My new abode is in the home of Mr. And Mrs. Gotthammer. In their characteristic incredibly generous way, they went all out and set up my own little bear den in their basement, complete with a sign at the entrance saying pretty much the opposite of "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" and decorative posters of bears on the walls.
Yesterday Gotthammer Mike and I went and saw one of the most beautiful films ever made, Zhang Yimou's Hero. Seriously, every single frame was a masterpiece. The martial arts choreography was perfect and the story was surprisingly layered- I won't say much about it, though.
But one thought I did have while watching the movie is that devoting one's life to the perfection of an art or philosophy is not a life wasted. Within the movie we saw a few examples of this, and the movie itself is Zhang Yimou's pinnacle achievement in his chosen field (and the same could be said for Jet Li and the other actors).
Sort of related, but not really, I was reading Parabola magazine today and found an essay on Lord of the Rings which had this quote:

It appears that all Frodo and Gandalf can attempt is to relinquish the use of power so some other new way of living and being can emerge that is not predicated on the use of power. In The Lord of the Rings power cannot defeat power. Only the abandonment of power can truly defeat power. Might does not make right and never will. It can't. It is unnatural and not generative. Only the forsaking of power allows for the possibility of something other than brute force to prevail.
-Donald Raiche

And check out this link, if I was sticking around I would definitely be interested in picking this book up.
I have about ten poobillion other things to tell you guys about but it is time for me to go. I leave you with this zenlike utterance:
It is rare for a bear to care about where.