Prague Praha Prag

This weekend I went to Prague, It was great... just the thing for a little 2 day trip. We left early Saturday morning and returned late Sunday afternoon. We began by de-boarding our charter bus and walking around the city for roughly 6 hours. I would say that is a little to much for a person who doesn't really know much about Prague to begin with. We ate and hiked around the city, to the Palace complex all the way down to the Old Town Hall (we found out what these were later). We got taken advantage of on exchange rates and meal prices... because we didn't know how to easily convert Euros to Crowns. We got up very early Sunday morning and began our tour around the historical center of the city. We retraced our steps for the most part and saw a few extra things. St. Charles' bridge was really cool, even though it had almost 1000 people on it at any point. Overall the Czech Republic was great, but very Americanized and crowded. I suggest getting a tour guide first thing when you get to Prague, otherwise you will have to see everything twice, or just study the history before you arrive and find a self-guided tour.

Prague is a great 2-day city, but I would not want to spend more than 3 days without getting out to the countryside or another area. There is a lot of shopping, but I would not go to Prague just to buy clothes I could get in America. The shopping market for souvenirs is great, but the further away from the historical center you get, the better the prices... so look for shops that aren't surrounded by others just like it.

Bottomline: Prague is a great 2-3 day vacation as a part of a larger trip... but I wouldn't spend your whole savings planning a trip to Prague.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Recently my girlfriend and I went to see "The Time Traveler's Wife." I'll be completely honest, there was only one reason I wanted to see this movie... Rachel McAdams. The movie is actually a very fresh take on the romance movie. The nudity, every time that the guy travels through time, got out of hand in my opinion, I don't like seeing a naked man every ten minutes or so. And the fact that the man falls in love with a young girl, that he waits for, was rather weird too. On the other hand, I liked that it was creative. I also enjoyed that they came up against odds to be together, and have a child. It was simply a story of love, and they did do it in a fresh way.  Overall the movie was entertaining, however it wasn't my idea of a great movie, especially for a romance.

Bottomline: I would only recommend this to serious romantic movie lovers.
Score: 77

Inglourious Basterds

"Inglourious Basterds"

I've never been much of a Tarantino fan, so I was hesitant to get my hopes up about this movie. However violence, has always intrigued me. The thought of American-Jews fighting Nazis seemed like a new take on an old theme. Inglourious was actually not set up like I thought it would be; it was set up like a book, in chapter format. Most chapters, were one long scene, in one place, with a few exceptions. There was less action scenes than I expected, however the over-the-top gore that Tarantino is known for, does make an appearance. The story was more complex than I thought, so in that regard the movie overcame expectations. Overall the movie was very entertaining, but way to long.

Score: 80
Bottomline: I recommend this movie, for people who appreciate gore and don't mind language. Not for your average movie goer.

Changing of my blog.

I've decided to test my skills as a movie critic. So this blog isn't going to have the same function that it used to. As a disclaimer I would like to say that I am still a Christian, and that will factor into part of my reviews.  I just lost the fire to blog about my spiritual thoughts, and I'm going to use this one to review movies... I love movies, so I figure I should be alright at this... If I'm not, I'll quit eventually.

Impact.

Impact is awesome if you haven't been. I'll post my thoughts about it when I get back on saturday! I'm posting little updates on twitter.com/pickleat

The Shack

I just read "The Shack." Like most things that are "hyped-up" I was a little apprehensive. I don't want to give away anything, or a synopsis, but just say a simple message.

Sometimes we take away the healing God can give and sometimes we limit His abilities. God is bigger and can handle our mistakes, I'm so glad that God loves me, and loves you (whoever you are if you are reading). I don't think I'll ever understand why He loves me, but I don't want to question it, because He really has no reason.

Read "The Shack," and pass it on, with the "Missy Project." God's grace needs to be passed around to everyone, whether you believe this book or not, the story is good and it needs to be read.

-Andy

http://theshackbook.com/

Born with a Purpose

Judges 13:5 "You will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and his hair must never be cut. For he will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from birth. He will begin to rescue Israel from the Philistines.”

This passage is The Angel of the LORD speaking to Samson's mother. The Angel is telling here that she will have a child and he is going to lead Israel. Talk about being born for a purpose. Some people struggle in life, wondering what they should do, or who they should be. There is something I believe God, that we are all born with a purpose, that each and every person has a niche or talent that will benefit the kingdom of God. 

Ephesians 1:11 "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will..."

God has a purpose for us too. Imagine if you woke up everyday and lived our lives with purpose, how much more joyful and meaningful would your life be? I'm not speaking to other people here, I'm speaking to myself as well. I think so many times that life is boring, but should it be that way? I'm going to try to live my life for a purpose, the greater purpose is the will of God, specifically... I'm still figuring that out. 

Andy