, that makes me an atheist.

If I picked up the phone and someone was doing a survey on religion, I would answer no religion.

So I guess I'm an atheist.

I never tell anyone.

I don't care if someone believes in whatever they believe in.

It only becomes my problem when you want to influence public policy with your beliefs.

That's when I care.

But I would be happy to work with Christians on making a turkey dinner for poor people for Christmas. I would stand right next to them and make small talk. And if any of them asked me if I believed, I would shrug it off and change the subject. And most likely they wouldn't care. If a Christian, Buddhist, or Muslim organization wanted to hire me after college, if they seemed nice, I would probably do it.

I love Christmas.

I love Christmas movies, songs, lights, and today I bought a live tree.

I think celebrating Christmas or Saturnalia is a lot of fun.

I mean, Christmas is the birth of someone really nice.

Of someone who healed the blind, fed the poor, and gives hope to the fucked.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that at all.

I think if you say, "It is just Saturnalia."

That's cool with me too, because that links us to the history of civilization. That after thousands of year, a lot of humanity is still celebrating one day every december together.

And Saturnalia was pretty cool. On Saturnalia the slaves would switch roles with the masters. The masters had to be slaves for one day and the slaves got to be masters.

That's a pretty cool holiday in my opinion.