Book Review: The Bourne Identity

Today, I would like to share a book that I very much enjoyed. The book is The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. So, please, enjoy the following book review.

   Robert Ludlum's 1980 New York Times bestseller, The Bourne Identity, is an incredible thriller that immerses and captures the reader from the get-go. Reading Bourne is like walking through a maze; there are surprises at every turn and you never know what will come at you next. Not until the last page do you actually know all the answers. Literally, the very last page. All throughout the book, Mr. Ludlum has us wondering, "Who is Jason Bourne?"

   Ludlum lays before us a man, fished out of the sea, riddled with bullets and plagued with amnesia. His face has been surgically altered and a frame of microfilm has been implanted in his hip. Jason Bourne is being hunted down by a murderous assassin named Carlos. He is racing for his life; towards what, though, he is unsure.

   Robert Ludlum's style of writing is one to be commended. It is descriptive and artistic. While sometimes the dialogue can be difficult to navigate and the book is long, its pace rarely slows down. I was quite impressed by it all.

   I unfortunately can't say too much about the plot of the story without giving important parts away. But I can say that it's well put together, and has no holes or missing parts. I also have to note that sometimes Bourne's outlook on life can be depressing and kind of repetitive, but that's really my only qualm with this book. The rest of it is awesome, and I highly recommend it.

~Ian James~

Music Review: Abandon-Control

The Christian group Abandon, who signed onto ForeFront Records in late 2007, just recently released a new album. Control, the band's sophomore album, hit iTunes on April 19, 2011. The new band has enjoyed much popularity, in and out of Christian circles. Their new album is packed with incredible songs from start to finish; from track 1 to track 13. The band's sound has been compared to the group The Killers. How true this is, I can't really say, because I haven't heard much from that band. One thing I can say is how much I love this album. By now, you're probably wondering why. Well, let me tell you.

The album Control has a contemporary, clean sound to it. Not a lot of heavy sounds, but plenty of upbeat synthesizer mixes. It's a sound that just about anyone can enjoy. Let me give a little breakdown:

Guitar: Light, clean; few effects.

Bass: Often prominent, impressive.

Drums: Relatively simple beats, nice sound.

Synthesizer: Light, clean; prominent; well-put together.

Vocals: Very nice leads; good backgrounds; nice harmonies.

All these instruments come together to form a good sound reminiscent of your favorite alternative-type band. Definitely a good sound. It all works very well together.

The songs as individuals are impressive. Each song is a hit, and I enjoy every one. The best, by far, is Feel It In Your Heart. An upbeat call for us to mean what we say and say what we mean, and feel our commitment to God in the depths of our heart.

Other favorites are, in chronological order, Live It Out, S.O.S, Your Love Goes On, and New Year's Day. All these songs infuse alternative-type rock with positive lyrics urging us to be closer to God. That definitely seems to be the overall theme of this record; repentance, forgiveness, and spiritual closure with our Lord. I find it inspiring as well as fun. Definitely worth listening to. Why not give it a listen?

~Ian James~

40 Days and 40 Nights: A Lenten Letter

40 Days and 40 Nights:

A Lenten Letter.

This past Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent; 40 days and 40 nights leading up to the death of our Lord, Jesus. My parish priest explained Lent as a time of sacrifice, repentance, and almsgiving. I found this to be enlightening; his outlook on Lent was refreshing. He made me realize that I had been looking at Lent all wrong, and I'd like to share this experience with you.

New Perspective

The way I had looked at Lent before was as a time of sacrifice, which is correct, but I was still regarding it in the wrong sense of the words. A time of sacrifice, yet not the type of sacrifice I was envisioning. The type of sacrifice I had always seen was me giving something up as repentance for all past (and present... and future) wrongdoings. But I didn't realize that there were other types of sacrifice beyond the physical or self-denying. In fact, one of the greatest ways to sacrifice is to give to others, if only in increments of time. This is the almsgiving Father talked about. Sometimes, we take our time for granted, and sometimes we hoard it all to ourselves. What better way to break ourselves of these selfish habits than to share it with others, whether family, friend, or stranger. I know that I will try my best to sacrifice my time to others, and hopefully you will also be inspired to do so.

Time for Celebration

Lent tends to be a dreary time of the year for me, in several ways. Aesthetically, the snow is melting and everything is wet and muddy; depressing, right? And then just the season itself. Lent has none of the excitement Advent does as it leads up to Christmas; Lent, instead of Christ's birth, is leading up to Christ's death. Not exactly upbeat, now is it? Actually, it is. Who would've thought death could be so joyful? Yet, it is. It is because we know that Jesus gave His life on the cross for our spiritual freedom. It is because we know that without His sacrifice, we would be lost. It is because we know that, in three days, He will rise again, unharmed. So, in the past, I have been wrong. Lent is actually a time for celebration. True, it is our fault He must die on the cross. However, while we must feel sorry for our sins, we should focus more on the fact that we may now enter into Heaven and stay there with our Lord.

  

Feed the body; feed the soul

Lent is a good time to get closer to our Lord, and there are many good ways to do so. My two favorites are praying the rosary and reading the Bible. Let's start with the rosary. One indication that praying the rosary is good for you is that Mary asks us to pray it, and it contains the Our Father, which Jesus tells us to pray. After I pray the rosary, I always feel as though a huge load of weight is lifted of my chest. I can't explain it, really. It just takes the pressure away.

Then, as for reading the Bible, it's God's word and Jesus' teachings. Why wouldn't it be good for your spiritual life? I understand, however, that reading the Good Book can be a dry, uninteresting task. Therefore, I have some suggestions that point to the more interesting parts of God's word.

Psalms: Ah, sweet music. When you read the psalms (Psalms 1, 4, and 23 are some of my favorites.), try to imagine music being played along to the lyrics. It definitely helps to make them more interesting.

Proverbs: The book that comes after Psalms in most Bibles. The nice thing about Proverbs is that it is a series of very short sayings and teachings that are easy to read and usually easy to understand. Very little thinking is required here.

The Gospel According to Mark: For the New Testament, Mark is a good way to go. First of all, it is the shortest of all the canonical gospels and, in my opinion, one of the easiest to follow. If you are looking for the Wisdom of Jesus, this is a good place to start.

The Revelations of John: As my last suggestion, I present to you the Book of the Apocalypse. I am honestly surprised that this book has not been made into a movie. It is a gory, horrific, and violent recount of the end of the world as presented by God. But, as it is the end of the world, who would expect otherwise? For an engaging, interesting, yet spiritual piece of literature, look no further.

So now, when you feel the need for spiritual nourishment, you have an inkling of where to look. May the words in red guide you home.

Well, there you have it. My Lenten letter. Hopefully it has inspired you, or at least interested you. If you only take away the meaning of one thing, just remember that through God, anything is possible. Through God, mountains will be moved.

Peace in Christ,

    Ian James.

Sonnets

In English class today, I learned about sonnets, both the Italian and English kind. As a project, I was given a task to write a sonnet. After experimenting with the sonnet rhyme scheme, I wrote Sonnet I. I enjoyed it so much that I decided to write a second, and then a third one. And so, without further ado, here they are. Jouir!

Sonnet I:

The Romance of Virtue

The virtues God-given, in love so divine,

No pride, no malice, no lust shall I endure.

May the patience and the virtue of love ever be mine,

So that the path to Ever-life be so sure.

Pride, the emotion of thyself as demure,

True, this emotion, this attitude I won’t condone.

Lust, to mine senses, there is no appeal, no lure,

So that my family, my relations, won’t be in Heaven, alone.

Malice I’ve suppressed, it has never, will never have grown,

To avoid temptation is my goal, my hope, my will.

May it be the Lord’s will as well, not just my own,

That I be holy, pure, untainted forever still.

If I walk in his footsteps daily, I pray,

I will see his face, his full, unrestrained glory someday.

Sonnet II:

The Romance of Emotion

Emotions like water, clear and transparent, yet reflective

Of what lies within the man, within the soul.

They express all that is inside, they are not protective,

Of what lies within the man, they do not withhold.

Emotions are dangerous, difficult to control,

But it is possible, with practice, to do so.

Sometimes, without a doubt, in our humanity, we’ll fall,

But it is possible to recover, you must know.

Though frosty winds may at your heart blow,

Never relent, never show fear, stay with the Lord.

Though over your heart, indifference may grow,

Never relent, never let go, stay with the Lord.

The romance of emotions is their ability to make you look good,

But they can sometimes make you do things you never would.

This last sonnet is in a modified form of my own. Instead of only having four sections, this one has eight. Some people may argue that it is now no longer a sonnet. Let them; I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

Sonnet III:

Storm of Indifference

Why do you look at me in such a way,

As to tease me, and to lay before me the very fires of Hell?

Then leave me in such a way,

That what your true purpose was, I can never tell?

You are a storm of indifference, blowing so hard, so fierce.

You let go to waste everything in your path,

Man’s heart, you hesitate not to pierce.

You are a storm of grey wrath.

You are a storm of indifference, blowing with no heed to the world,

You tempt us all like Satan in the garden to Eve.

You care not for the disaster you leave behind on the world,

You look only at whose life next you will enter and leave.

You are a storm of indifference, blowing angrily without cause,

You plan to break us with your graceful fury,

Trouble and anger with no pause.

Growing until my vision is hazy, my sense of direction, blurry.

You are a storm of indifference, blowing hard and long,

My heart you rend, of my life you relieve me,

Your power and hold over me you find is strong.

You fly over my head and tempt my heart, woo me.

You are a storm of indifference, blowing in my face,

You twirl and playact so well to draw me in,

But now I know that you intend to put me in my place.

I have no joy, my mouth finds it hard to smile or grin.

You are a storm of indifference, and I have just now reached the Eye.

Now I have escaped you, you are no match for my Strength,

I am free to soar without you, without you I am free to fly.

Finally, I am saved from you, from you I’m saved, at length.

You are a storm of indifference, but you are not for me,

My Lord and Savior has banished you and set me free.

The Life and Times of Me: A Teenager's Outlook On Life.

February 8, 2012
The Life and Times of Me: A Teenager's Outlook On Life.
Ian James



Hello, subscribers. Welcome to my blog, "What's The Deal?!" This is my first blog, so bear with me. Hopefully you'll find it interesting. You may be wondering what the blog will be about. Well, as the title of this post indicates, it's about me; about my life. My life in South Korea and my life afterwards as I head off to college. I'll have movie reviews, book reviews, and music reviews as well. I may put in quotes that have inspired me. I may share short stories or poems that I have written. Whatever strikes me as something someone else might share my interest for. But, as with all introductions, a short bio is in order...
I am a teenage boy living on an Army post in South Korea. I can tell you that being an American in a foreign country is different. The language barrier always makes for interesting conversation. Thank God for international hand gestures. As if living in a foreign country wasn't enough adventure (it isn't really...), throw in the fact that I'm an Army brat on top of that and you get a very adventurous life. My family takes trips to the city of Seoul all the time. We've visited museums, palaces, and other popular landmarks. It's pretty amazing to visit a city of 10 million people. And slightly crowded.

My life right now consists of finishing my senior year of high school, playing my guitar, and reading/writing. Senior year doesn't deserve much attention, for several reasons. 1) It's not that interesting, and 2) I'll be happier when its over. Don't get me wrong, I like learning. I just don't enjoy being told what to learn.

As for the guitar, I've been playing for a year and two months. For anyone who's interested, I have a black Ibanez Gio Starter guitar. Nothing fancy, I know, but it serves me well.

Now, this is where I talk about my true passions; reading and writing. I've been reading since first grade, and writing ever since I could read. I started my first book when I was seven. After 8 years, I managed to reach page 50. Then I decided to scrap the book and move on. I still have the idea tucked away in the deepest recesses of my notes. Two years and many short stories later, I decided to try again at the novel-writing game. Page 50 on this book has come and gone, and I'm as determined as ever to finish my first book.


Finally, I've come to the future. My future, anyway. College is approaching fast; I search the mail daily for an acceptance letter. University of New Hampshire is my target school, but I've applied to the University of Colorado at Boulder as well. Possible majors are Education, Computer Engineering, and Computer Science. As for career, I've applied to the Air Force ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps). If accepted, I'll go to college for four years with the ROTC program. Afterwards, I will serve as an officer with a starting rank of Second Lieutenant for at least four years. My plan, however, is to serve the full 20 years and retire from the military at the age of 42.


So, there you have it. The Life and Times of Me. That's all I've got for you this time around. See you next post.

~Ian James~

Quote: "When you do not know what you are doing and what you are doing is the best—that is inspiration."
                                                                                                                    -Robert Bresson.