Last Saturday, Rose and I gave the missionaries and a young woman they are teaching a ride to the DC Temple visitor's center for a tour and to see the Joseph Smith movie. In order for this to make sense, you must first know that the young woman is living with a member of our ward and is here from Japan to study English.
Not at all by coincidence, there was a Japanese sister at the visitor's center. So, we had the tour in Japanese and saw the movie in Japanese.
Most of the movies I've seen in Japanese usually involve ninjas, samurai, or a combination of the two. So it was difficult for me not to be disappointed/confused about some of the things that happened in the film. For example, the scene where Joseph rebukes the guards in Liberty Jail is a famous story that depicts the power of the prophet as he silenced the men while he stood behind bars and in chains.
Well, for me, the Japanese voices they choice for the goons, and the powerful voice they chose for the prophet, combined with the camera angles they chose, made me expect the chains to snap, Joseph to karate chop his way out of the bars and then samurai slash the goons ala Beatrice Kiddo. Of course, that didn't happen. That period of American history and costumery combined with the Japanese dubbing also got me thinking that it was a steampunk, alternate universe where the Japanese had conquered the world and so everyone in 19th century america spoke Japanese, but looked like anglos. Anyway, this probably has more to do with the kinds of Japanese movies I like, rather than anything about the Joseph Smith movie.
One more thing about the film that doesn't have anything to do with the Japanese dubbing. The film ended with the assassination in Carthage jail, which was (and always is) quite a moving scene because it reminds me of who Joseph was and what he did for the world through the power of Christ. I think everyone who believes feels some sort of special attachment to the prophet, and so reevaluating his death is usually an emotional and spiritual experience. However, the last scene cut the feeling short for me.
As the scene is ending, the camera goes towards and then out the window, pointing up into the sky and the sun while heroic music plays in the background. For me, the emotional effect was great. I felt a connection, I remembered my testimony of Joseph, but then a transparent profile of Joseph's head appears in the clouds and then turns and looks into the camera. This instantly made me think of this... 
... which made me laugh.
Even still, there was a lovely spirit throughout the whole film, and we had a good conversation afterwards where we got to tell the young woman why we were members of the church, and why we believed in God. It was nice to bear testimony and share what I believe and what makes me happy with someone else. I think she really enjoyed the visit and the Japanese sister is going to begin teaching her, so I think that will be a huge help. Overall, it was a wonderful experience.
We're both doing well and I'm very excited for this week without having to go to school. I still have quite a bit of homework to do, but I think we'll still have time to have a little fun. We've been hoping to catch the Dark Night at the Imax for the last month and this weekend is the last weekend they'll be showing it, so I hope we make it. Neither of us has seen it yet. I'm also excited about this movie and this movie and if I'm honest, this one as well. Oh and also, Star Trek.
I have a badish cough right now and I thought maybe some Sprite would help clear my throat a little. However, Jordan was the last person to open and close the Sprite bottle, and he likes to screw the cap on really tight so it preserves all its pleasurable fizziness. I tried unscrewing the cap with my bear hands and ended up with cap burn that still hurts. I tried using a dishcloth to create more friction and protect my fragile hands, but it just slid around the outside of the cap. I put on my leather glove and tried opening the bottle, hoping the leather would give me a better grip. That didn't work either.
Finally I got out Jordan's vice grip, and even though I fastened it on pretty tightly, it still took several minutes to open the rotten thing. I've decided that either Jordan must be very strong or I must be very weak. Seriously, why do we need a vice grip when we have Jordan's hands? Maybe Jordan is a super hero? (Hm. That means maybe they'll make a movie of him...which means maybe we'll be rich!)
The Sprite did alleviate the cough a little, but it also gave me a terrible case of the hiccups.
We went down to the inauguration happenings on Tuesday to try and get a glimpse of our new president or maybe someone else famous. We didn't see anyone famous, but we sure saw a lot of people. Getting on the train at our stop at Stadium-Armory was easy, although our normally bare streets were lined with cars and tour buses. Getting off the Metro at
L'Enfant Plaza took some time. We had to wait in line to walk up the two sets of escalators.
Once we got out of the Metro, it was people, people, people basically the whole time. There were all kinds of people, everywhere.
We tried to get into the Mall, but it was full of people and they weren't letting anyone else in. I guess some people who had tickets still couldn't get in. Eventually, we ended up at 15th and Independence, near the Washington Monument, which is basically all we could see besides people, people, people.
So we couldn't see, but we could hear most of the time, except when motorcycle policeman kept rode by with their sirens on or during the invocation (which I appreciated) when a young woman started screaming expletives via cell phone at her friend about whose fault it was that they got separated. Otherwise, it was a wonderful experience. The swearing in was great, even if there was a hiccup, and the inaugural address was great to hear live. I really liked many of the things he said, especially this:
Our challenges may be new. "The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends — hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism — these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task."
After the speech we decided it would best to start heading home. We decided it would take to long to wait for a train so we walked the 4 miles back home. It was quite fun because we got to see a lot on the way and we were bundled up in many layers, so we didn't get too cold.
Everyone else had similar ideas, because there were people around us the whole time. It was cool to see everyone out and about. Some even decided to take the freeway.
By the time we got home, we were ready to be there. All in all, it was an awesome experience. There was so much energy and excitement and hope in the air. It was exciting to get a new president, but what really impressed me was the throngs and throngs of people. If there's one thing that Obama has done he's brought people together. It was wonderful to see people from many different races, religions, ethnicities, countries, beliefs, etc, all enjoying a cold morning together. I hope it stays that way. It was a wonderful, unifying feeling. Some might call it brotherly love or goodwill towards all men (and women). It was nice.