The Great Commission, and an Unlikely Convert: A Faith- Based Look at 'He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special.'

Hi everyone, and welcome back to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience! 

Sorry it's been a while since my last entry, I've been delayed by a busy schedule and technical difficulties.
Hope you're all preparing well for Christmas!

God gave me a strange sort of inspiration for this year’s Christmas entry on the Nightcrawler Experience. It’ll be a series of entries I am calling “A Very 80’s Christmas”!
The 1980’s were an incredible decade. Reagan was president, hair and fashion styles were cool and innovative, some truly incredible movies, music and TV shows came out then, and of course, I was born in the 80’s!

 So, to that end, these next few entries will be faith- based looks at 80’s TV Christmas specials.

First up, we’ll be taking a trip to the magic world of Eternia with ‘He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special’!

                          (Credit for this image goes to the user Dinobot281 on the He- Man wiki at https://he-man.fandom.com/wiki/He-Man_and_She-Ra:_A_Christmas_Special?file=Christmas_Special.jpg)


Made largely to promote its action figure line (Heck, you’d be hard- pressed to find an 80’s cartoon that WASN’T basically just a thirty- minute toy commercial), the action- fantasy series “He- Man and the Masters of the Universe” centers around Prince Adam of Eternia. He is given a magic sword that lets him transform into the mighty warrior He- Man. Together with his warrior friends, the Masters of the Universe, he regularly must protect Eternia from being conquered by the evil sorcerer/ warlord Skeletor and his henchmen. It’s been made into shows a few times, with the one that I remember most being the rather short- lived but excellent series that came out in 2002, but the original, and the one that comes into play in this entry, was from the early 80’s.
It also had a spinoff series, “She- Ra: The Princess of Power.” Basically He- Man for girls, it involved his long- lost twin sister and her own group of friends facing the villain Hordak. I never watched that show (Either the original, or the reboot they did for Netflix), so I can’t speak on it.
This Christmas special from 1985 combines the two shows. Long story short, through a mishap involving the bumbling but good- hearted Orko, a pair of children from Earth are accidentally sent to Eternia shortly before Christmas. The two kids, named Alisha and Miguel, immediately win over He- Man, She- Ra, and their friends, and begin introducing everyone in Eternia to the concept of Christmas. The Eternians like what they hear, and decide to throw a big Christmas party in the palace.
Not everyone is so excited about it, though. Skeletor and Hordak are both summoned by their sort- of boss, the intergalactic tyrant Horde- Prime. He tells them basically that he can’t stand the concept of these children bringing Christmas, and all the love and joy and goodwill that comes with it, to Eternia, so he hires the two villains to capture the little tykes and bring them to him. Skeletor and Hordak aren’t exactly the biggest fans of each other, so they immediately decide to compete with each other for this to see who can capture the kids first and be rewarded by Horde- Prime.

He- Man and She- Ra attempt to protect the kids when they find out about this, but eventually Skeletor captures them along with this little alien- puppy named Relay. The hoverbike he was using to drive off with them is shot down by Hordak, though, and crash- lands in some snowy mountains. So, Skeletor decides they’ll need to get to the rendezvous point for Horde- Prime by foot. Along the way, Skeletor repeatedly finds himself being uncharacteristically kind in various ways (i.e. Using his magic to conjure up warmer winter coats for the kids, taking Relay the puppy with them rather than leaving it to freeze, and fighting off a giant “Snow- Beast” that attacks them), in spite of his then trying to convince the kids and himself that he is rotten to the core.

Finally, everyone arrives at this rendezvous point, leading to a big battle. He- Man and She- Ra are soon distracted by Hordak’s robot army attacking them, Skeletor has been wounded after Hordak reflects his own magic blast back at him, and the children are being pulled by a giant mechanical claw into Horde- Prime’s ship. Just then, Skeletor says while lying on the ground, “I don’t know what’s happening to me, but I MUST…. SAVE… THE CHILDREN!” If you’re watching the special, that scene/ line will likely have you torn between bursting out laughing, cheering, and loudly saying “AAAAWWWW!”

 Skeletor regains his strength from this, gets to his feet, and blasts Horde- Prime’s ship, which releases the kids and then crashes. He- Man and She- Ra then finish the job by tossing Horde- Prime’s now- damaged ship into space.

The assorted good guys have their first Christmas party be a huge success, and the children are returned to Earth in time for Christmas Eve, complete with a pretty darn cool Christmas present/ souvenir from their new friends: A matching pair of magic belts that enable them to fly.

‘He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special’ makes for great campy, cheesy fun. It’s something that’s enjoyable to watch just as- is, OR for riffing purposes.

 In nearly every incarnation of He- Man, Skeletor is often the most interesting and entertaining character to watch, and that certainly holds true here. The special especially picks up the pace in the last twenty minutes or so, starting in the scene when the old bone- head and the kids crash- land in the mountains, and have such hilarious and adorable interactions with each other. Here’s just a sample:

(Aww, doesn’t that smile he briefly has after Alisha calls him “Wonderful” look sweet? This video was uploaded to Youtube by the user "bustatoons" at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVppuv9Pcqk)

This special obviosuly has a few issues with it. First up, it's so jam- packed with characters from the two different shows (Mostly in the background) that it can be hard to keep track of them all. Also, Skeletor’s arc in the special felt a little incomplete. If I were a writer for that special, I’d have it end either with He- Man and She- Ra inviting Skeletor to join them and the Masters for their Christmas party, or possibly with Skeletor and his henchmen throwing their own Christmas party in their headquarters at Snake Mountain (Complete with exploding presents, as he seemed to like that idea).
Nevertheless, 'He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special' remains great cheesy fun that I've watched every year at least since 2019. If you want a good laugh and a little heart, check it out.

The first Scriptural message to be taken from ‘He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special’ is on being a good witness for Christ. We see the children in a way doing that through their efforts to bring Christmas to Eternia. They eagerly, yet not in a pushy or offensive way, tell each of the Eternians about Christmas. In fact, when they first tell Orko about it, it’s even clearly implied that they tell him that it involves celebrating the birth of Jesus (They tell him it started “A long, long time ago,” then it segues into a different scene; Later, we return to the kids finishing the story to Orko, and they say “And the three wise men followed the star until they finally reached Bethlehem,” and Orko responds, “What a beautiful story!”). Even when Skeletor has captured the kids and is intent on taking them to Horde- Prime, they still happily tell him about the joys of Christmas, and as pointed out earlier, their witnessing in this way leads to him having a remarkable change of heart. It calls to mind several real- life accounts I have heard, in which Christians who have been imprisoned for their faith have managed to even lead the jailers and guards who mistreated them into finding salvation through Jesus. This echoes the Great Commission that the risen Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19, telling His disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Also, Psalm 96:3 says to “Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!” The Gospel can be spread in a lot of different ways: Through in- person interactions, through writing as I'm doing through this blog, and any one of a multitude of different ways. The only condition is that you should demonstrate tact, kindness and humility in how you present it, to ensure that the message is received well. Do that, and much like how the kids in the special ended up being to everyone in Eternia, we can shine the light of Christ to all around us!

As you can probably guess, another Scriptural message that can be taken from ‘He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special’ lies in the almost Grinch- like redemption arc that Skeletor goes through over the course of the special. This was a guy who in the series was constantly portrayed as one of the most evil beings in Eternia (Albeit not very competent in his evil schemes most of the time). Yet, through his interactions with the children and them encouraging him into various acts of kindness, we see his heart start to gradually melt and we learn that, although he would never admit it and insists he’s all evil, he miraculously DOES have at least some small trace of good in him. This, of course, comes to its completion in the honestly epic climax moment of Skeletor confronting Horde- Prime and saving the children from him. It brings to mind Ezekiel 36:26, which says “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” It shows how God can help soften the hearts of even the seemingly worst of us, and change them entirely. Jesus came to Earth and died to save ALL of us, particularly those who seem the worst of us and most irredeemable. Remember, after all, the thief on the cross as well as Saul of Tarsus. Think on if you know someone like that in your own life, a “Skeletor” who may not be the most likable person around, but who is still just as much a child of God as you are, and make an effort to show the love of Christ to them.

That about sums up my look at 'He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special.' While not exactly the most memorable tv Christmas special, it's corny fun and teaches great messages about kindly sharing the Gospel to others, and how even the worst of us isn't beyond saving. Those messages pack more might than He- Man and She- Ra combined!

That's all for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience. See you soon with the next entry in this series. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

A Controversial Bit of Scripture, and Properly Using Our Blessings; The True Price of "The Last Tsuburaya."

 Hi everyone, and happy Halloween from the Nightcrawler Experience!
This will be the first of what will be another hopefully two- part Halloween- related series of entries (I realize Halloween will be over by the time Part 2 comes out, but this has been a very busy Autumn for me). I didn't know if I'd be able to find two entries that would work for this blog this year, but God has provided me with special inspiration for this one!


Much as I did with one of my Halloween entries last year, this one is a look at a segment from an episode of the Shudder streaming show 'Creepshow: The Series.' For those who didn't catch that entry, 'Creepshow' is a series on the horror- related streaming website Shudder, which is based on the movie series of the same name, which in turn is based on the old EC horror comics of the 1950s such as 'Tales From the Crypt. Each season contains six episodes, and each episode contains two stories/ segments.

This show is now in its third season, and a recent episode featured two creature- related stories, respectively entitled "The Last Tsuburaya" and "OK I'll Bite." While "Bite" (The story of a prison inmate who has a MAJOR affinity for spiders) was great, I'll focus on what I consider the superior of the two tales, "The Last Tsuburaya."
1. DISCLAIMER! This episode has scary and possibly objectionable content.
2. SPOILERS!

Co- written by Paul Dini (Who in the 90's wrote several episodes of the magnificent "Batman: The Animated Series," and was in fact the creator of Harley Quinn), this tale opens by telling us a little about an ancient Japanese artist named Ichiro Tsuburaya. As known for his misanthropic attitude as he was for his gruesome paintings depicting ghosts and monsters from Japanese folklore, the artwork of Tsuburaya (Pronounced "Soo- buh- rye- uh") tends to sell for immense sums of money at auction.
When this tale begins, we learn that Tsuburaya's final painting was recently discovered in the ruins of a Japanese monastery, and has never been seen by ANYONE (Other than the artist himself, obviously), and his only living relative/ heir, a young man named Bobby, is presented with a crate that apparently contains this painting. An art historian named Dr. Sato attempts to purchase the painting from Bobby so she can display it in her museum for all to enjoy, but is foiled by the sudden, uninvited arrival of a man named Wade Cruise (Brandon Quinn). Immediately coming across as an arrogant sleazebag, this tech billionaire and art collector nevertheless convinces Bobby to instead sell the crate with the last Tsuburaya painting to him for his private collection for the princely sum of $10 million. As an added display of his nastiness and arrogance, Wade then invites Dr. Sato to his unveiling of the painting at his penthouse that evening as a way to further rub his victory over this acquisition in her face.

(Meet Wade, now smugly carrying away the box containing the painting; That expression on his face is immensely punchable, don't you think? Credit for this image goes to a review of this episode on the website horrorobsessive at https://horrorobsessive.com/2021/10/07/creepshow-s3e3-creepy-crawly-capitalist-arrogance-in-the-last-tsuburaya-and-ok-ill-bite/)

Worse is to come from him. At the unveiling, Wade removes the Tsuburaya painting from the crate, admiring it while holding it in such a way that all the attendees of the event can only see the back of it, while we the viewers catch only small glimpses of it, enough to see that it is of a particularly heinous- looking demon. The guests all come closer and closer to Wade, eager to finally see this masterpiece. Just then, in a shocking and honestly despicable act, Wade out of nowhere whips out a lighter and burns the painting in front of everyone, thereby ensuring that he himself will have been the only person in history to ever look upon Tsuburaya's last painting (As he then smugly puts it, "It now exists in the most exclusive gallery of all: My mind."). Everyone else is of course disgusted by this incomprehensibly selfish act, as he then orders everyone out, having done what he intended to do.

Among those who hated Wade doing this is his own girlfriend Geesa, an accomplished artist herself whom Wade acts as a patron/ benefactor to in exchange for her only painting for him. In a scene that helps demonstrate both of their personalities and philosophies on life in general, they have a conversation in which Geesa tells Wade of her first art sale: A simple drawing of a cat which she made as a toddler, and which her father bought from her for 25 cents, in what seemed to be the first time he really acknowledged her as she was often drowned out for attention by her older brothers. This led her to grow up believing that the only way anyone would notice her would be if she created something they found valuable.
Wade, in turn, shares a little story of his own: He was once given the opportunity to buy a quite valuable antique vase from a man who urgently needed money to pay for an operation to save his (The seller’s) young daughter’s life. Upon learning of the man’s desperation, Wade used this fact to force the poor guy to accept a price for the vase far lower than what it was actually worth. Six months after acquiring the vase, Wade sold it at auction for over ten times what he paid the father for it. When Geesa then asks him what happened to the daughter in the story, Wade responds "Not my worry." This experience taught him that, while simply acquiring material things didn't bring him much happiness or satisfaction, crafting unique experiences for himself and finding ways to deliberately bring stress and misery to others in the process was, as he put it, "Like crack to me." This was obviously what led him to do what he did at the unveiling.
Bottom line, Wade is the sort of person that is ripe for the kind of supernatural comeuppance that most evildoers on this show face, and boy oh boy, does he ever get it!

Later that very night, Wade begins seeing elements of the destroyed Tsuburaya painting everywhere he goes (i.e. The normal- looking eyes on a portrait in his private gallery suddenly resemble the Tsuburaya demon's yellow, serpentine eyes, and a sketch that Geesa made of the demon based on what little she heard about it suddenly stretches its mouth open in a snarl). Not long after that, the demon begins appearing to him in the flesh, stalking and eventually attacking him.
After a while, Wade manages to kill the monster by impaling it with a tribal spear (In addition to being an art collector, he also had a large collection of antique weapons from around the world). While initially gloating over his victory, talking about how he'll have it stuffed and mounted on display, he is immediately stunned into silence as the monster then transforms into a robed Japanese gentleman. You see, the monster was really Tsuburaya himself.

As the mortally- wounded artist explains, "On my death, my hatred trapped me between worlds, becoming the image of my most monstrous creation, imprisoned, until you released me. My curse is broken; Now, YOURS begins." Tsuburaya disintegrates into dust, and Wade looks down in horror to see that his own hands have become the claws of the Tsuburaya demon. Realizing what's happening to him and obviously not wanting it, Wade commits suicide, impaling himself on the same spear.
As coroners later come and remove Wade's body, a flash of lightning reveals that, along the massive window where the deaths took place, there is now a bloodstain trail resembling the outline of the Tsuburaya demon, and so the episode ends.

"The Last Tsuburaya" pretty much instantly became another of the most memorable episodes in the series so far for me.
The story makes for an interesting look at art and philanthropy, and kept me riveted from start to finish.
The costume design for the Tsuburaya demon looks great, a little bit hokey (But in a way that works, considering that the show is heavily based on the 1950s horror comics, and regularly incorporates a little bit of camp into their stories), but also genuinely frightening.
The characters are mostly well- done, other than the lucky heir Bobby who is never seen again after Wade acquires the painting from him. Dr. Sato is the most sympathetic; It's clear that she deeply loves the works of Tsuburaya, and is motivated by a desire for others to be able to enjoy his works just as much, rather than just the self- promotion of her museum potentially hosting his last work.
Of course, the main focal character in this story is Wade. This guy is so vile and loathsome, yet in a way you can't take your eyes away from, if only to see when he inevitably gets what he deserves by the end of the episode. Brandon Quinn does an amazing job playing him, both with his smugness and narcissism in the first half of the story, and with his growing terror, paranoia and panic in its second half.

It also I suppose goes without saying that much of the artwork seen in the episode (Both the renderings of Tsuburaya's supposed works, and the random artwork on display in Wade's private gallery) is gorgeous.
In short, "The Last Tsuburaya" makes for a fascinating and quite enjoyable tale.

I could think of a couple Scriptural lessons that could be taken from "The Last Tsuburaya."
The main one I can think of concerns the proper Biblical use of wealth.
It brings to mind a story found in Mark 10:17- 27. Jesus is approached by a wealthy young man who asks Him what he (The young man) must do in order to gain eternal life. Jesus responds that he should follow God's commandments. The young man says he already does all of those. Jesus then responds, "One thing you lack; Go, sell everything you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven. Then, come, follow Me." At this, it says that the young man's face fell, and he went away very sad, because he had many great possessions. Jesus then turns to His disciples and points out how hard it is for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. He further says, "It is easier for a camel to travel through the eye of a needle that for someone who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."

This "Camel through the eye of a needle" verse is probably one of the most controversial verses in all of Scripture. Many interpretations have been made of it, ranging from proponents of liberation theology viewing it as an explicit condemnation of literally all wealthy people, to others who claim it is more of a warning against self- righteousness and trying to earn one’s way into Heaven through works (i.e. The rich young man tells of everything he has done to apparently earn righteousness, yet does not seem to give much if any thought as to God’s grace; He thinks he can get into Heaven purely through what he himself does rather than through what God does), while still others say that it is about the impossibility of being truly perfect in God’s eyes.

 While I’m not particularly big on liberation theology due to it leaning a bit too close to Marxism for my tastes, I do appreciate its point on the immorality of some people wasting their wealth on ridiculous, obscene displays of extravagance while there are starving beggars no more than a couple miles away from them for whom a few bucks could mean the difference between life and death.
The great theologian John Wesley, founder of the Methodist church, believed this as well, based on his sermon/ essay "Thoughts on the Scarcity of Provisions." This sermon largely dealt with his thoughts on why food in his native England was becoming so hard to come by and so expensive, thereby worsening the plight of starvation among its poor and needy citizens. In this sermon, one of the major reasons Wesley gave for why this was the case was because of the excessive luxury that the upper classes demonstrated. For instance, their love of riding through towns in carriages pulled by many horses contributed both to the scarcity and rising costs of meat (So many ranchers switched from raising cows, pigs, etc., to the more lucrative practice of raising horses), and also to the scarcity and rising costs of oats (More horses needing more feed, after all, meant less oats as food for humans).
 I’d say “The Last Tsuburaya” can act in a sense as a good way of demonstrating their interpretation of this passage and verse. Having a lot of wealth at one’s disposal can easily corrupt a person. If they do not have their heart in the right place and their priorities in check, it can lead to them using their wealth to satisfy base and at times even flat- out evil desires. I think it's a big part of why so many celebrities get heavily into vice and develop sometimes- fatal substance abuse problems. In Wade’s case in this episode, it drove him to use his money to find ways to gain happiness for himself by making others miserable, with his use of the Tsuburaya painting being a perfect example of this. He shelled out $10 million on a painting purely for the ego trip of being the only one to see it and the sadistic joy of depriving other art aficionados of the pleasure of observing it. With that kind of money, he could have supplied an impoverished African village with food, clean water, and medical supplies for a decade or more.
In that sense, Wade’s fate of turning into a monster before killing himself made for a perfect picture of his life of selfishness, hedonism, and hatred towards his fellow man finally catching up to him and showing through his outer appearance, just as it did to Tsuburaya himself.

All that being said, I personally know of many wealthy people who do earnestly know Jesus and who I am quite positive will enter Heaven (In fact, one such person I knew who shall remain anonymous passed from this world into the arms of Jesus just a month or two ago). The difference between them and people like Wade or like the rich young man is how they used their wealth. They were rich, sure, but they were also generous towards others, using what they had to help build God's Kingdom. They followed John Wesley's advice that Christians should try to "Earn all that we can, so we can save all that we can, so we can then give all that we can."
It also ties into what Jesus then says immediately after the "Camel pass through the eye of a needle" verse; The apostles, in response to this, then asked each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus replied, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."

The Lord's immense mercy and grace is capable of reaching and saving even the worst of us, as long as we merely ask Him in faith to do so.
Thus, through trusting in the Lord's grace alone for salvation and properly using the blessings He has given us, we can avoid becoming like Wade and more fully become children of God, true masterpieces in His eyes.
That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. My next entry should hopefully come quite soon. Until then, stay safe, have a happy Halloween, and may God bless you all!

True vs. False Friendship and Resisting Temptation: A Faith- Based Look at an Episode of "Salute Your Shorts."

 Hi friends, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
Summer's nearly over (At the school where I work, the school year has officially begun already), but since August still has a few days left, it's technically still summer, and I have a summer- themed entry on the Nightcrawler Experience for all of you.
 As you know, summer is the time when, among other things, kids and teens nationwide head off to summer camp! Admittedly, most camps cancelled everything last year due to the pandemic, but now that that's on its last legs, many reopened this summer!
To that end, I'll be looking at a pop- culture offering which takes place at a summer camp!

When I was a kid, there was a TV show on Nickelodeon that I liked a lot which dealt with summer camps, and I had been reminded of it recently due to my Instagram friend and fellow 90's nostalgia devotee Brett Wilson celebrating its 30th anniversary: It was called "Salute Your Shorts."
While it only ran for two seasons, it was aired in reruns for quite a few years after that, and was a very entertaining show remembered fondly by most people of my generation.
It takes place in a summer camp known as "Camp Anawanna," and centers around a group of young campers there and the various exploits and misadventures they have. While the kids were almost all cliched characters, they were nevertheless funny and likable. They included sports- obsessed tomboy Telly, smart- mouthed bully Bobby Budnick, gentle hippy girl Zeezee, the tubby but generally good- natured Eddie "Donkeylips" Gelfin, and hyperintelligent nerd Eugene "Sponge" Harris, among others, all under the watchful eye of authoritative head counselor Kevin "Ug" Lee (Ug- Lee, get it?). The show's title comes from the fact that Budnick likes to "Welcome" new male campers to the camp by hoisting a pair or two of the new guy's underwear up the camp flagpole.

                  (Hey, most camps have their strange traditions and hazing rituals; Credit for this image goes to the user ThrustSSC on the Nickelodeon wiki at https://nickelodeon.fandom.com/wiki/Salute_Your_Shorts?file=SaluteYourShorts.png)


I recently rewatched an old episode that I got a lot out of, called "Donkeylips and Sponge Weigh In."
In this episode, the two title characters both sign up for a big wrestling tournament held among the various camps in the area, in which the champions get a trophy AND a free lobster dinner at a fun seafood restaurant (Considering that the camp's normal food is practically inedible, that's an especially tempting prize). The others at first mock Donkeylips and Sponge seeking to do this, with Budnick referring to the two of them as "Moby Dick and Captain Wuss" respectively, but we quickly see that they actually are suprisingly good contenders; Sponge is able to use his brains and speed to take down anyone in his weight division, and Donkeylips' strength, endurance and sheer bulk make him practically unbeatable.
There's a big problem, however: The two of them may not be able to qualify for the wrestling tournament, as Donkeylips is five pounds heavier than the maximum weight limit, and Sponge is five pounds lighter than the minimum weight limit.
They refuse to give up, though, and the other campers do what they can to try and help Donkeylips lose enough weight and Sponge gain enough weight for them both to qualify. Meanwhile, Budnick pressures the duo into picking up a big food order for the other campers from a nearby burger joint so no one will have to eat the repulsive camp dinner, and they nearly get caught by Ug several times in the process. It all leads up to the final weigh- in and a genuinely heartwarming ending.

While not my favorite episode of the series (That distinction would go to the hilarious yet also surprisingly scary episode "Zeke the Plumber"), "Donkeylips and Sponge Weigh In" comes in at a close second. It really had a lot going for it:
First, there's the fact that Sponge has always been my favorite character on the show (He's the character I could relate to the most, especially when I first saw the show as a kid), and Donkeylips is pretty high up there too, as he tends to have most of the funniest lines and scenes in the series. So, an episode largely centering around the two of them is guaranteed to be a winner in my book.
This episode also sticks out in a very good way because it is a real turning point for Donkeylips. Up to this point in the series, he was usually just portrayed as the token fat guy and Budnick's goon; Here, though, we see that he is a much more complex character than that. He points out that he wants to enter and win the wrestling tournament not so much for the lobster dinner (Though he brought along a cool monogrammed claw- cracker for it), but more for the trophy. See, we learn that his parents are generally disgusted with him, and he only really impresses them when he brings home trophies, and wrestling is all that he's currently good at. With that kind of a home life, it's unsurprising that he is so desperate to qualify for the tournament. He also shows he has ambitions, as he at one point tells Sponge that he dreams of one day becoming a football player and having his face on cereal boxes.
As is usually the case for the show, there's a lot of humor in this episode. There's a funny recurring joke in which Donkeylips and Sponge high- five, then the small- framed Sponge loudly says "OW" at how hard the high- five was. There's also an amusing scene when Telly attempts to help the boys get into shape through a regimen in which Donkeylips must run a mile around the camp grounds, while Sponge sits in the bunk and eats twenty bananas. The sight of Donkeylips lumbering around camp as fast as he can (which isn't saying much) while Sponge forces down bananas is made even funnier by the silly, clownish music played in the background during this scene.
Another bonus to this episode is the surprising amount of action/ tension it has. This particularly shows during the segment when the duo have to pick up the other campers' burgers from the food stand and run into various major challenges. First, they nearly lose half of the money to pay for the order due to Donkeylips having a hole in his pocket. Then, they almost get nailed by Ug, who has a VERY strict "No outside food" policy and is the sort of jerk who practically leaps at the opportunity to punish the campers for any infraction (In season 2, Ug thankfully softens a bit, cuts the campers a little more slack, and becomes a funnier, goofier character in general). The whole scene really will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Lastly, it's also quite nice to see the genuine friendship that the two boys develop with each other, in spite of how different from each other they outwardly appear to be. They work together as a team to achieve their goals, look after each other, and encourage each other when things look bleak. It's a friendship that I'm happy to say they seem to keep through the rest of the series, as the episodes after this one often show the two of them getting along much better than they did in the episodes before it.

In short, "Donkeylips and Sponge Weigh In" is simply a great episode of a classic Nick show, well worth a watch. It should be available to watch on Youtube and Dailymotion, as well as on the streaming site Paramount Plus (Though there the episode's listed under its alternate title of "Cheeseburgers in Paradise"), check it out.

At least a couple Scriptural lessons occurred to me during a recent rewatching of "Donkeylips and Sponge Weigh In." The first is relating to loyalty and the difference between a false friend and a true one.
As I said earlier, one of the episode's main strengths is the really nice friendship that Donkeylips and Sponge develop with each other. This is in marked contrast to the MUCH more toxic "friendship" Donkeylips occasionally has with Budnick. That is one with Budnick pretty much always calling the shots, forcing Donkeylips to aid him in his assorted scams, pranks, and all- around meanness, with Donkeylips often ending up in big trouble as a result. A dialogue exchange in this particular episode as Budnick is trying to coerce Donkeylips and Sponge into picking up the burgers for him exemplifies this:
Budnick: "(To Donkeylips) Do you remember the last thing I did for you?"
Sponge: "(To Budnick) He got busted by Ug, and you ran!"
Budnick: "Yeah, well, this is different! If I don't get those burgers into camp by tonight, you're gonna be ground beef!"

See, Budnick is very much a "user," the sort of person who feigns friendship with others, but really only sees them as pawns to help himself get what he wants without caring how his actions affect them. Then, as we see here, when he gets called out on it, he shows his true colors by next resorting to outright threats.

Sponge, on the other hand, proves to be a true friend genuinely concerned with Donkeylips' well- being. He does all he can over the course of this episode to help Donkeylips keep his spirits up and focus on his weight- loss goal, acting as a great source of encouragement for the big guy. One scene that especially drives this home is near the episode's climax; After the incident with the burgers, the other campers then threaten Donkeylips and Sponge into ALSO helping to take out their garbage from it, like the wrappers and things. While they are walking to the dumpster, Donkeylips' bag gets snagged on a tree branch and tears open, with the wind scattering its contents all over the ground. Seeing this, Donkeylips miserably says, "GREAT! Just when things are going my way, I get this! GARBAGE! ALL MY LIFE IS GARBAGE!" Undaunted, Sponge calmly says, "So, pick up your life and stuff it back in its trash bag." Rather than let Donkeylips wallow in self- pity, Sponge did what a good friend should do under the circumstances, convince him to chin up and do what needs to be done. Because of that, they were able to pick up all the spilled trash just in time to once again narrowly avoid being caught by Ug.

Then, in the very end of the episode, when Donkeylips learns he made the weight limit and qualified for the wrestling tournament after all (The scale was off, and led him to initially think he didn't lose enough weight), he joyously says, "I get a trophy, AND the lobster?" Sponge then happily adds, "AND a good buddy to go with you!" Both boys came to realize that the true greatest prize of their efforts wasn't the trophy, the lobster dinner, OR getting themselves into better physical shape: It was the friendship they developed with each other.

I'd say these two contrasting friendships (The false friendship Budnick offers, and the true friendship Sponge shows) are a great demonstration of Proverbs 18:24, which says that "One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." We all need to try and recognize and keep away from manipulative false "friends" who just want to use us and lead us into trouble, and instead seek out true friends who will look out for us, encourage us, and help us become better followers of Jesus, and whom we can do the same for. 

Another strong Scriptural lesson that can be taken from "Donkeylips and Sponge Weigh In" relates to determination, resisting temptations that could lead us astray or hinder us in achieving our goals. Since the previous lesson used Sponge as an example, it’s fitting that this one in turn should use Donkeylips. See, near the episode's climax, when Donkeylips and Sponge manage to get the other campers their food orders, the gang doesn't have long to enjoy them: Ug is soon seen walking in the direction of the bunk where they're at (That guy REALLY gets around). Budnick frantically tells the other campers to eat the evidence, so they all begin rapidly stuffing down their food. One of them gives Donkeylips a burger so he can help with this, but he refuses and says, "Not after all this hard work!" Considering that Donkeylips is a guy who LOVES food, for him to turn down a tasty burger, even when eating it would help save himself and others from getting in trouble, showed amazing restraint from him and determination to meet his weight- loss goal. That's a really good example for us as Christians. 1 Corinthians 1: 13 tells us that "No temptation has overtaken you except that which is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." There are times when we can all be tempted to sin in various ways, or be distracted from doing good work. However, just because temptation emerges, doesn't mean we need to give in to it. Just as Donkeylips was able to resist the burger, so we too can resist the temptations that come our way, as the Lord Jesus loves us enough that He will always provide us with a way out, if we can only keep our eyes open to it.

In short, this episode not only is a lot of fun to watch, it can also show us as Christians the importance of avoiding fake friends and seeking true ones, and showing us how we can have determination even when tempted to go astray. I'd say those messages are as beautiful as a shiny wrestling trophy, and as savory as a lobster dinner!

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep your eyes open for new entries I have in mind for the near future (i.e. My annual Halloween entries, I have some good ones I'm thinking of). Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Tolerance, and a Thirst for Knowledge: A Faith- Based Look at 'Luca.'

 Hi friends, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
We will now be concluding our annual partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church by taking a look at the fourth and final film in their Summer at the Movies series. For this one, we will be checking out Disney- Pixar's brand- new animated coming- of- age film, 'Luca.'

              (Credit for this image goes to the user Xbox One User at the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Luca?file=Luca_poster.jpg)

In this movie, which seems to take place some time in the 1950s- 1960s, the title character is a humanoid sea monster, whose life at the start of the movie seems to consist of just helping to herd his family's flock of goatfish. However, he befriends another of his kind named Alberto, and that's when everything changes. We find out that, when their species leave the water and go on dry land, they become human, and change back when they get wet. Luca and Alberto defy the wishes of Luca's family by remaining on land, somewhere in coastal Italy.
To live their own way, they head to the village of Portorosso, intent on acquiring a Vespa scooter (Which they have deeply loved ever since they first saw it) and traveling together. To make enough money to hopefully get one, they decide to enter a triathlon race(And a very interesting sort of race, involving swimming, bicycling, AND pasta- eating) with the help of a spunky local girl named Giulia. They face opposition from the self- absorbed town bully Ercole Visconti, who has won the event several years in a row and intends to keep this winning streak up even though he is clearly too old for it. All the while, Luca's parents have come to land too, and are actively looking for him. Wedges are driven between friends, minds are opened to new possibilities, and the triathlon looms and leads to a funny and action- packed climax.

While not my favorite of the movies we looked at in this series (That honor would have to go to the previous film, 'Onward'), 'Luca' was still a very enjoyable and at times moving film.

One of its major pluses is the set designs, especially for Portorosso. You can tell the animators really did their homework, it looks just like how I'd picture an Italian coastal village from around that time period. It's also nice to hear how much of the Italian language they incorporated into the film's dialogue.

The music similarly fits with Italy nicely. The animation and character designs, while not as detailed as they are in some of Pixar's other films, are still unique and imaginative. I especially liked Giulia's design, such as her curly red hair.
Now, for the character run- down:

Luca himself was a nice enough hero, pretty relatable. You can see the balance between his cautious nature, and his curiosity about the surface world. Many of Pixar's protagonists are characters out to find themselves and gain a sense of identity, and Luca fits that perfectly.

Alberto is the right balance of funny and moving, and plays off of Luca well. While Luca is shy and cautious, Alberto is bold and daring, and encourages his friend to silence his fears and inhibitions with the funny mantra of "Silenzio, Bruno!" Admittedly, it's never specified who this "Bruno" was, but it still makes for a memorable phrase to help Luca (And all of us) keep fears in check.

Giulia makes for a good supporting character. She's brave, but also rather insecure, wanting to win the Portorossa Cup mainly so it'll make everyone in town start to like her for a change. It's nice to see her let her guard down and admit when she needs help, and then to see her open up a bit more to Luca and Alberto. She also has the amusing trait of often saying "Santo" or "Santa" followed by the name of a kind of Italian cheese when frustrated or impressed (i.e. "Santa mozzarella," or "Santo pecorino").

 Her father Massimo is a fun character too. He's big and tough and seems scary at first, but you soon see the good heart he has deep down. He's a real "Gentle giant" kind of guy. Even her cat, Machiavelli, provides a lot of laughs with how suspicious he becomes towards the boys (He quickly learns they are part- fish, and of course we know how cats feel about fish).

The bully Ercole is honestly kind of a lame villain, and I'd say one of the only real weaknesses the movie has. While Pixar's baddies usually aren't very memorable compared to the ones Disney produced (Though there are exceptions to this rule, such as Syndrome from 'The Incredibles,' Charles Muntz from 'Up,' and Lotso from 'Toy Story 3'), Ercole is particularly forgettable; He's just a generic spoiled, arrogant bully who bosses everyone around and pretty much demands that they all worship and fawn over him.

Nevertheless, 'Luca' remained a charming, entertaining film that I'm glad I got to watch in preparation for this series.

Now, for the theological meat of the matter:

As those who've read the devotional I wrote for Pastor Danny to pass out would know, I think the first Scriptural message that can be taken from 'Luca' is on acceptance of those who are different. While the humans of Portorosso initially feared and hated sea monsters (Luca's race) as deadly beasts that should be hunted, and Luca's family in turn initially hated humans due to believing that they were all heartless, fish- killing barbarians, each side eventually learns that the other isn't so bad and is perfectly capable of kindness and compassion, largely through the impact that Luca, Alberto and Giulia each have on them. It brings to mind Peter's comment in Acts 10:28 that "“…God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.”  We, too, shouldn't look down on those who may be of a different race, nationality, or social class than ourselves, ESPECIALLY if they are fellow Christians. We are all children of God, who saw each and every one of us as worth loving and worth dying for to redeem.

Another faith- based lesson that could be taken from 'Luca' relates to being more open to the world around you. Luca knows very little about the surface world, other than what Alberto has told him about it, and much of that isn't very accurate. Giulia helps him to learn more about the larger world and even universe around him (Giulia has an interest in stargazing that she helps him to gain as well), and gain even more wonderful curiosity about everything he sees. As he discovers, one you start learning new and interesting things, it tends to pique your interest and make you want to learn even more! The pursuit of knowledge and keeping a curiosity about the world is a Godly trait. Proverbs 18:15 says that "An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge." God has created a beautiful world and indeed universe around us, and He wants us to learn as much about it as we can, so we can more effectively serve Him. It's why He gave us brains in the first place! Like Luca in the film, we should always seek to gain more knowledge of the things we see and hear, and find ways to put them to good use.

There you have 'Luca,' a nice addition to the Pixar universe that helps us see why we should be more accepting of others, and maintain a curiosity and desire for knowledge about the world God made for us. Bravo!

That's it for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience, as well as for this year's partnership with St. John's UMC for their Summer at the Movies series.
However, as summer isn't quite over yet, I do have a couple more summer- themed entries in mind, keep an eye out for them to come out very soon. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Godly Love, Being Willing to Take Risks, and Dealing with Loss: A Faith- Based Look at 'Onward.'

 Hi everyone, and welcome to another entry of the Nightcrawler Experience!
Continuing my annual partnership with St. John's Untied Methodist Church for their Summer at the Movies series, we will now be looking at the third film in that series, another Disney- Pixar film from last year: The fantasy epic 'Onward.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user CrazyBob2014 on the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Onward/Gallery?file=Onward_Teaser_Poster.jpg)

This film takes place in a very unique sort of fantasy world. It has elves and dragons and unicorns and magic and whatnot, but it's also very modernized; Magic is rare and also seen as rather obsolete as technology has made everything much easier and more convenient.
In this world, we meet two elven brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Ian (Voice of Tom Holland) is very intelligent but also quiet, timid and socially- awkward, and we soon see that he has a talent for magic. Barley (Voice of Chris Pratt), in contrast, is loud, outgoing, and has a love of fantasy and gaming, but is also a slacker who tends to unwittingly cause a lot of problems for others. Ian is deeply embarrassed of Barley as a result of this, further contributing to his shyness and difficulty making friends. While their mom (Voice of Julia Louis- Dreyfus) does her best to keep her family together, things are made harder by the fact that the boys' father died when Barley was a toddler and Ian was just a baby. As such, Barley has only a few vague memories of his dad, and Ian doesn't have any at all. Both would give anything to see him again.

Things take a big change, though, when Ian turns sixteen, and is given a magical staff that their dad had apparently owned which was set aside until both brothers turned sixteen. As I said, we learn that Ian does have some magical talent, and they discover a spell he can cast that can restore their deceased father for one day. The spell goes wrong, though, as the rare Phoenix Gem that helps power it shatters, so it only brings the dad back from the waist down. Realizing that they need another Gem to complete the spell before the 24 hours runs out, the two brothers and their half- resurrected dad pile into Barley's beloved van Guinevere, and they set out on an adventure to find one in time.

I think I actually enjoyed 'Onward' even more than the previous Pixar film we looked at in this series, 'Soul.' While it's not as thought- provoking as 'Soul,' I'd say it's a good deal more fun and entertaining in general, and is just as poignant.

Over the course of the brothers' quest, they run into a number of perilous situations that provide for a lot of thrilling moments and action sequences, usually involving the brothers in Guinevere being chased by those who seek to stop them (First a hilarious gang of irate pixie bikers that Barley had unwittingly offended, then later by the cops). There's also a thrilling sequence in which they have to make their way through a dark tunnel to find the Gem, dodging arrow traps, a flooding room, and even a Gelatinous Cube (It's a LOT deadlier than it sounds, trust me)!

'Onward' also gains points for how cleverly it includes several different nods to various aspects of fantasy, from Dungeons and Dragons (i.e. the aforementioned Gelatinous Cube originates from that game), to JRR Tolkien's books (In a charming double- nod to 'Lord of the Rings,' there's a fast- food joint in the movie called "Burger Shire" whose sign boasts that it serves "Second Breakfast"), to many others. It's clear the writers of this film are major fantasy genre devotees who really did their homework on it.

Now, for the character run- down:
Ian makes for a decent enough main character. He's very easy to sympathize with, things like his desperately trying to fit in while having to deal with his embarrassing brother and his own personal anxieties, his initial fear of learning to drive, especially on the highway (I can certainly relate to that from back when I was first learning to drive), and how much he misses his dad and is so sad that he never really knew him. Seeing him shaking off his cautious nature as he and Barley pursue their goals is always deeply satisfying. Tom Holland (Best known for his work as the MCU's Spider- Man) brings the right amounts of emotion for each scene he's in.

Barley, as some of you regulars to this blog may recall, was one of my top 10 favorite movie characters of 2020, and with good reason. I LOVED THIS GUY! He's incredibly funny in nearly every scene he's in, and manages to have some deeply sympathetic moments too (i.e. a scene rather late in the film when he reveals to Ian that he has another memory of their dad which he had never told him about, because it wasn't a good one). His adventurous spirit, exuberance, kindness to everyone, and just general good nature make him a character you'll quickly love. Even when he's screwing up, it's clear he's really got his heart in the right place and he still remains quite likable. Chris Pratt's awesome voice acting makes an already cool character even better! As a matter of fact, I'd say Barley Lightfoot is one of my favorite Pixar characters in general.

The boys' mom, Laurel, is an alright character. She starts the movie as just the typical "Animated movie mom" character, and it's a little sad that, while we clearly see how much the boys miss their father, we don't see much at all of her missing her husband. She may have moved on since his passing and found someone else (More on that in a second), but losing her spouse had to have still left her with a lot of pain to work through. Laurel REALLY starts to shine, though, around the second half of the movie, when she learns that the boys' quest could put all their lives in mortal danger and sets out to try and stop them. There, while we can still see how scared and worried she is for her boys, we see her developing incredible courage in all that she faces along the way.

A supporting character whose portrayal I liked a lot was Laurel's boyfriend, Officer Colt Bronco, a centaur police officer. It would have been so easy to make him just a dime- a- dozen "Mom's jerk boyfriend" character and/ or a dime- a- dozen "Mean, bullying cop" character, yet they dodged both of those with Colt; He seems to be a genuinely decent, well- meaning guy, and while he can get rather strict and does at one point present an obstacle to the brothers and attempt to stop them from completing their mission, he's just doing his job as an officer of the law and trying to help keep his girlfriend's sons out of trouble. Seeing him by the end of the movie lighten up some more and get along better with the boys makes him even more likable. Plus, he gets some more points in my book because I just think centaurs are cool in general.

One last character I'd like to talk about is another character from this movie who made my "Top 10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2020" list: Corey the Manticore. See, early in the film, the boys discover that the best way to gain assistance in finding the gem is by seeking out the "Manticore's Tavern." They go there, expecting it to be a cool, rough place, but find instead a goofy family eatery. As for Corey the Manticore herself, she was once a great adventurer, but is now reduced to running her restaurant and keeping her customers happy. Still, a pep talk from Ian helps her to regain her spirit of adventure. She eventually befriends Laurel, and helps her a lot in finding and at one point saving the boys. She has loads of funny moments, and Oscar- winner Octavia Spencer does a wonderful job voicing her.

There are quite a few Scriptural messages in 'Onward' that I can think of. The first, which I included in the devotional that I wrote and Pastor Danny circulated, concerned how Barley's flawed but genuine love for his family makes for a great summation of what Christian love as seen in 13:4-7 can look like. May we all love our families as deeply as Barley loves his. Even when we mess up at times like he does, we can still allow love to define all we do.

A second Scriptural message to be taken from the film is on courage and learning to take risks. As I pointed out when talking about Corey in my "Top 10 Movie Characters of 2020" list, what really helps inspire Corey to ditch the timid restaurateur she had become and regain the adventurous personality she once had is when Ian reminds her of a wonderful quote she herself had said while in her prime: "You have to take risks in life to have an adventure." She's not the only one who learns this, as Ian is in a way reminded of this great truth later in the movie; He, his brother and their half- restored dad are in Guinevere, trying to get away from a gang of extremely ticked- off pixie bikers (Every scene with these little guys is pure gold). Barley is still suffering the effects of a temporary shrinking spell and thus can't drive, so Ian (Who, again, is very nervous about driving) has to take the wheel. To escape the pixies and get back on their quest, they need to get on the highway, but merging onto highways is one aspect of driving that terrifies Ian. That, then, leads to this frantic exchange with highway traffic pouring in from the side, and the pixies hot on their heels:
Barley: "Okay, you're gonna have to merge. Speed up..."
Ian: "I can't do this!"
Barley: "Yes, you can!"
Ian: "I'm not ready!"
Barley: "You'll never be 'ready'! MERGE!"
Ian then hits the gas, and terrified though he is, successfully merges onto the highway and eventually helps them get away from the pixies.
As both Corey and Ian learn in the movie, taking risks and doing things that seem scary are the only ways to really get anywhere enjoyable in life. The Bible teaches this, too. So many people in the Bible took huge, scary risks in the name of serving the Lord, particularly the disciples of Jesus. In 1 Chronicles 28:20, King David tells his son Solomon, who was at the time trying to build an enormous temple to God, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with you." There are Christians today in various nations who take immense risks by accepting and standing up for Jesus. We, too, may be called by God to do scary or risky things for Him, but He will get us through them and will never leave us or forsake us.

A final Scriptural message that I think can be taken from 'Onward' is on the nature of grief. We see how the family has dealt with the loss of the boys' father. It is a heavy blow for them all, especially for Ian who had never really known his father and wants so desperately to have some memories of him, but it's a blow that they eventually (Largely through this adventure they go on in the movie) learn to make peace with and move on from. By the end of the movie, we see that the brothers have a better relationship with each other and with their mom's boyfriend Colt whom they initially disliked, the mom has become more socially active, and they aren't letting their loss negatively impact their lives anymore. This calls to mind what Jesus said in Luke 6:21: "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." We as Christians know that, while we can experience deep pain and loss (I'm speaking from personal experience on this), the Lord Jesus Christ can help us all find comfort, get through it and move on, and live active, fulfilling lives in spite of our pain. We know that the pains of our Earthly lives are nothing compared to the endless joys that await us in Heaven, and that God can still enable us to make the most out of life even amid loss and setbacks; All we have to do is trust Him.

That's about it for 'Onward,' an awesome family film that teaches us what Godly love can look like, the importance of being brave and taking risks to serve the Lord, and how He can help us recover from loss. We've learned these lessons, now to paraphrase Barley, let's ALL go "'O' for 'Onward'" and put them to good use in our lives as we follow Jesus!

That's all for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next Wednesday, as we'll be finishing up this year's Summer at the Movies series with one more film. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Finding Purpose and Dodging Distraction: A Faith- Based Look at 'Soul.'

 
Hello everyone, and welcome back to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!

This is part two of my four- part annual partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church for their annual "Summer at the Movies" series.
For this installment, we will be looking at quite an interesting one: Pixar's splendid 2020 offering known as 'Soul.'

This movie is the story of Joe Gardner (Voice of Jamie Foxx), a fortysomething man living in New York City and working as a middle- school music teacher. He wants more out of life than that, though, and deeply believes he's meant to be a full- time, professional jazz musician, and he has the amazing piano skills to back it up. Nobody's ever really given him a chance at that, though.
One day, though, he finally gets that chance, as he lands a gig performing alongside an incredibly respected jazz musician named Dorothea Williams. Shortly after getting this news, however, he falls into a manhole (Even in moments of bliss over your dreams being fulfilled, you've still got to watch where you're going), which puts him into a coma and sends his soul off on a kind of conveyor belt to the "Great Beyond." He doesn't want to move on when he's so close to achieving his dream, however, and so he instead finds himself in the "Great Before," an area where young souls develop their personalities and prepare to come to Earth and start a life.
One soul Joe meets here, known simply as "22," has been in this area for thousands of years. In spite of countless mentors throughout history (Including some pretty well- known deceased public figures), she dislikes Earth and refuses to become a fully- developed soul and head down there. Joe figures that she could be his ticket back to Earth so his soul can get back in his body and wake him up in time for his gig.
A mix- up finds Joe and 22 on Earth, but not exactly in the way they'd hope. This leads to a struggle to set things right, some great revelations and both characters learning more about what it means to truly be alive.

'Soul' makes for another incredible creation of Pixar's. I think I'd compare it the most to 'Inside Out,' in that it takes a massively complex topic (The human subconscious for 'Inside Out,' elements of esotericism for 'Soul'), and yet presents it in a way that's easy for kids and others in the audience to understand. It's won a ton of awards, and it's easy to see why.
The visuals are great, both for the scenes in New York City and its various locales Joe lives in and interacts with, and for the "Great Before" and other such spiritual locations. So many colors and environments are presented, it's almost overwhelming.

Also, another plus to 'Soul' is, as you can probably guess for a movie in which the main character is an aspiring jazz musician, the musical score is flat- out gorgeous. There are loads of incredible pieces of jazz music (ranging from Joe just playing on his piano, to the scenes with Dorothea Williams's entire band playing), and also some more soft, simple compositions for the scenes in the various spiritual locations. It's a feast for both the eyes and the ears.
A small detail I liked about 'Soul' is a quick but quite touching little "Easter egg" they threw in: In 22's sort- of house/ base, we can see one wall is littered with name- tag stickers of 22's past mentors, none of whom were able to help her discover her purpose or seek to go down to Earth. There are some famous celebrities among those names, and others I'd never heard of. One that's seen pretty prominently is "Joe Ranft." This may not be a name any of you recognize, but he was one of the people who basically built Pixar animation in its early days. Joe Ranft was a major writer and story supervisor for most of their early films, co- directed one, and voiced a few characters for them (i.e. He was the voice actor for Heimlich the caterpillar in 'A Bug's Life' and Wheezy the squeaky toy penguin in 'Toy Story 2,' among other characters), before being tragically killed in a 2005 car accident. So, I thought including that little nod to him in 'Soul' was a very nice gesture.

Now, for the character run- down. It's not often that an animated kids' movie has a fortysomething man as its main character, yet Joe Gardner makes for a wonderful main protagonist, likable all throughout. He wants for his life to be worth something, and since jazz music is his passion, figures that succeeding in that field is the only way to achieve that. It's easy to root for him in all he does, with all the hard work and frustration he faces in pursuit of his dream. I found myself relating to him a lot, as I too still struggle at times with finding my own calling in this world. Jamie Foxx brings a ton of emotion to his voice, as well. It's clear how much he invested in his performance of this complicated character.

22 was a little annoying at first with her grumpy, confrontational attitude, but she grew on me a lot as the movie progressed and we got to see some real depth from her. She also had a lot of funny moments, usually involving her struggles with various aspects of life on Earth. Tina Fey's voice performance gave her a lot of charm and made her lines even funnier.

Another supporting character who I liked a lot was a guy named Moonwind (Voice of Graham Norton) a hippie mystic sign- twirler who helps out Joe a lot over the course of the movie. This guy is constantly funny and interesting to watch, you never want to miss a moment of him.

One final character in 'Soul' who deserves mention is Joe's mother, Libba, who runs a tailoring business and is NOT supportive of his pursuit of becoming a full- time musician. Admittedly, the "Closed- minded parent who attempts to discourage their offspring's lofty dreams"- type character is a trope that's used a lot in movies, but Libba makes it actually believable. She's not trying to be mean or ignorant, she just thinks that Joe would be a LOT better off instead becoming a full- time music teacher, as that would provide him with a lot more stability and financial security. It's an extremely understandable concern to have that you can easily see where she's coming from with, and it makes her and Joe finally reaching common ground on the matter and seeing eye to eye on things late in the film become all the more satisfying and heart- warming to watch.

Now, for the real theological meat of the matter.
While 'Soul''s portrayal of esoteric theory and views on things like the afterlife aren't exactly in line with Christian theology, I still think there are some solid Scriptural messages that can be taken from it.

In my devotional which Pastor Danny helped pass out for the screening at the church this evening, I bring up that arguably the main theme of 'Soul' is finding one's purpose in life. Joe starts by feeling that his purpose is simply to become a professional jazz musician, but eventually finds that is only one part of his life's actual purpose. I point out that God gives a great purpose and calling to each of us who follow Him through Jesus, and that He will eagerly guide us towards this if we let Him. As proof of this, I bring up Romans 8:28, which says that “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” The true purpose God has for us is to help spread His Word and build His Kingdom, and He gives each of us a unique calling to help pull this off.

I think another Scriptural message that can be taken from 'Soul' is to not be too consumed or overtaken by worldly issues and concerns. One area that Joe comes across on his journey is an area known as "The Zone," a place where living souls can briefly enter when the pursuit of their passions put them in a sort of euphoric trance. You know how, when someone like for instance an artist or athlete truly gives their all to what they are doing and does something incredible with it, they can be described as being "In the Zone"? Well, in this film, their souls briefly enter this particular area during those moments and seem to sort of float around in there for a bit before they return to reality.

 There's a dark side to this, however: The ground of this area is crawling with "Lost souls," horrific beings that are the souls of people who let their anxieties and obsessions overtake them and disconnect them from life. An example of this that we see turns out to have been a hedge fund manager so obsessed with making a trade that his soul was briefly turned into one of those monsters, mindlessly chanting "Make a trade, make a trade" over and over while lumbering across the astral plane (Don't worry, he is freed from this by Moonwind and a couple fellow mystics).
Jesus Himself warns believers to avoid letting themselves be caught in this sad state. People who allow themselves to be overtaken by their obsessions and temporary stresses can easily be seen as embodying what Jesus said in the Parable of the Sower, found in Matthew 13:1-23, specifically embodying the seeds that fell among thorns: "The seed falling among thorns refers to someone who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the Word, making it unfruitful." Becoming too caught up in petty worldly matters and concerns, letting them become single- minded obsessions, greatly hinders our witness to others as well as our own personal walks with God. It keeps us from focusing on important, eternal things because of how preoccupied our minds have become with comparatively minor, temporary things. Fortunately, just as the hedge fund manager in 'Soul' is freed from his lost state with help from Moonwind and restored to his old self, when we at times get too caught up in worldly concerns and obsessions, Jesus can free us from it and return us to the state we're supposed to be in, if we just ask Him.

There you have 'Soul,' a marvelous, fascinating film that can show us how to avoid pointless worldly distractions that ensnare us and truly find the purpose that God intended for each of our lives.

That sums up this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week when I'll be examining the next film in this series St. John's UMC is putting on. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Trust and Unity: A Faith- Based Look at 'Raya and the Last Dragon.'

 Hi, friends, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!

I am pleased to say that with this entry, this blog is again partnering with St. John's United Methodist Church for their Summer at the Movies series! For the next four weeks, they will be screening a movie each week, with me supplying both a devotional about the movie to be passed out at the screening, and an accompanying blog entry on the Nightcrawler Experience to reveal even more theological lessons that can be taken from the movie.

For this first week, we will be looking at Disney's newest animated feature, 'Raya and the Last Dragon.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user "Sonic the H fan" on the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Raya_and_the_Last_Dragon?file=Raya_and_the_Last_Dragon_Poster.jpeg)

This film has a pretty detailed plot/ backstory: Once upon a time, the land of Kumandra (Located somewhere in Southeast Asia) was ravaged by these evil spirits known as the Druun, which can turn people, animals and dragons into stone. The final dragon, Sisu, concentrated all her power into a magical gem that she used to banish the Druun. This revived Kumandra's people, but not the dragons. The people of Kumandra then turned against each other to try and gain control of Sisu's gem for themselves, and ultimately divided into five tribes: Heart, Fang, Spine, Tail, and Talon (Named after their respective locations along a long, dragon- shaped river).
Centuries later, Raya, the young princess of the Heart tribe, has been trained and appointed as the new protector of the gem. Her father, Chief Benja, earnestly believes the tribes can be united again, and to that end, invites leaders of each of the other tribes to come to his palace for a friendly dinner to hopefully help improve diplomatic relations between the five tribes. Things turn ugly, though; The gem is ultimately smashed into five pieces with each tribe greedily grabbing a piece, causing the Druun to reawaken and begin ravaging Heart before then moving on to the rest of the land. Raya's able to escape before the Druun can turn her to stone, but her father's not so lucky.
Some years after that, Raya is now a young adult, attempting to use Heart's piece of the gem to find and reawaken Sisu. She does so, and the two of them set out to gradually recover each of the other four pieces of the gem, which currently remain in the possession of the leaders of the other four tribes, who won't exactly be eager to part with them. They figure that if they can reassemble the gem, Sisu can use it to defeat the Druun for good, and again restore everyone who's been turned to stone.

 Sisu isn't quite the invincible force that Raya envisioned, but she still proves to be quite useful to the cause. They also meet a very interesting assortment of allies along the way: A young boy from the Tail tribe named Boun who uses his boat restaurant to help provide them with river transport since the Druun cannot cross water, an adorably devious baby con artist (Yes, you read that right) from the Talon tribe named Noi and her monkey friends, and a towering but good- hearted Spine warrior named Tong.

 On their mission, they have to avoid Raya's rival Namaari, princess of the Fang tribe, who learns of Raya's mission and is determined to get the gem pieces herself.

I must say, I was a lot more impressed with 'Raya and the Last Dragon' than I thought I'd be. From the initial trailers, I was afraid it would just be yet another over- the- top "I am woman, hear me roar"- type film (Don't get me wrong, I'm all for women empowerment and all, but in recent years, films featuring this theme have started becoming really repetitive, as well as preachy in how that message is presented; Even the best and most noble of messages can start to leave a bad taste in one's mouth if forced on us too constantly or too heavy- handedly), and one which would take itself way too seriously. I am pleased to report I was wrong on both counts. It contains LOADS of tension- taming humor throughout it to keep from getting too serious for its own good, and while Raya is a strong and inspirational character, the "Girl- power" angle isn't done in a preachy way.

It has a lot of great action in it, too. Each scene with Raya going into the base of one of the tribes and retrieving one of the pieces of the gem has some form of unique yet quite thrilling action sequence in it, all amazingly animated.
Now, for the character run- down:
Rather than making Raya some dime- a- dozen invincible perfect heroine, she actually has some flaws and depth; It was at least partially her fault that the gem was broken and the Druun reawakened, due to her trusting someone she shouldn't have, and she consequently wrestles with both her guilt over that and her newfound inability to trust anyone. Seeing her gradually learn to trust others and strive to achieve her father's dream of reuniting the nations of Kumandra is quite satisfying. While Raya isn't one of Disney's best heroines, she's still a good addition to their ranks who's enjoyable to watch.

Her pet/ primary means of transportation, Tuk Tuk (A creature that's sort of like a cross between an armadillo and a roly- poly, but grows a LOT bigger than either of those creatures) is a delightful creature. He has some funny moments, usually involving his love of food and how easily distracted he is, and also proves to be VERY useful to Raya. What's more, he gets extra points for the fact that his assorted grunts and roars are done by one of my favorite actors, Alan Tudyk, who I'm delighted has become such a staple voice actor for Disney over the last decade or so (He's voiced characters in every Disney animated movie from 'Wreck- it Ralph' up to now, and voiced characters in a couple of Disney's animated TV shows, AND was the voice of Iago the parrot in the live- action 'Aladdin' movie they made two years ago).

Sisu makes for an excellent supporting character. She has been worshipped as this all- powerful being for her initial defeat of the Druun, but it turns out that she was just the deliverer of the gems' power, with her siblings (Who were then turned to stone) doing most of the actual work in channeling their magic into it. This gives her a lot of insecurity, but she also has an adorable amount of wonder relating to the world around her. A scene in which she discovers that things could be bought through credit is hilarious, and a great indictment of the attitude that many today can have regarding it. She also proves to be a surprisingly good source of wisdom and guidance for Raya along her journey. Next year, Sisu will almost certainly be making my Ten Favorite Movie Characters of 2021 list, she's practically got a reserved seat there!

The other friends Raya makes over the course of her journey are all delightful as well. Boun brings a good amount of humor and his boating skills certainly make him a great asset to them over the trip. The baby con artist Noi and her monkey friends are such a hoot to watch, cute and funny in literally every scene! Tong is generally pretty funny too, and becomes increasingly likable and sympathetic when he lets his tough facade drop a little and opens up to the others. Much like Raya and Sisu, these different companions have all lost loved ones to the Druun, and do a lot to help Raya in her quest to help restore all of them.

As I indicated in my devotional that was passed out at the screening, the central theme to 'Raya and the Last Dragon' deals with trust. These problems within their nation started when the people of those different areas stopped trusting each other, and Raya learning to trust others is what ultimately saves the world. 

I pointed out that we need to trust others more, and ESPECIALLY put our trust in God. I used Psalms 56:3 ("When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.”) and Proverbs 3:5-6 (“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”) to help drive this point home.

However, I'd say that is certainly not the only valuable Biblical lesson that can be taken from 'Raya and teh Last Dragon.' Another important one I can think of is on the importance of unity. People can do so much more when they forget about their differences and work together to achieve common goals. Raya and her friends help show this in the film's climax, when they (Characters from each of the tribes) help to evacuate a village before it's overrun by the Druun, saving countless lives and providing everyone there a perfect glimpse of the strength of unity in action.
Raya's father Chief Benja also makes a wonderful statement earlier in the film, when speaking to the other tribe leaders: "We can tear each other apart, or we can build a better world." There is so much truth in that statement for all of us. Over even just the last year or so, we have witnessed horrific division among the American people, and pointless social unrest and destruction breaking out nationwide. This needs to stop, with people of all races, genders and political persuasions needing to do what they can to encourage peace and unity. I regularly pray each day for this country, that its people could learn to come together in unity and thus build a better world for all in spite of their differences.

This is most definitely a Biblical lesson. Ephesians 4:3 says of believers, "You are joined together in peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue in this way." The body of Christ's main strength is in how diverse it is. It unites people of different races, cultures, and ethnicities, and with a whole multitude of different strengths and talents they can bring to the table. We have some who are scholarly, while others are better at worship. We have some who are skilled at prayer, while others are more about action. That is exactly how God intended it to be. This enables the church to better serve God and help to build His Kingdom on Earth, which is why peace and unity in the church and all around us desperately need to be encouraged.

 John 10:16 says that there is "One flock and one shepherd," we as believers are all part of the same flock in the eyes of our shepherd, Jesus. We need to avoid petty squabbling over our differences, and focus on the common goal of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as we can.

There you have 'Raya and the Last Dragon,' a very fun and exciting new addition to the Disney library which teaches valuable lessons about the importance of trust and unity.

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week when I'll be tackling the next film that St. John's will be looking at in this series. Until then, take care, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Answered and Unanswered Prayer, Tolerance and Deeply- Rooted Faith; What I Learned From an Episode of "Daria."

Hi everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is a little something I meant to publish last September, but I kept getting distracted, then worked on other entries for a while.
As you can probably guess, between the rampant shutdowns due to COVID- 19 and the fact that summer break meant I couldn't do any of my usual work as a teacher's assistant, I had a LOT of free time last year from April through much of August, and as you can tell from my previous entries around that period, I did a good deal of binge- watching during that time.
Among other things, I watched an entire animated TV series over the course of a couple months that I hadn't seen in at least ten to fifteen years: The MTV show "Daria."

(Meet Daria; She looks like a cheerful sort, doesn't she?)

This show was a spinoff of "Beavis and Butt- Head" (Daria was a supporting character on that show), but the similarities end there. "Daria" is funny, but often in a much more intelligently- written, sophisticated way, and it could at times tackle serious subject matter.
The show ran from 1997- 2002, and centers around Daria Morgendorffer (Voice of Tracy Grandstaff), an intensely brilliant yet unbelievably cynical teenage girl who at the start of the series has just moved to the suburb of Lawndale along with her family: Workaholic mother Helen, high- strung and rather childlike father Jake, and perky but quite flaky younger sister Quinn. Daria soon becomes friends with a similarly- minded young artist named Jane, and most episodes deal with the two of them trying to get through the monotony, frustrations, and flat- out idiocy of high school and suburban adolescence in general.
I'd had the complete series of "Daria" on DVD for a few years (I got it for a great deal in some Black Friday sale), but had never actually watched the DVD set until just this last summer. Having watched it now, I can say it still holds up amazingly well all these years later! It doesn't really feel dated, and many of the points it raises over its five seasons are still quite relevant today. Its theme song by Splendora is really cool, too.
The humor in "Daria" is always great, largely in the form of Daria and Jane's witty and cutting remarks and commentary on everything around them. I'm not sure if there was even a single episode that didn't have me laughing hard several times.
The supporting characters on "Daria" are a lot of fun to watch too, such as Quinn's friends in the high school's Fashion Club who are even more shallow than her, the sweet yet dopey cheerleader Brittany and her brainless jock boyfriend Kevin, and the school's rather psychotic history teacher Mr. DiMartino (This guy needs anger management therapy in the worst way).
In my summer binge- watch of this show, I saw an episode that dealt a little with the subject of faith in a mostly good way: The Season 4 episode entitled "Groped by an Angel."

After watching a TV program dealing with people having encounters with guardian angels, Daria's sister Quinn has a slight spiritual awakening as she begins to fervently believe that she has her own guardian angel looking out for her. This belief is further strengthened when she escapes a couple near- disasters (i.e. Getting up from a chair seconds before a chandelier falls on it, and refraining from having her usual salad dressing as part of her lunch one day then discovering afterwards that the dressing in question had gone bad and made some other students sick). All this is to the great annoyance of Daria, who is a hardcore skeptic of such things.

Things come to a header one night as Daria and Quinn are both invited to a party being thrown for the cheerleader Brittany by her doting father to celebrate her managing to get her cumulative GPA up to a C- (For someone as dim as Brittany, that IS an achievement worth celebrating). While there, Quinn gets soda splashed on her new jeans in a VERY embarrassing spot, if you get my drift. Quinn then further embarrasses herself by accidentally shattering a mock- crystal cheerleading bullhorn Brittany's father gave her as a gift at the party. Quinn suffering all this causes her catty frienemy Sandi (A young lady who's pretty much the ultimate textbook definition of a "Mean girl") to mockingly say that perhaps Quinn's guardian angel has abandoned her. Quinn begins to take this to heart, and understandably feels miserable about it. Daria, after having a lengthy conversation on the subject with their mom, gains a newfound sense of tolerance and encourages Quinn to not let a single bad evening cause her to lose her faith.

One problem I had with "Groped by an Angel" is with the scenes involving Brittany's younger brother Brian. While we had scenes with him in earlier episodes that show he's an annoying pest, in this episode he crosses the line into an obnoxious, screaming little brat, and the scenes with him will thus REALLY grate on you.

Other than that, 'Groped by an Angel' is a VERY entertaining episode. It is filled with one funny line after another, usually from Daria (i.e. When asked if she believes there's anything watching over them, she responds, "Well, there's the IRS, and those guys with the black helicopters."), and it does at times grapple with some deep concepts. It's also easy to feel both for Quinn with the spiritual awakening and test of that faith she goes through, and for Daria's general annoyance at how Quinn's experiences cause her and others around them to start flat- out obsessing about angels.
There's also a rather funny subplot in which Quinn's three idiotic quasi- boyfriends Joey, Jeffy and Jamie start wondering about Quinn's supposed "Guardian angel." When one of them explains that a guardian angel is "This dude who follows you around and makes sure you don't get into trouble," another chimes in "Oh, like a parole officer!" They then decide that this "Guardian angel" must be a sicko peeping on their girl, and things kind of go from there.
What also works about this episode is that it's explained that Daria and Quinn's mom Helen is a spiritual person as well. If it were just Quinn, some viewers could say that the episode paints a negative portrait of believers, that it implies they are stupid or naive. However, while Helen may have her flaws (i.e. Her workaholism often preventing her from being there for her family as much as she knows she should be), stupidity is NOT one of them. For all her neuroses, she is still a quite intelligent, level- headed woman, so showing that she is a believer too made things a little more balanced.

Even though "Groped by an Angel" is at times critical of the concept of faith, I believe there are some nuggets of Scriptural wisdom to be found in it if you know where to look (Bet you never thought that could be said of an MTV show):
The first I can see concerns the matters of providence and prayer, both answered and unanswered. Quinn came to believe that her guardian angel would always be there to protect her from any harm or anything bad happening, only for her to then have such an awful night at the party. This, as I said, greatly shook her newfound faith. Daria, however, in talking to Quinn about it near the end of the episode, gave a short but extremely astute answer as to why her guardian angel didn't protect her from the humiliations at the party, especially her destroying the mock- crystal bullhorn: 
"Maybe the angel didn't think saving an overpriced, undeserved knick- knack was the most efficient use of his time."
I think that really was a good point. Divine intervention is meant by God to serve a higher purpose and aid in building His Kingdom on Earth, and simply protecting that tacky piece of junk from being shattered wouldn't really serve ANY kind of Godly goal.
See, God DOES dearly love us and CAN intervene, at times in miraculous ways, when we are most in need (I've personally witnessed this several times). However, that doesn't mean He will constantly do so to prevent us from ever being so much as inconvenienced in any way.

It calls to mind James 4:3, which says about unanswered prayer, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." Quinn merely seeking to avoid embarrassment and protect that stupid bullhorn would not have done anything to advance God's plan for the world, and us as Christians often praying for things merely to advance our own immediate, selfish desires would be much the same way. Just because you get hit with hangups and don't get everything you ask for doesn't mean God doesn't care or isn't there; It likely just means that what you want wasn't part of God's plan for you, at least not for the moment.

Another Scriptural lesson I can think of that can be taken from 'Groped by an Angel' is on the subject of tolerance for those with differing beliefs. While Daria remains a skeptic on matters of faith, the conversation she has with Helen helps her to realize that she can hold to that, but still at least tolerate Quinn feeling differently on the matter. She sums this up when she then tells Quinn in the end of the episode, "I think what makes sense is to believe whatever makes you feel best." That may not exactly be a complete slam- dunk theologically, some kernels of truth can be found in it; See, while we as Christians should believe and stick to the core tenets of our faith (i.e. That Jesus is God's Son and the only way to Heaven) and not compromise what we believe in just for the sake of unity, we should most definitely have tolerance for other Christians with minor differences in beliefs from ours (i.e. Those in other Christian denominations, such as Baptists vs. Methodists).
It calls to mind a story relating to Jesus in Mark 9:38- 41: "'Teacher,' said John, 'we saw someone driing out demons in Your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.' 'Do not stop him,' Jesus said. 'For no one who does a miracle in My name can the next moment say anything bad about Me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in My name because you belong to the Messiah will not lose their reward.'" What matters is that we are believing in the same Savior. 

Last but not least, "Groped by an Angel" teaches us an important lesson on the importance of developing real depth to one's faith. Quinn's newfound beliefs are shown to be as shallow as most other aspects of her character; She believes in angels, but doesn't seem to let it really translate into a belief in God (The one who MADE the angels and rules over them) or any kind of real theology. Her beliefs are limited to her just thinking that angels are out there and are always looking out for her. With beliefs that shallow, it is unsurprising that they are heavily shaken by their very first trials (Her humiliating experiences at the party).

 In this sense, Quinn can be seen as representing what Jesus said in the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:1-23, specifically the section about the seeds that are sown on rocky soil, quickly sprout up, but then are withered by the sun since they could not grow deep roots: "The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away."

God doesn't want believers to simply stay the way they are, theologically speaking, to remain in what one church I'm familiar with once called "Christian Kindergarten": He wants us to become stronger, better believers as time goes on, who can better spread his Gospel to all around us. When we come to faith, we need to properly strengthen it and develop solid roots to it through such means as worship, studying the Bible, coming to the Lord in prayer, reading solid yet understandable theology books (I have some good recommendations in that regard, if anyone's interested), and learning from other believers. In this way, our faith can grow stronger every day, and withstand even the worst of trials.

So, that is about all I have to say about that episode. It helps us remember truths about answered and unanswered prayer, shows us to have more tolerance of those whose theological beliefs may differ somewhat from ours, and inspires us to better grow in our faith and thus become stronger believers. I'd say those are messages that even someone as cynical and skeptical as Daria could agree with.

That's about it for this episode of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep your eyes open for new entries, I have a few ideas I'm working on. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!