2011 Cannes Film Festival Week 1

It's hard to believe only a week has passed since graduating from the University Tampa.  Life took complete 180 and now I'm "celebrating" four years of hard work in the south of France at the Cannes Film Festival.  This is my second year attending and it has yet to disappoint.  Work is pretty tough doing twelve hour days and dealing with the language barrier but I've been able to attend two premieres so far. Below are pictures from the opening night of Woody Allen's A Midnight in Paris.  I was able to attend the opening ceremony and see Robert DeNiro, Uma Thurman and Jude Law come in as they are on the festival jury.  Midnight in Paris was a tremendous film and a great selection to kick off the festival.  It was classic Woody Allen with witty jokes and beautiful dialogue.  I'm going to Paris for a few days after Cannes is over and this film got me very excited to get over there.   

Last night I was able to attend the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise for Of Stranger Tides.  Women everywhere were screaming and crying as they laid eyes upon Johnny Depp for his appearance on the red carpet.  It was quite remarkable to be in the same room with him as we all watched him play the savy Jack Sparrow.  The movie was quite entertaining and much better than the third one.  The general complaint from the masses was that it was a bit long.  It did miss Orlando Bloom but Penelope Cruz and Johnny really had quite the on screen chemistry.  Penelope also looked quite stunning on the red carpet last night.  Afterwards I was able to watch Kanye West perform on the beach and it was a great Saturday night in Cannes.  Summit Entertainment (The company I'm working for) has two movies premiering this week.  The much anticipated Tree of Life with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn premieres tomorrow and Tuesday is The Beaver with Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson.  It should be a hectic two days but quite the experience as I will be right in the thick of the action for these two movies.  Time is flying fast but having a great time in Cannes and enjoying every second.  I'll try to keep the posts coming. CHOW

Creation or the Creator?

Romans 1:24-25 "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity...because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator."

The past few weeks I've been challenged with the question of what am I treasuring: creations or the Creator? It's been a tough question to answer as everything in this world is a creation.  Tim Keller says in Counterfeit Gods "The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention. What do you enjoy daydreaming about? What occupies your mind when you have nothing else to think about?"  So my question is what do you treasure? Creations or the Creator?... 

Matthew 6:21 "For where  your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

                                           Video courtesy of DuttonBooks
                                           http://www.youtube.com/user/DuttonBooks

Rays introduce Damon & Manny

Damon and Ramirez showing off their new uniforms

In what was seeming as an abysmal off season for the Tampa Bay Rays, a bright light seem to shine this Tuesday afternoon with the introductions of their two newest players, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez.

With the loss of Matt Garza, Carlos, Pena and Carl Crawford, arguably the foundation of their recent success, most of us wanted to throw in the towel before the season even started.  The combination of losing player personal and trying to compete in the AL East with a fully reloaded Red Sox team, the 2011 season did not look so bright for the Rays.
But with the signing of future Hall of Famers, Johnny Damon and Manny Ramriez, the Rays look to play a "wild card" and offers some hope to fight for the AL East.