I know, this blog is girly in appearance: flowers, the title is a reference to a hair problem, picture is me in pink flowery shoes. But those of us who love the color pink and girly things are also interested in guns and whether or not Americans have the right to own them.
So in 2013 thus far there have been at least four shootings.
What else is dangerous? Planes can be: if one goes down, the odds are bad. Cars are weapons that weigh a few tons and yet they are everywhere. People can easily be run down; motorcycles get hit when cars change lanes without looking. Alcohol is dangerous too. Too many people are alcoholics, they just don't drink in moderation. People drink enough to impair their judgement and increase their reaction time and then try to drive somewhere. Fast food is dangerous. I can go down the street and buy double cheeseburgers for about a buck apiece but organic vegetables always cost more. Lean beef is much more expensive.
Oh, wait a minute! These things can all be okay too! I can't eat fast food several times a week without paying the price. I can't drive like a nut without paying the price; I also cannot be oblivious while driving. No texting, talking on my phone, iPod using, or ignoring my mirrors and anything else on or near the road. I drink maybe 3 drinks a year, and not in the same evening. And I've been invited to go shooting. I plan on going. Yes, a gun. No, I can't guarantee my shooting earmuffs will be pink.
But let's look at the media--you don't hear about the thousands of flights that arrive safely every single day. Shooters are named, their picture is flashed repeatedly, and they are analyzed in the media. We don't ban airplanes. A woman is raped every four minutes; we're not going around castrating men (frankly, some shouldn't feel safe just yet). Pilots undergo training. Cars are to be driven by licensed drivers. Alcohol can be purchased if you're over 21, and a bartender can cut you off and call you a cab to get you home, or somewhere else at least, safely.
So there's a waiting period to purchase a gun. The Sandy Hook shooter couldn't buy a gun because of the waiting period. Victory! But he did kill his mom and steal her guns. Hmm...maybe gun owners should be required to present proof of ownership of a gun safe. I like the idea of a combination + key safe. Preferably, the safe should be crazy heavy and/or attached to the house. People get carjacked, yet we're not banning cars. So we shouldn't be banning guns because they too can be stolen. But seriously people, precautions. You drive around with your doors locked and you get a safe for your gun(s).
The idea of banning guns, except for law enforcement, is frequently met with dripping sarcasm and references to Nazi Germany. During Prohibition in this country alcohol could easily be found. Heroin and many other substances are illegal. Yet they are easily found here. If I were the gambling type I'd say banning guns would keep them away from the likes of you and me, while criminals access them and fire at will.
So new regulations. Such as my brilliant idea of proof-of-ownership of a gun safe to purchase a gun. People with any sort of psychological past should be flagged, with a longer waiting period. There's a an argument about this too, saying it's a violation of privacy to have a note next to your name reading something along the lines of "might be psycho and go on a shooting spree". So what if no reason is given? If you have crummy eyesight you don't get to buy a gun. If you are on certain medications you don't get to buy a gun. If you have a violent past, even if you are not currently under the care of a psychiatrist, you don't get to buy a gun. I don't want people to avoid therapy so they can buy a gun, so a history of violence matters. Otherwise a woman trying to get out of an abusive relationship goes into therapy for support and then cannot purchase a gun just because she is in therapy. That would be stupid.
We have the right to bear arms in this country. We also have the responsibility to know how to use guns and when to use guns. Some people blame violent video games for gun violence. Correlation does not imply causation, such that violent people are attracted to violent video games. Otherwise parents would push 'nerdy' games and movies on their children to 'make' them into nerds. No, nerds are attracted to Lord of the Rings and sci-fi on our own. But we become desensitized to violence.
What about soldiers who have killed? How do they feel after killing another person? Most of the time they feel some sort of remorse. Do killers feel remorse? It's hard to tell, a gunman tends to turn the gun on himself or die in a shootout with police. The soldiers (and cops too) know that a person has died because of them. Killers see stereotypes or labels dying, not people. We have the right of free speech, but not hate speech. Why do we perpetuate rumors and myths and stereotypes??? Look at the suicides because of bullying: these people die rather than face hatred.
We have the right of disagreeing with others. If my candidate wins and my friend's candidate loses an election, then we're free to disagree. Are we free to discuss issues, even arguing? Yup. Are we free to hate each other? Oh heck no. I hate asparagus. But I will eat it to be polite if it's given to me. I disagree with drug users. I will talk to them just like they're people, because they too are people.
We have loads of ways to talk to people instantly these days. Yet we're saying less than ever. "LOL" has very little substance. "OMG wat's wrong???" has only a little more. We've learned how to open the channels but not to maintain them. We have so many emotions but we don't identify them or their source. We fear confrontation and avoid it until we blow up. We must teach "I feel angry when you ______." We let issues fester and simmer and cook until they come to a full boil. Instead of banning guns, let's promote real communication.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
A Late Farewell to 2012
So here are highlights of 2012 for me. Saving the best for last!
1. My birthday dinner was at The Melting Pot and I put the entire slice of cheesecake into the bananas foster fondue.
2. I started a youth group at church.
3. I got a job as a substitute teacher.
4. I went on a mini vacation to Washington DC and got to see lots of history.
5. I made a bucket list and marked a few things off of it already.
6. I got to see Arizona family again (first time in a decade!).
7. Went to Youth Rally for the first time.
8. Broke a stained glass window.
9. Sang a solo in church.
10. Got an iced tea maker.
11. My son was diagnosed with autism....but he started speech therapy and is finally verbal.
12. Heard my beautiful son say "I love you mommy"!!!!!!!!!!
1. My birthday dinner was at The Melting Pot and I put the entire slice of cheesecake into the bananas foster fondue.
2. I started a youth group at church.
3. I got a job as a substitute teacher.
4. I went on a mini vacation to Washington DC and got to see lots of history.
5. I made a bucket list and marked a few things off of it already.
6. I got to see Arizona family again (first time in a decade!).
7. Went to Youth Rally for the first time.
8. Broke a stained glass window.
9. Sang a solo in church.
10. Got an iced tea maker.
11. My son was diagnosed with autism....but he started speech therapy and is finally verbal.
12. Heard my beautiful son say "I love you mommy"!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, December 21, 2012
Curly Hair and 5 Minutes
There are many downsides to curly hair: humidity makes curls a tangled, frizzy mess. I survive on conditioner. My hair can get caught on EVERYTHING. Freshman year of high school I was walking down the hallway and my hair caught the zipper on a senior guy's backpack. I tugged, but it didn't come free! The guy and the three friends with him were laughing at me, I desperately yanked until the hair let go, then I hurried down the hall red-faced. Another time I was sitting next to a friend who was brushing her hair and looking the other way--her brush caught my curls and couldn't get free. Then there was the time I was leaning over and the same friend was putting her plastic choir chair down right next to me. I got the CHAIR LEG caught in my hair! As a bridesmaid I once wore an updo. It took 60 bobby pins (I counted as I took them out) to keep my hair in place, and it was HEAVY. I can't straighten or blow-dry it without majorly damaging it. I have to use product every day.
There are benefits to curly hair too. Lots of volume. When a restroom doesn't have towels or a hand dryer I can dry my hands on my hair. When I want to hide from someone I just pull my hair back (because people look for the big hair), haha. I don't have to blow-dry my hair when it's long. I can do my hair in 5 minutes when it's long. I can go anywhere without a brush (I don't even own one). Wind my hair into a bun and I have a pillow. Dry hair on my neck keeps me a few degrees warmer in the winter.
Loads of women have told me they wish they had my hair. As a little girl I wished I had long, straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes and that I was named Crystal (though I also wanted to work at White Castle and drive a station wagon because of the backward-facing seats in the rear). We tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but the rest of that sentence should be 'it's just as hard to mow'. We look at other people and wish we had the things we like about them. Many reading this understand that--the slender woman we envy may battle anorexia or be a chain smoker; the man with the successful career may barely know his kids; the student who does it all may be so addicted to caffeine and sleeping pills that she suffers withdrawal without copious amounts of both every day.
We envy other people because it's easier to look at what someone else has/is and be envious than it is to work on/accept ourselves. It's like wishing on a star for stuff to happen. We don't workout at the gym only to be shocked that we are sore the next day. Work equals results. When I want to get better at something or make a new habit, I have to struggle to keep doing that thing (going to the gym, going to bed at the same time each night...). Likewise, if I want to get good at avoiding things, I have to practice that too (no more than one portion of dessert).
So many fitness commercials say they guarantee results in two weeks with just 5 minutes a day. If I spent 5 minutes a day on every last little thing I want to improve upon, and I keep it up for two weeks, it will likely become a habit. Spend 5 minutes cleaning each room in the house and you will see results. Work your abs for 5 minutes a day and you will see results. Read your Bible for 5 minutes a day and you will grow in knowledge. Pray for 5 minutes a day. Sit in silence for 5 minutes a day. It sounds so easy. For some habits it is, but for others this is HARD. I blame our own weaknesses and our cultural ADHD. I find the struggle is worthwhile once I see results, but during the struggle it can be hard to stay positive.
UPDATE: regarding my plan to help with hurricane Sandy relief, I am sketching out a 3 day trip for the youth to go somewhere in the area.
There are benefits to curly hair too. Lots of volume. When a restroom doesn't have towels or a hand dryer I can dry my hands on my hair. When I want to hide from someone I just pull my hair back (because people look for the big hair), haha. I don't have to blow-dry my hair when it's long. I can do my hair in 5 minutes when it's long. I can go anywhere without a brush (I don't even own one). Wind my hair into a bun and I have a pillow. Dry hair on my neck keeps me a few degrees warmer in the winter.
Loads of women have told me they wish they had my hair. As a little girl I wished I had long, straight, dark brown hair and brown eyes and that I was named Crystal (though I also wanted to work at White Castle and drive a station wagon because of the backward-facing seats in the rear). We tend to think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, but the rest of that sentence should be 'it's just as hard to mow'. We look at other people and wish we had the things we like about them. Many reading this understand that--the slender woman we envy may battle anorexia or be a chain smoker; the man with the successful career may barely know his kids; the student who does it all may be so addicted to caffeine and sleeping pills that she suffers withdrawal without copious amounts of both every day.
We envy other people because it's easier to look at what someone else has/is and be envious than it is to work on/accept ourselves. It's like wishing on a star for stuff to happen. We don't workout at the gym only to be shocked that we are sore the next day. Work equals results. When I want to get better at something or make a new habit, I have to struggle to keep doing that thing (going to the gym, going to bed at the same time each night...). Likewise, if I want to get good at avoiding things, I have to practice that too (no more than one portion of dessert).
So many fitness commercials say they guarantee results in two weeks with just 5 minutes a day. If I spent 5 minutes a day on every last little thing I want to improve upon, and I keep it up for two weeks, it will likely become a habit. Spend 5 minutes cleaning each room in the house and you will see results. Work your abs for 5 minutes a day and you will see results. Read your Bible for 5 minutes a day and you will grow in knowledge. Pray for 5 minutes a day. Sit in silence for 5 minutes a day. It sounds so easy. For some habits it is, but for others this is HARD. I blame our own weaknesses and our cultural ADHD. I find the struggle is worthwhile once I see results, but during the struggle it can be hard to stay positive.
UPDATE: regarding my plan to help with hurricane Sandy relief, I am sketching out a 3 day trip for the youth to go somewhere in the area.
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Substitute Teaching
So I've gotten a job as a substitute teacher. It's always been a fact that teaching means you learn a lot, and this job is certainly schooling me. So here are some observations/things I've learned/things I've done as a sub.
Observed: not all schools or classes have textbooks and it's awful for a sub when the subject is math and I have no way of looking up and refreshing my brain on how to do what they're doing. The last time I did calculus was 1999 and most other stuff was before that, so I need a reminder.
I've learned: Always get a schedule of the day for the teacher I'm in for, or else the third graders will wonder why I think they have computer day when it's gym day and the 7th graders will hate me for thinking they eat lunch 15 minutes later.
I've done this: a kindergartner told me a boy had called her a crybaby. She said this as though she were reporting the weather outside, not a hit of whine in her voice. I asked her if she's a crybaby. She calmly answered me, "no." I told her, "Then that boy is wrong. Ignore him."
Observed: Two little girls (sitting next to each other) lost a tooth within minutes of each other. They are third graders, so this was normal. I wondered if the nurse thought I was daring the class to pull their loose teeth.
I've learned: Always get a map of the school. Faculty lunchroom and faculty bathrooms locations are very important things to know.
I've done this: One third grade boy raised his hand throughout the day and told me jokes from a book he had. Toward the end of the day his hand was up, and I asked him, "Does this have anything to do with the Amish?" (we were discussing them). He said yes. I said okay. He then asked another joke question.
Observed: Sometimes a parent is supposed to pick up his/her child and never shows. The child is anxious for hours as a result.
I've learned: Always preface answers to the teachers with "Mrs._______ told me this..." because otherwise they will think you took some kid's word for it!
I've done this: Told a multiracial class I wear the same foundation shade as Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Observed: The kids think it's great when their sub goes to gym and plays with the parachute too, including laying on the floor.
I've learned: Tell the kids to make a sign with their name on their desks. It's hard to corral "you there, in the red pants!" since they answer to their name better.
I've done this: Played Just Dance 2 on the Wii to Walk Like an Egyptian in front of a gym full of 5th graders and beaten the other teacher.
Observed: not all schools or classes have textbooks and it's awful for a sub when the subject is math and I have no way of looking up and refreshing my brain on how to do what they're doing. The last time I did calculus was 1999 and most other stuff was before that, so I need a reminder.
I've learned: Always get a schedule of the day for the teacher I'm in for, or else the third graders will wonder why I think they have computer day when it's gym day and the 7th graders will hate me for thinking they eat lunch 15 minutes later.
I've done this: a kindergartner told me a boy had called her a crybaby. She said this as though she were reporting the weather outside, not a hit of whine in her voice. I asked her if she's a crybaby. She calmly answered me, "no." I told her, "Then that boy is wrong. Ignore him."
Observed: Two little girls (sitting next to each other) lost a tooth within minutes of each other. They are third graders, so this was normal. I wondered if the nurse thought I was daring the class to pull their loose teeth.
I've learned: Always get a map of the school. Faculty lunchroom and faculty bathrooms locations are very important things to know.
I've done this: One third grade boy raised his hand throughout the day and told me jokes from a book he had. Toward the end of the day his hand was up, and I asked him, "Does this have anything to do with the Amish?" (we were discussing them). He said yes. I said okay. He then asked another joke question.
Observed: Sometimes a parent is supposed to pick up his/her child and never shows. The child is anxious for hours as a result.
I've learned: Always preface answers to the teachers with "Mrs._______ told me this..." because otherwise they will think you took some kid's word for it!
I've done this: Told a multiracial class I wear the same foundation shade as Casper the Friendly Ghost.
Observed: The kids think it's great when their sub goes to gym and plays with the parachute too, including laying on the floor.
I've learned: Tell the kids to make a sign with their name on their desks. It's hard to corral "you there, in the red pants!" since they answer to their name better.
I've done this: Played Just Dance 2 on the Wii to Walk Like an Egyptian in front of a gym full of 5th graders and beaten the other teacher.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Made it!
So we're fine even though the eye of Hurricane passed right over us (which meant we had a weird, eerie calm from 11pm to midnight). Amazingly we've had power this entire time too. I consider it a miracle that the house is fine, no swimming pool in the basement and the big shade tree didn't come crashing down; it didn't even lose any branches. I'm absolutely relived. Honestly, I'm been super anxious since about Thursday. When I picked up my son from school on Friday, I wasn't sure when he'd be going to school next. Not sure about tomorrow yet.
Someone else posted a link to an entire litany for the hurricane, and ended in a short, stand-alone prayer:
"God of heaven and earth, God who carries our lives and the lives of [all in Sandy's path] in your hands, be with all those in peril this day/night. Help us to release our anxieties and fears into your caring hands, knowing in faith that your will for us is life and everlasting good. Send your holy angels to watch over us and guard us. May your angels spread their holy wings to give all in danger shelter against the storm. For you alone, O God, are all good, all life, all love, and that love is for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
I know it's so easy for me to feel relieved right now, and feel I've experienced a miracle in that this area was not turned into a total swamp, because my house is fine, everyone is safe, people without power in this area have access to hot showers and we've stocked up on food and water and Dr. Pepper. I like to think that if the big tree HAD fallen on the house that I would still be praising God for no loss of life and everything else there is to be thankful for: people offering us a place to stay and repair crews.
Really, there are always reasons to be thankful and praise God. It sounds insane to say that in light of all the horrible things that happen in life. As I said above, I didn't have a catastrophe during this hurricane (The problem of evil is called Theodicy), but there are plenty of places that need help cleaning up once the waters recede. I need to go help out. Why? Because people need help, from drinking water to another person to help rip up water-logged carpet from a flooded house.
When awful things happen it's not enough to try to stay out of harm. It's not enough to be glad things weren't worse. We also need to get out there and help. If you think that God can just do it himself then you're denying him an opportunity to work through you.
I'm not just going to preach. I'm posting this so others can hold me accountable: that somehow I will help with Maryland or Delaware clean up efforts.
Someone else posted a link to an entire litany for the hurricane, and ended in a short, stand-alone prayer:
"God of heaven and earth, God who carries our lives and the lives of [all in Sandy's path] in your hands, be with all those in peril this day/night. Help us to release our anxieties and fears into your caring hands, knowing in faith that your will for us is life and everlasting good. Send your holy angels to watch over us and guard us. May your angels spread their holy wings to give all in danger shelter against the storm. For you alone, O God, are all good, all life, all love, and that love is for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
I know it's so easy for me to feel relieved right now, and feel I've experienced a miracle in that this area was not turned into a total swamp, because my house is fine, everyone is safe, people without power in this area have access to hot showers and we've stocked up on food and water and Dr. Pepper. I like to think that if the big tree HAD fallen on the house that I would still be praising God for no loss of life and everything else there is to be thankful for: people offering us a place to stay and repair crews.
Really, there are always reasons to be thankful and praise God. It sounds insane to say that in light of all the horrible things that happen in life. As I said above, I didn't have a catastrophe during this hurricane (The problem of evil is called Theodicy), but there are plenty of places that need help cleaning up once the waters recede. I need to go help out. Why? Because people need help, from drinking water to another person to help rip up water-logged carpet from a flooded house.
When awful things happen it's not enough to try to stay out of harm. It's not enough to be glad things weren't worse. We also need to get out there and help. If you think that God can just do it himself then you're denying him an opportunity to work through you.
I'm not just going to preach. I'm posting this so others can hold me accountable: that somehow I will help with Maryland or Delaware clean up efforts.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Hurricane Sandy. I mean, THAR SHE BLOWS!
I'm feeling anxious about hurricane Sandy. So I'm trying to look on the lighter side of things.
What NOT to do during a hurricane
1. Go outside and try to recreate any bodywash or shampoo ad where they lathered up outside. It's raining hard enough to take a shower out there, but resist the urge.
2. Put out Halloween candy. It will blow away. Keep it inside and within reach.
3. Buy the wrong kind of batteries.
4. Figure you'll just grab drive-thru for dinner while it's hurricaning.
5. Call and ask Comcast or anyone else why your cable is out and your computer won't work in the power outage aftermath.
6. Get a drastically different haircut. There's enough anxiety already.
7. Run errands.
8. Visit a corn maze.
9. Garden.
10. Paint the shutters.
11. Take the dog for a nice, long walk.
12. Illegally copy movies.
13. Walk into Mordor.
14. Gripe about the other candidate.
15. Try to tame a skunk.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Jurassic Park
Okay, clearly the movie changed things from the book. And really there's no way to write this without some spoilers.
SPOILER ALERT: There are so many spoilers coming up.
So we find out right away that the dinosaurs have clearly found a way to get off their island, which is off the west coast of Costa Rica. Procompsognathus have been biting babies and kids, except folks on the mainland haven't figured out yet they're dinosaurs engineered by some nutty rich guy with a vision he hasn't thought through fully and but yet realized.
The nut is John Hammond. He figures out he can take blood from mosquitos that bit dinosaurs 65+ million years ago that have been preserved all this time in the sap of trees. These amber-encased bugs contain dinosaur DNA because apparently red blood cells carry DNA in avians (birds) but for a human you'd have to hunt down a rarer white blood cell. He even invites his grandkids to Jurassic park to show the scientists how safe it is and how certain he is that the park will be a huge hit. In the hour before his death, he curses his grandkids (not to their faces). Why? Keep reading.
Despite the gaggle of scientists, there are SO many problems with Isla Nublar. Dr. Ellie Stattler, a paleobotanist, immediately notices that poisonous ferns have been planted right next to the swimming pool. Yeah, they're authentic Jurassic ferns, but accidentally brushing up against those plants would make a person really sick. If someone inhales spores, they'd die.
Dr. Ian Malcolm is a mathematician and firm believer in Chaos Theory. He's been going around saying that Jurassic Park is a huge accident waiting to happen and he can prove it mathematically. I had some trouble following exactly what this character is talking about (his words are based on the work of James Gleick), but the point is we can't make something that's alive and expect to control it. We can't even totally control the environment if that living thing.
So why did John Hammond curse his grandkids? Because he couldn't control them. He was walking from the lodge to his bungalow and heard a T-Rex roar. There are two such beasts on Isla Nublar, so his panic is somewhat warranted. Despite the hellish problems the park has had over the weekend, he is on the other side of many electric fences from either T-Rex. But he forgets this. He panics, trips, and falls down a hill into a streambed, and breaks his ankle. He hears the roar again and realizes that his grandkids are playing in the control room; the T-Rex roar is being broadcast from park speakers. He spends over an hour trying to climb up the hill, calls for help, and then notices Procompsognathus (compys for short) are gathering around him. He's a crippled animal to these scavengers; an easy meal. He tries to fight but too easily, things he has created kill him. He created selfishly (to make money) and had knowledge, but no real wisdom.
Other failure to control the dinosaurs problems: all the dinosaurs created are female so that they can't breed 'in the wild' on the island. John Hammond's corporation even has plastic eggs in which to insert the embryos. The lighting, moisture, everything has been considered...except the frog DNA used to fill in the holes in the DNA sequences in 5 of the species came from frogs who are able to change gender when all the surrounding frogs are the same gender. Another problem is that no one seems to understand how the main power works. Yet another problem is that a selfish programmer is being paid to steal dinosaur embryos and smuggle them off the island to another bioengineering company. The traitor dies by the way, and his death is just awful.
Now compare John Hammond to God. Both created. Hammond and God created an environment for their created beings to hang out in, and they both created things with free will. Both are superior to their creations. Neither God nor Hammond needed to create anything but chose to create. Both wanted to be around what they created. That's where similarities end.
Hammond tries so hard to control his creation through electric fences, a lysine dependency that is only satisfied through daily tablets for the animals, moats, steel bars, thick glass, tranquilizers, shock sticks, and so on. You get the picture: he's like a tyrant over this island he has claimed. He enjoys his work and is proud of what he's made. But again, despite all the knowledge and information he has employed, he lacks true wisdom. He ignores some of the basic needs of his creatures, such as needing a higher percent of oxygen in the atmosphere.
God stopped at every step during Creation to notice that what he had made was "good". He made a beautiful garden with healthy fruits and vegetables to eat and put the animals and people he made in it. God cultivated a relationship with his creation. He even let the people be the stewards of the garden! He gave them the rules. They could live in the garden he made for them or they could go try to create their own abode. When they screwed up, God let them pay the consequences but never stopped loving them. He also offered his creation a continued relationship with him. His creation pains him with sin, but cannot kill him.
Remember that John Hammond is creating within God's creation. Is he pretending to know better than God? Is he trying to replace God?
SPOILER ALERT: There are so many spoilers coming up.
So we find out right away that the dinosaurs have clearly found a way to get off their island, which is off the west coast of Costa Rica. Procompsognathus have been biting babies and kids, except folks on the mainland haven't figured out yet they're dinosaurs engineered by some nutty rich guy with a vision he hasn't thought through fully and but yet realized.
The nut is John Hammond. He figures out he can take blood from mosquitos that bit dinosaurs 65+ million years ago that have been preserved all this time in the sap of trees. These amber-encased bugs contain dinosaur DNA because apparently red blood cells carry DNA in avians (birds) but for a human you'd have to hunt down a rarer white blood cell. He even invites his grandkids to Jurassic park to show the scientists how safe it is and how certain he is that the park will be a huge hit. In the hour before his death, he curses his grandkids (not to their faces). Why? Keep reading.
Despite the gaggle of scientists, there are SO many problems with Isla Nublar. Dr. Ellie Stattler, a paleobotanist, immediately notices that poisonous ferns have been planted right next to the swimming pool. Yeah, they're authentic Jurassic ferns, but accidentally brushing up against those plants would make a person really sick. If someone inhales spores, they'd die.
Dr. Ian Malcolm is a mathematician and firm believer in Chaos Theory. He's been going around saying that Jurassic Park is a huge accident waiting to happen and he can prove it mathematically. I had some trouble following exactly what this character is talking about (his words are based on the work of James Gleick), but the point is we can't make something that's alive and expect to control it. We can't even totally control the environment if that living thing.
So why did John Hammond curse his grandkids? Because he couldn't control them. He was walking from the lodge to his bungalow and heard a T-Rex roar. There are two such beasts on Isla Nublar, so his panic is somewhat warranted. Despite the hellish problems the park has had over the weekend, he is on the other side of many electric fences from either T-Rex. But he forgets this. He panics, trips, and falls down a hill into a streambed, and breaks his ankle. He hears the roar again and realizes that his grandkids are playing in the control room; the T-Rex roar is being broadcast from park speakers. He spends over an hour trying to climb up the hill, calls for help, and then notices Procompsognathus (compys for short) are gathering around him. He's a crippled animal to these scavengers; an easy meal. He tries to fight but too easily, things he has created kill him. He created selfishly (to make money) and had knowledge, but no real wisdom.
Other failure to control the dinosaurs problems: all the dinosaurs created are female so that they can't breed 'in the wild' on the island. John Hammond's corporation even has plastic eggs in which to insert the embryos. The lighting, moisture, everything has been considered...except the frog DNA used to fill in the holes in the DNA sequences in 5 of the species came from frogs who are able to change gender when all the surrounding frogs are the same gender. Another problem is that no one seems to understand how the main power works. Yet another problem is that a selfish programmer is being paid to steal dinosaur embryos and smuggle them off the island to another bioengineering company. The traitor dies by the way, and his death is just awful.
Now compare John Hammond to God. Both created. Hammond and God created an environment for their created beings to hang out in, and they both created things with free will. Both are superior to their creations. Neither God nor Hammond needed to create anything but chose to create. Both wanted to be around what they created. That's where similarities end.
Hammond tries so hard to control his creation through electric fences, a lysine dependency that is only satisfied through daily tablets for the animals, moats, steel bars, thick glass, tranquilizers, shock sticks, and so on. You get the picture: he's like a tyrant over this island he has claimed. He enjoys his work and is proud of what he's made. But again, despite all the knowledge and information he has employed, he lacks true wisdom. He ignores some of the basic needs of his creatures, such as needing a higher percent of oxygen in the atmosphere.
God stopped at every step during Creation to notice that what he had made was "good". He made a beautiful garden with healthy fruits and vegetables to eat and put the animals and people he made in it. God cultivated a relationship with his creation. He even let the people be the stewards of the garden! He gave them the rules. They could live in the garden he made for them or they could go try to create their own abode. When they screwed up, God let them pay the consequences but never stopped loving them. He also offered his creation a continued relationship with him. His creation pains him with sin, but cannot kill him.
Remember that John Hammond is creating within God's creation. Is he pretending to know better than God? Is he trying to replace God?
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