marramgrass

Living in Edinburgh has its advantages. August is great. The city buzzes with the fun of the festivals, and a walk down the Royal Mile is well worth it to catch some of the street performers plugging their shows. Plenty that are best avoided, but some high quality entertainment alongside.

My favourite advantage right now is the Edinburgh International Film Festival, which offered me the chance to see Serenity last night (if you’re not in the know, it’s the big screen follow-up to Joss Whedon’s tragically short-lived Firefly).

Without spoiling (however much I’d love to), the movie holds a full measure, pressed down and overflowing, of main arc goodness. You get the feeling that Whedon is trying to get as much of his story out there as he possibly can, in case it ends here. There probably would have been a couple of movies’ worth, but you can see why it was done this way. Yet it hints at a whole lot more still to be told, with the scope to expand into something properly epic. Maybe it helps that I’m reading Iain M Banks at the minute – that man does epic right.

Serenity jumps straight in, and doesn’t let up for a whole two hours (although I suspect it might shed a few seconds before it goes on general release, if they want a 15). Some of the action is beautiful, and it has an intensity on the big screen that isn’t often there in Firefly.

If you liked the show, you’ll like the film. The good bits are all present and correct – heart, humour, quirky dialogue – with some extra darkness. Firefly ranks among my favourite TV shows, and Serenity lives up to it.

No, it’s not perfect. The first five or ten minutes feel a little self-conscious until it gets into the swing of things (although there are some very nice visual touches to connect with the series), and some of the exposition for the benefit of anyone who isn’t familiar with Firefly is quite clumsy. Actually, I wonder how well it’ll work if you don’t know the show; it just relies too much on previous knowledge. Fine for me, but maybe not for you. I also wonder if too many loose ends have been tied up. Is there anywhere left that it will really go? Perhaps something to fill in the narrative between the series and the film, but probably not. This feels like it will probably be the last shout of a great universe. There is wisdom in that – go out while it’s still good.

And it’s great. As Firefly writ big, it does the job and does it well. I love it.

Yes, I am such a fanboy. But then, I don’t have a ‘Joss Whedon is my master now’ t-shirt. Yet.

A serious look at the end of the world:

Destroying the Earth is harder than you may have been led to believe.

You’ve seen the action movies where the bad guy threatens to destroy the Earth. You’ve heard people on the news claiming that the next nuclear war or cutting down rainforests or persisting in releasing hideous quantities of pollution into the atmosphere threatens to end the world.

Fools.

The Earth was built to last. It is a 4,550,000,000-year-old, 5,973,600,000,000,000,000,000-tonne ball of iron. It has taken more devastating asteroid hits in its lifetime than you’ve had hot dinners, and lo, it still orbits merrily. So my first piece of advice to you, dear would-be Earth-destroyer, is: do NOT think this will be easy.

This is not a guide for wusses whose aim is merely to wipe out humanity. I (Sam Hughes) can in no way guarantee the complete extinction of the human race via any of these methods, real or imaginary. Humanity is wily and resourceful, and many of the methods outlined below will take many years to even become available, let alone implement, by which time mankind may well have spread to other planets; indeed, other star systems. If total human genocide is your ultimate goal, you are reading the wrong document. There are far more efficient ways of doing this, many which are available and feasible RIGHT NOW. Nor is this a guide for those wanting to annihilate everything from single-celled life upwards, render Earth uninhabitable or simply conquer it. These are trivial goals in comparison.

This is a guide for those who do not want the Earth to be there anymore.

It’s been quiet round here. Let me tell you why.

On Monday I started my new job, as a care worker in a respite unit for adults with learning disabilities.

This means a couple of things:

I’m doing something that is completely different to anything I’ve ever done before, and I’ll be doing some tasks that are quite daunting when you’ve never had to do them before.

I’ll be learning new things.

It’s not a glamourous job at all, but I’ve been realising already since Monday that it’s a very priviliged one to be providing such care and assistance.

It also means that I’m not a youth worker any more. Which is weird. I’ve been a youth worker since I left school, and now I’m not – not in the same way at least. That was also a privilege, to be paid and so heavily supported to spend so much time doing something I love. I’ll still be doing some youth ministry, in a voluntary capacity (already have been – I think I’m insane).

The plan isn’t to stay away from full-time ministry forever (I don’t think I could, even if I wanted to), but rather to take some time outside the bubble while we play with some thoughts for the future.

(I should add – in case anyone’s wondering – that despite the fact I haven’t mentioned it on here this isn’t a recent or sudden development. I let the church know way back around Christmas that when the summer came I wouldn’t be looking to renew my contract, as I think I’ve been hearing a call to other things. That was a tough decision, and a tough time – I love the work I’ve been doing and the people I’ve been doing it with, but that time has now passed. And the decision was made over several months. Like I said, not easy.)

Anyway, as more developments develop, you’ll hear them on here :-)