When Michelle and I got back from the theatre Saturday, she sent an incendiary e-mail to the corporate offices of Regal Cinema. She got a response tonight that said they will be sending some free passes for our trouble. Cool.

We were at a bookstore this afternoon (it isn't hard to imagine that), and I saw a magazine that features Bob Dylan on the cover. The lead article is an in-depth look at the making of his epic "Blood on the Tracks" album, the release of which occurred in January 1975 (30 years ago). This is my fav Dylan album of all time, so I had to have the magazine. The mag also came with a free CD of several artists covering some of Dylan's best work. Cool.

I read several of the essays in my first Passion book today. The most interesting to me was one that discussed how it appears that Jews and Christians can watch the film, and come away with opinions that suggested they had watched two completely different films. It reminded me of a conversation I had in a Bible study that was led by my Greek professor. We were talking about how each of us has our own sense of reality. I stated that I would never know why some women see the need to own 72 pairs of shoes, and how most women will never understand how some men can watch football for 18 hours on a Saturday or Sunday. My professor responded, "Isn't that why we read, so that we can understand someone else's position?" I stated that I could read all the books in the world by African-American authors, yet I would still never KNOW what it is like to be black. Maybe I could empathize more, but not know.

It's the same way with the Passion. No one I have spoken with came away from that movie blaming Jews for anything, yet many Jews in the media felt they were being blamed for Christ's death. I will never know what it is like to be Jewish, so I try to understand their plight, although I cannot appreciate it fully.

Tomorrow, I plan on doing some cleaning, and some more reading.

I saw a TV ad earlier for a brokerage house that featured the Airplane song, "Volunteers." I got to thinking about how that brokerage firm is likely run by a CEO who is a wealthy middle-aged white man, the same kind of person who likely was listening to that song while marching against the Vietnam War, and speaking subversive about corporate America. Interesting paradox, I think. As uncle Bob once said, "The times, they are a-changing." Maybe they already have. Maybe they always are.

Have you heard about the University of Colorado professor, Ward Churchill, who is in a major firestorm for writing an essay in which he likened the victims of 9-11 to German Nazis, and suggesting they got what they deserved? He had a speaking engagement at a small college in upstate NY cancelled, and has resigned the chairmanship of his department at UC. Many people are calling for his job, but I think now matter how insane someone's opinion may be, freedom of speech is more important than PC. I do think that he should be censured by the University, because as a state employee, he should not be able to use his job as a platform for such nonsense. Here is an article written by a fellow professor about the controversy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful evening. Peace...