...for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory...

the dolly zoom is an unsettling in-camera effect that appears to undermine normal visual perception. it is part of many cinematic techniques used in filmmaking and television production.

the effect is achieved by using the setting of a zoom lens to adjust the angle of view (often referred to as field of view or FOV) while the camera dollies (or moves) towards or away from the subject in such a way as to keep the subject the same size in the frame throughout. In its classic form, the camera angle is pulled away from a subject while the lens zooms in, or vice-versa. thus, during the zoom, there is a continuous perspective distortion, the most directly noticeable feature being that the background appears to change size relative to the subject.

as the human visual system uses both size and perspective cues to judge the relative sizes of objects, seeing a perspective change without a size change is a highly unsettling effect, and the emotional impact of this effect is greater than the description above can suggest. the visual appearance for the viewer is that either the background suddenly grows in size and detail and overwhelms the foreground, or the foreground becomes immense and dominates its previous setting, depending on which way the dolly zoom is executed.

--wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

time  1. a. a nonspatial continuum in which events occur in apparently irreversible succession from the past through the present to the future. b. an interval separating two points on this continuum; a duration: a long time since the last war; passed the time reading. c. a number, as of years, days, or minutes, representing such an interval: ran the course in a time just under four minutes. d. a similar number representing a specific point on this continuum, reckoned in hours and minutes: checked her watch and recorded the time, 6:17 AM. e. a system by which such intervals are measured or such numbers are reckoned:solar time.

--american heritage dictionary

"... thanksgiving is more than eating, chuck. you heard what linus was saying out there. those early Pilgrims were thankful for what had happened to them, and we should be thankful, too. 
we should just be thankful for being together. 
i think that's what they mean by 'thanksgiving,' charlie brown."

--charles schultz
a charlie brown thanksgiving

so, i'm standing there in this little chapel  and looking at this incredible creature G-d said i should marry and spend my life with, and i all i could think was, "ohmygoodnessthisisreallyhappeningNOWNOWNOW".  time seemed to compress and elongate, all at the same time.  an intense and sharp focus fired it's way into my brain, and seemed to brighten the colors in the room, and as i made myself take deep breaths and willed my knees not to shake, that familiar and awe-inspiring tunnel vision and magnetic hum of Mystery seemed to gin up inside and around me, and i was able to kind of pull myself together.  i knew there were words i needed to say, knew there were words i was supposed to hear and to respond to appropriately.  all i wanted to do was not let go of his hands or stop looking at his face. 

we were talking about what it would feel like to finally be married, last week.  we wondered what, if anything, might be different.  he said he was going to stop holding in his farts.  i figured i'd probably actually cry over stupid commercials in front of him, instead of crying in the bathroom, or pretending like i was feeling my allergies.  G-d...were we wrong.  I mean, he really did stop holding in his farts, and I openly wept at a couple of really cheesy things.  but there is something...well, kind of big... to be said for the ontological change, for the profound grace imparted in that sacramental moment we shared between ourselves, with our families, and G-d, on last thursday.  

i didn't think it was possible to love him more, to feel more married to him, to have everything good and lovely about him seem so much...much-ier.  but...my G-d...it's the difference between the giant hole your nephew dug in the backyard and the Grand Canyon: one leaves you reaching for the bottle of scotch, and the other leaves you with the deep knowledge that you should definitely be drinking more champagne.  

loving him, from the very minute i realized that i did, has both shaken and steadied me, all the way to to very deepest core of myself.   he has maintained all along that we have our own time zone, and...as with so many other things...(and i'm sure this is not the last time this will happen)...

i have to say that my husband is absolutely right.  

mil besos,

rmj