Another great film by Miyazaki

I just got back from watching a truly great, inspiring film: “Spirited Away” by acclaimed Japanese director Hayao Miyazazki. Okay, I admit, if the film had some deeper metaphorical message, it all was lost on me, so when I say “inspirational” I think I actually mean that it was simply fun and really intriguing, animationally speaking. Yeah, I just made that word up. I think it also helped that I got to see it in good company, as well as on the big screen thanks to BYU’s fantastic International Cinema program. Seriously, some of the best (or most interesting, at least) movies I’ve seen have been through that program.

Bryce’s First Blog — EVER!

So, when my brother-in-law started up a blog the other day, it suddenly dawned on me, “Whoa, having a blog is the cool thing to do these days!” Quite frankly, I’ve been a little reluctant to act on that thought because, well, what really is the point of having a blog anyway?! Clearly, one of the reasons to write a blog is to help friends and family keep up-to-date on happenings in your life, but beyond that, the only other motivation I can think of is to show the world how cool you think you are. Now, I actually think I am really cool, so a little self-aggrandizement doesn’t bother me. However, I would hope that a blog doesn’t have to be so blatantly self-serving, but that the impassioned ramblings seemingly inherent to a blog might actually be enjoyable or even -gasp!- useful to others. Wishful thinking, I know, but not impossible.