I recently wrote about the new Atlas Shrugged movie with some notes related to Ayn Rand’s first novel, The Fountainhead.

it occurred to me that great books are a terrific example of viral marketing. I had a younger fellow that used to work around me whom appeared to genuinely believe that every meaningful piece of technology or process was unique, if not invented, by his particular generation, or those that are following.

NOTE: he has no idea that, at fifty (I’ll be one hundred years old in fifty years), I have invented the cure for stupidity. more on that later.

in any event, great books that are examples of viral marketing include the Bible, and The Fountainhead. my own blog (this blog, in fact) is not terrific, or great, by any measure. it’s not even a book. but,  you can assign it as virally relevant by its growth in readership.

all three evidently touch people in a way that cause them to spread the word, so to speak.

I’ll gamble that most of my readers know what the Bible is and does. so, I’ll add some detail, here to your understanding of The Fountainhead (but, maybe, more so, Rand’s epic Atlas Shrugged). ironically, reading The Fountainhead and the Bible just might help you appreciate both in somewhat unexpected ways.

The Fountainhead manuscript, for example, was rejected by twelve publishers before a young editor, Archibald Ogden, at the Bobbs-Merrill Company apparently risked his job to get it published. despite mixed reviews from the contemporary media, the book gained a following by word of mouth and became a bestseller. the novel was made into a Hollywood film in 1949. Rand wrote the screenplay, and Gary Cooper played Roark. many of you reading this post are probably scratching your heads, and collectively asking:

who the hell is Gary Cooper?

my best answer is he also played the title character in the film of the 1939 film Beau Geste (the 1926 version was pretty good, just not the way Cooper pulled it off). for the record, Beau Geste is a 1924 adventure novel by P. C. Wren.

by the way… never underestimate Ray Milland.

you need to read it (The Fountainhead, and Beau Geste – just so we are clear). do it! and, when you do, guess what? you’ll tell your friends about it. then after reading this blog post you just might start thinking a bit more about the Bible – and, Atlas Shrugged. mind you, be prepared for elements of these books that are directly conflicted one with the other. but, opinions only gather power when both sides are ably considered, eh. it’s feasible you will investigate just why I draw comparisons between such disparate books. that means you just might talk about it at a cocktail party, or at Lake Lanier while you are hosing down the boat.

…see… viral marketing, at it’s best and most natural.

if I ever get to act in a movie, I want it to be a remake of Beau Geste.

by the way… anything that has something to do with the French Foreign Legion has awesomeness all over it.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

I’ll begin this with a hearty thanks to John Stein for our time together Friday. John, I think you might be one of my best friends. and, I am always appreciative of our time together – and, recently in particular.

I’m copying Tim Barker on this email because of ROI ministry (Tim created this Ministry and he’s letting me help him).

all this said, I’m actually directing this post towards Todd Miechiels, as I continue to think about the  financial model for The 3:15 Project. I’m pretty convinced that $315 per video is the way to go. and, selling (sponsorship) packages of six (6) for $1890 is sublime. NOTE: it was John that taught me Friday that “6″ is the number for man in the Bible. so, $315 x 6 = $1890.

in any event, this communique is about Return on Investment (“ROI”). and, since Todd wants a For Profit Ministry (and, I really applaud this), ROI will be a key to it’s acceptance, proliferation, and success (that requires definition for human comprehension).

take heed, Tim.

I believe that I’m quickly coming to the conclusion that ROI relative to most Ministries is going to be subjective and ultimately arbitrary. but, most of the time we seem to equate a Ministries success as involving the “saving of souls” in one form or another.

so… how about this… lets assign the value of a saved soul in the United States as $315,000 US Dollars. in Great Britain it can be £315,000 Pounds. In China, ¥315,000 Yen, etc.

it comes down to economies of scale. each nation recognizes and can relate to its own currency, yet the proverb of 3:15 remains consistent.

each video that is bought and shot, any where around the globe can now be assigned it’s relative value and we can create a financial model that will be accepted. we now have a universal methodology for calculating a requisite ROI. and, people in business can relate and communicate all of this in a way that legitimizes the integration of faith and business.

John, whom is a healer, says I’m “annoited” for business. we all make a difference. my gut tells me my thinking, here, is inspired. so, lift me up, please. I don’t need to be “right”, mind you. recently David Quail accused me of having an ego. but, candidly, I’d rather be useful.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

Evil might be over-rated. At least when it comes to intent.

I’m pondering what it means to: “do the devils work”. I believe innocent people can do evil things – just like evil can happen to good people.

Meanwhile, as most of you know I don’t lay claim to being a Christian. There are many good examples of those people in our world. But, there are likely an equal number of them that aren’t – just like any faith, and especially religion.. But, that’s all a matter of perspective, as well.

God likely dropped discernment in most of our DNA and allows that to help sort matters out.

Today is Thanksgiving, and I’m doing that very thing. My heart is open and I’m looking around myself and seeing a great deal of inspiration. So, ironically, I’ll include some effort from the Bible, here. Some call it the Word, others a rule book. For the most part I find that it covers a lot of common sense witnessed and reinforced by many generations of people that realize the worst mistakes your can make are the ones you repeat.

The point I’m trying to make, here is: A word of love can make a world of difference.

I’ll warn you now… A certain and extremely popular movie’s story-line will be spoiled if you continue to read this post. However, along the same line-of-thinking you’ll likely need to watch the film to make sense out of this post, altogether. Oh… And, maybe have some awareness around the Bible, Dante (Inferno) and God, in general.

There is the movie Toy Story brought to you by those hearty and ferocious cinemeisters (I made that up!) Pixar. But, there are also two sequels (that did very little for Tim Allen’s acting career). But, as well-received, and, and lofty, I’ll add, as the original effort was, and remains, the third film in the Toy Story series is the most dogmatic to date. In fact, it’s the story of mankind’s relationship with God, and our collective position relative to the way beings, human, and otherwise, relate to the almighty couldn’t be more clear (to me any way). It could be argued, and I will, that the script may as well have been written by John Calvin himself.

God, cast as God (or, Andy):

God, or the God, in this movie is referred to as “Andy” to throw off the less focused. The film begins as God (heretofore: “Andy”) is preparing to move on to a new universe (rather like Babylon 5 and the “Old Ones”), leaving behind the realm he has long ruled. Andy’s current universe is populated with toys that he has loved and cherished throughout a period of his existence (consider my prior post: How Long Is Seven Days?), and before he can leave he apparently has to decide what to do with them. Although why God has to do anything, other than be satisfied with what he’s both wrought, and set into motion, is not made clear. To wit… He has four choices: he can take them with him to his new domain; he can hand them over to a different god [small caps because there is, in my current view, only the one almighty] (so okay, maybe the script isn’t as Calvinist as I laid-claim to above); he can consign them to a purgatory also known ominously as “the attic”; or he can send them to …Hell. He chooses the third option for all the toys except his favorite, Woody, with whom he is well-pleased. So, we also have Paradise Lost, in play (well past the Adam and Eve part, mind you).

Woody, the Arbiter (in form, if not name):

Woody is a sanctimonious prick who spends his entire life reminding all his colleagues of Andy’s greatness and infallibility – and, generally bossing people around like a fifth grade hall-monitor. When Andy decides to send the rest of the toys to purgatory (heretofore: “the Attic”), Woody supports Him totally – and, we can reasonably assume that had Andy decided, instead, to send them straight to Hell, Woody would be quoting Romans 3:10 /1 as justification, and telling them to suck it up because the ‘potter can do whatever he wants with his clay’ [...].

All that said, and thusly, nonetheless, when, by mistake, the mother of Andy (work with me, here, because this obviously deviates from any context of the Bible) sets the toys on a path towards Hell, Woody sets-out to save them.

But why?

Is it because he’s concerned for his people (all Moses-like), or because the (or, a) law as established by his Lord has been interfered with? I think it’s probably the latter, because Woody is a dick (just like almost every power-hungry fifth grade hall monitor you ever met).

The Other Toys, cast as “the Fallen”:

When the toys realise that they’re destined for Hell they (understandably) become rebellious and elect to reject Andy and go off to find other gods (just a reminder, this would be children) to, in effect, serve. Woody remonstrates with them, telling them they should remain faithful, and that it was all a mistake; but under the leadership of the female temptress Jesse (naturally a Barbie Doll with Eve-like qualities, and who shall realize redemption), the others won’t listen to him. As far as they’re concerned whether their deity has abandoned them to Hell or Purgatory makes little difference; the issue is that they’ve been abandoned, while Woody has not. So, the rage is thusly, tinged with jealousy, as well.

The plot gets really interesting when they arrive en masse at a kind of Paradise for toys; a place where they will be played with all day long (which after all, is what they were designed for), Woody is still in the throes of righteous indignation, and insisting that they return to Andy’s house, and get themselves up into Attic-that-is-Purgatory, where they belong, while he waltzes off to whatever earned and exciting new place Andy is making for. However, the other Toys choose to ignore him, looking forward to a new life of hedonism… So, there is the Pinnochio element here, as well.

And this, of course, proves to be their downfall. The loss of grace, or the perception thereof, as it were, is so devastating, eh.

Lotso Bear

The paradise they think they have discovered, and will ultimately lose, is in fact ruled by an atheist! This dark angel is an evil, strawberry-smelling bear who has rejected all gods and has set himself up as a mortal god on earth. He’s a pink furry Joseph Stalin (I’ll need to revisit the film, but I coulda sworn he was referred to as “Uncle” at one point. How apropos.).

In any event, the message is clear: if you reject the god that owns you, you have only yourself to blame if you end up being tortured in a totalitarian gulag.

The film could have ended here, but audiences may have been left with a view of God as cold and unconcerned with his universe, so the story carries on with rescue and redemption promised and gamely [sic] afoot. All the while, Woody continues his righteous quest to be reunited with his Master, but then he gets distracted by feelings of compassion for his friends. Foolishly, it would seem, he tries to help them, not realising that by attempting to interfere with destiny he’s only going to make things worse.

Woody’s fateful efforts lead the toys to the very precipice of Hell (oh, the inferno!), which they only escape by means of a ludicrous plot device (that also serves to remind us that this is a children’s first movie). The atheist Lotso, of course, who has by now been exposed and proved his evil atheist character beyond a doubt, is not so fortunate, and is consigned to an eternal punishment direct from the mind of Dante.

And as it should be, once the atheist villain has been disposed of, the film can end nicely with the redemption of not only foolish Woody and the ungrateful toys but also Andy, who is finally shown indulging his merciful side.

And you, that collective you, can make your way from the cinema, or possibly the comfort of your home state-of-the-art theaters, comforted in the understanding that God is great after all, possibly fair – and, made relevant today by his easy interpretation on the silver screen.

…at least to Pixar, anyway. According to Wikipedia.org, The film is currently the highest-grossing film of 2010 in the United States and Canada. /2

Peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

Brian Patrick Cork

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1/ As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one“.

2/ The film is also the highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide. In July, it surpassed Finding Nemo to become Pixar‘s highest ever grossing film at the North American box office. In early August 2010, the film became Pixar‘s highest-grossing film worldwide, and surpassed Shrek 2 as the highest-grossing animated film of all-time worldwide. In late August 2010, Toy Story 3 became the first ever Pixar film and animated film in history to make $1 billion worldwide. It is currently the 5th highest-grossing film worldwide of all time.

A story, and an epic one at that, within a story, to be sure.