Up On High

Toy Story 3: Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:51:00 +0000

This week, Windell reviews the Pixar film, Toy Story in 3D.

"I thought it was awesome. It's Toy Story. It's a classic."

Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

Movie Review: Recap of Windell's Movie Reviews- or at least some thus far

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:12:00 +0000

Practically each week, Windell shares his thoughts of the movies he's seen recently. In Youth Group, we've discussed how we continue to find Jesus speaking to us through stories and film. Additionally, we've become mesmerized by Windell's succinct recaps of the movie's he's seen. So, in a meshing of styles, we present to you our latest recurring segment: Windell's Movie Reviews. Before we officially launch this, let us re-cap on some of the movies Windell has already seen:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

"I just bought the DVD. What do you think? I liked it a lot."
Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

Hannah Montana: The Movie "I liked it. It was good."
Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

9 "I liked it. It was good."
Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

Surrogates Warning: Spoiler Alert.
"I liked it. It was good. There was a lot of action. Bruce Willis saves the world."
Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

Napoleon Dynamite "I didn't really care for it."
Click here for review & discussion from Christianity Today

Gearing Up For Lent

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 07:12:00 +0000

We listened to the sounds of The Sounds this evening.

So, per request we present you:

We started our Super-Lenten-Series a week early tonight in preparation of Lent. Some Scripture-reading, sharing, nailing push-pins to wood (long story), the Boy Scout finding an easier way to extract push-pins from said wood, and closing prayer with our snazzy new Youth Group candle. We're looking at things we can improve on, whether it's choices we've made, choices we make, and what we find ourselves doing with our time.

We are preparing ourselves to use the next 40-days to let the Spirit guide us and be with us as we reflect and take on new (or old) challenges.

Matisyahu opens up with his song, Sea to Sea, which includes lyrics straight out of Scripture, "Open up my lips and my mouth shall declare Your praise." And only Matisyahu can pull it off in Hebrew & English to a killer reggae beat. So, please enjoy:

Reminder:
There's no Youth Group next week because of Ash Wednesday.

Getting ready for Lent

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:45:00 +0000

We're gearing up for Lent, so we did a lot of catching up on what's going on with everyone this week before we get extra-biblical next month. C.C. was kind of surprised by this when she responded with , "Damn! Jesus was just born and now he's gonna die again?!" :)

Next week, we look at WWYD, WWJD, Valentine's Day, Love, Dating, and calendering for the rest of the year.

Unofficial Movie night this Friday:
Coraline around 7ish at Bayfair. Unofficial meaning that it just so-happens that a bunch of us are going to be there and YOYO (you're on your own) for transportation, tickets, and snacks.

In-N-Out Rumor -- Officially UNTRUE

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 06:35:00 +0000

That's right:

Straight from the source, there is NO SUCH THING as 10, 15, 25 cent deals at In-N-Out on Wednesday, the 22nd. But, you're more than welcome to stop by and buy a bunch of regularly priced food for us on the way to Youth Group :)

Official Link:
http://www.in-n-out.com/AniversarystatementSeperate.asp

However, the rumor about bible verses being on the cups, containers, and wrappers is totally true!

God's Invitations - and Zombie video

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:33:00 +0000

We talked a little about people in our lives who God worked through, inviting us back to Him. God's invitation doesn't expire. Sometimes, we find that it keeps coming back in different versions, through different people. How has God extended an invitation to you?

Has it been through people in your life? If so, who?

But we are not just on the receiving end. God is using us too. How are YOU reaching out to others?

And I know, it's a weird combination. But since we DID bring this up on Wednesday, here it is:

The Cranberries-Zombie - the Cranberries

And just to keep things nice and diverse, here is a nice musical clip that fits in perfectly with our economic times:

Back from the rally

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:03:00 +0000

We're back!!!
We've been a little more occupied with the rally. But I think it's safe to say that we've fully recovered... and when we re-grouped, we noticed a few things:
- We forgot to take pictures DURING the event. Most of our pictures are from afterwards.
- Diego isn't in ANY of our pictures. But we assure you, he WAS there. We have witnesses :)

Our theme this year was "Wii Belong" and we REALLY went for it with our Halo-themed T-shirts. Lance gets props for our t-shirt design, especially for the back, which was in full-color. Chu Chu gets props for preparing an eloquent explanation of how it fits as a church-shirt (in case anyone asked).

Steve Angrisano did a keynote, workshop, AND music for mass while SVdP's Seldom Seen Acting Co. did a performance at the other workshop. Lunchtime activities included basketball, a bungee-thing, parachute, crafts, and other things. Mass was celebrated with St. Bede's regular Sat. parishioners and various priests from participating parishes. Windell's favorite chicken was on the menu for dinner and I don't know anyone in our group who did not have a good time at the dance. Seriously. After a slideshow of the day, we closed with prayer and finally took pictures of ourselves as a group. Enjoy:

Youth Rally 2008

T-Shirts and Fundraising

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:03:00 +0000

We've finally decided on a theme for our rally T-shirts this year. Jumping on the video-gaming theme of this year's rally, we've toyed with Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and even GTA- but it seems that HALO is our clear winner. Woo hoo!

Now, we'll just have to tinker with a few more details. Don't forget that we need to add the parish name on the back. The tinkering needs to be done in the next week and a half so we can get them in production and ready to wear in time for the rally.

Speaking of which, we'll begin fundraising to cover Rally admission, shirts, and lunch -- and hopefully have enough left over to cover our weekly snacks. We're starting with rootbeer floats & ice cream at 10:30am & 1pm mass this weekend followed by the ever-popular nachos the following weekend.

Confrontation

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 01:07:00 +0000

Not even Jesus had quick-fix answers on how to deal with confrontation. So, how is it that Dr. Phil or anyone else is going to be able to help us? Jesus reminds us about a few things this week:

1. Things aren't always going to go our way
2. People aren't going to always be receptive
3. Talk to and get help from others- Jesus' line is always open.
4. Sometimes you just have to shake the dirt from your sandals and move on.
5. You are never alone (see #3)

This week's video was a hard pick, but we're going on a limb and this latest from T.I. This song is his personal response to what others percieve of him. It's his artistic form of confrontation:

Jesus said to his disciples: "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that 'every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

Taking up your cross

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:27:00 +0000

This was originally sent to us via email.. but it seems so fitting for this week:

We complain about the cross we bear but don’t realize it is preparing us for the dip in the road that God can see and we cannot.

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to exchange his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct."

So, along those lines.. a few videos to enjoy and ponder:

Rocky Rocks

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:20:00 +0000

Personal issues are tough to deal with. Especially when they involve the people who we normally reach out to. What do we do. How do react? Do others influence our decisions or feelings? Sometimes we lash out and it's not how we truly are. We're not at our best when we're hurt. But God doesn't give up on us. We fail, but we're not completely hopeless. We talked about some of that and forgiveness.

Then we looked at this Sunday's gospel reading. Peter, the guy who doubted, fell, and turned his back was still chosen by Jesus. And we talked about how we are all Christian leaders.. Yeah, we are. How do we feel about where we are with that?

It seemed easier to pick out our faults and give reasons why we WOULDN'T make great leaders, but we have to remember that God sees potential in us and never gives up... so we shouldn't give up on ourselves either. We might be rocky rocks, but we're all pretty good strong rocks.

Your food-for-thought video for the week: - why would we pick this?

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciple to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus And Dinos

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:15:00 +0000

A certain person in our group has brought up Dino-Jesus a time or two.. You know who you are. So, in his honor, though it is not THE Dino-Jesus, it's the next best thing:

Learning From Others - Jesus get's schooled?

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 23:15:00 +0000

So, Jesus is doing his thing, walking on by and a non-Jew asks him for his help. He explains in a weird way that he's just there for the Jews, and then she sort of says, "Hey, well... even a dog's gotta eat." He acknowledges her faith and helps her out. So.. did Jesus just get schooled or was this just another example of his teaching others? Maybe it's a little of both.

There are people in our lives who challenge us. We know who they are. They test our patience, test our beliefs, and test our tolerance of others. We talked a little about those experiences and how they re-affirm things about ourselves. Through those moments, we learn how patient we can be, how tolerant we are, and what exactly we believe.

Who are some people that challenge you?

What do you learn about yourself from that experience?

Next week we start gearing up for our Freshman Welcome Night (Aug 27) and do another round of "What's in the Bag."

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pit on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus' disciples came and asked him, "Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us." He said in reply, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Isreal." But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, "Lord, help me." He said in reply, "It is not right to take the food the children and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Please Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters." Then Jesus said to her in reply, "O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish." And the woman's daughter was healed from that hour.

Our Stormy Times

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:10:00 +0000

We ate too many chips tonight

and re-capped where we had left off last week..

Remember.. the loaves and fishes.

What little do we have to offer others?

How can we use that?

How does Jesus help?

This week, Peter gets off the boat, freaks out because of the storm, and calls out to Jesus to help him (see this Sunday's Gospel reading below).

We looked at our own personal "storms," how our faith helps us (or challenges us), and what exactly we do that gets us through. Sometimes, it's a friend on the phone or something as simple as a stranger's smile. Other times, we seem to connect with a song or particular type of music.

Is there a song or type of music that seems to calm your own personal "storm?" Bring what you have next Wednesday. We'll be listening with open ears and open hearts.

In the meantime, let's enjoy as Chris Brown tells us all how he won't let me fall:

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The Reason

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 09:22:00 +0000

Summer is winding down and we're almost ready to... well. Most of us are just dealing with what is right now.
Tonight, we did some overdue checking in to see how we're all doing. Some common themes came up and a song started coming out of it.
Feel free to enjoy and or reflect:

We're Getting Liturgical

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 04:02:00 +0000

Youth Group is coming back with a vengance this school year. We'll be looking at the readings for the coming Sunday's readings and look at how that applies to our actual everyday lives. Our weekly check-in, games, and closing prayer will remain the same- but you'll have a better idea of what theme we'll be discussing if you check out the readings in advance.
Oh, and stay tuned for the pics and video I shot while away for World Youth Day.
Peace, L2
This Sunday's readings:
http://www.usccb.org/nab/072708.shtml

Movie Music Videos

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:09:00 +0000

After seeing Lars and the Real Girl and posting the movie trailer, I thought about other movies I've seen that make pretty decent music videos and/or movie summaries. So, for no other reason other than these are pretty good, please enjoy: (the first is a little gritty and the second is a cute little Jane Austen thing)

Children of Men (R) - Apocalypse Please by Muse

Persuasion (2007) - Run by Snow Patrol

Things we forgot to post about

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 23:33:00 +0000

Lock-In: It should have been re-named "Playstation & Wii with other stuff night" because the videogaming dominated this year. The next one tentatively scheduled for sometime in December.

Ask A Priest Night: It was great. Diana read our questions aloud to Fr. Nick, who stumped us all
by answering them all... even the "anonymous" question about aliens. Fr. Nick mentioned "The Day The Earth Stood Still," which sounds like the perfect flick for our next movie night.

Jeopardy: After a completely unfair skewing of points and scoring, Chu Chu and Windell's team finally won the game formerly dominated by Diana and Pedro.

A's Game: Well, we didn't win, but at least we got a good deal on hotdogs. ha ha. The forest fires gave us an eerie sunset and we had lots of opportunities to shout things - perfectly PG-rated things.. You know, like the kinds of things Jesus would probably shout during the game. Our praying must have paid off because we came back to win the game the following day.

Uninvited Guest Request

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:52:00 +0000

If you haven't provided your upcoming graduation or other end-of-the-year event information, it will make it hard for me and others to happily show up as uninvited guests :) I don't know about you, but I've waited all year to make a complete fool of myself in a bleacher full of relatives on your behalf. The more advance notice you provide will help us get a larger cheering section for you. Congratulations!

Lock-In prep

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 00:28:00 +0000

We're getting ready for our Lock-In this Friday and my not so subtle hints at the "at the door admission" being $10 instead of $5 has led to people handing in thier permission forms earlier than ever. Nice.
At Principal Margaret's reception this Sunday, someone graciously offered to bake us cookies, so early arrivers will have first dibs on the fresh-baked treats. Another new addition to our all-night menu are our hit-selling nachos. Yum!

Movie/Game Night Tonight

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 30 May 2008 22:19:00 +0000

Woo Hoo!

Things We Haven't Done - things to do before leaving the Bay

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:08:00 +0000

Our high school seniors are leaving us soon (sniffle sniffle) and last night we talked about a few things we'd like to do before they go.. Bowling, mini-golfing, field-trip, etc.. and then we talked about individual things each of us hadn't done before. Like, going to Costco, eating at Carl's Jr., eating at In-N-Out, going to Bay to Breakers..
which brings to mind a question that I've had for a while: What sort of things would we put on a "To do/visit list" for people before they leave the Bay Area? Hmmm....

It's getting HOT!

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:40:00 +0000

Last week we whipped out the water buckets and almost made ourselves sick with the cold. This week, it's blazing hot. So, we'll be waterballooing for the first hour-- just to make use of all the leftover waterballoons that we didn't break last year.

Lars And The Real Girl- Not in Oakland!

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:59:00 +0000

We had a funny moment last week when some of us arrived to Youth Group WAY earlier than usual and began watching, "Lars and the Real Girl." As time past, and more people arrived, we tried to stop the movie a few times, only to be told that we should leave it on. I guess there's something about watching a guy and an entire town interact with a life-sized doll that just captures everyone's attention :) It was a sweet, endearing story, even though it was certainly a bit odd. There were lots of questions and discussion topics afterwards, but perhaps the most poignant moment for me was when someone shouted during the movie, "That would NEVER happen in Oakland!"

The story is fictional, of course, but in this city, our experience is that people would not be so accommodating and accepting of this extreme dilusion. What would it take for this to happen in Oakland? What would it take to have people care about each other this much? Isn't that what our faith is to us?

We, as Christians and as Catholics believe in some pretty amazing things... aren't some of those things seemingly impossible? Like, having an entire community rally around the delusion of one man (Lars), I don't think it's impossible for something this to happen in Oakland. It might be HARD, it might take a while, but I believe that if we rally around each other, loving each other like Jesus loved each of us, we can achieve the impossible.

In case you're curious, here's the movie trailer, which actually does a pretty good job of summarizing the film.

Sorry and Laura's overdue apology to Barry Zito

noreply@blogger.com (L2) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 23:11:00 +0000

I was at a meeting earlier today where the talk turned to
baseball, and of course, my severely overdue apology to Barry Zito. This story almost always comes up in youth group when we are talking about forgiveness or when we find ourselves doing things that we're not proud of. I'm not going to get into the details of what happened, but people still ask me how my letter is coming... because, like the heel that I am, I still haven't finished it, but I tell everyone how horrible I feel about it. Anyway, if you're out there Barry, it's on its way....truly. It was one of my New Year's resolutions.

Coincidentally, guess what we played at our last youth group meeting? Sorry! Between this and the boardgame playing between masses last week, we're thinking of having a plain ol' game night. It's cheap, it's entertaining, and oh, so much fun!!