Old Testament Questions

Those cute little CCD fourth graders. They have so many questions. We are reading Marigold Hunt's wonderful A Life of our Lord for Children, though we are only plodding through the chapter entitled "Before the King Came." This chapter is a sort of Reader's Digest version of the OT, in the extreme. Just about every part of the story is left out, and those mentioned are very, very abbreviated. For the purposes of the class--not too much time, not too much previous knowledge--it's perfect. See, most of these students have never heard any of the OT, except a bit about Adam and Eve, a bit about Moses, and, if they are very well-informed, they have seen a DVD of Joseph. So a quick overview is just the thing. Sadly.

We are up to Moses now, and they are interested, and asking questions. "What were the plagues?" "What if an Egyptian had put blood on his door posts. Would he have been spared?" "Why didn't God just transport the Israelites out of Egypt?" And then there was my favorite: "Why didn't God intervene in the American Civil War?"

When we got to Passover, their faces all lit up in recognition right away...at least, they had heard of it. They didn't know the history at all.

60 minutes per week. Will we ever get out of the desert?

More Thoughts on Caspian

The book, which, along with the others in the series, I have read every year since I was 8 (and I will not admit how many times that is...), is about the rise of atheism. What the film lacks is a deliberate confrontation between faith and atheism. Sure, there were little hints, like when Aslan tells Lucy that just because her friends lack faith doesn't mean...blah blah. But that's a lecture, and who wants a lecture in an adventure film. In the book, that lecture is personal advice during a very confessional moment. You must do what you think is right, even if others tell you that you are wrong. Period.

In the book, Miraz champions atheism, and Dr. Cornelius, who is the Narnian equivalent of a priest-living-in-hiding, is the teacher of the faith who saves Caspian from a faithless world. Miraz tells Caspian that he has been told fairy tales, and Caspian despairs; Cornelius tells Caspian the tales are true, and Caspian rejoices. Caspian is forced on a pilgrimage and finds the Truth, and the Truth, ultimately, defeats the faithless. We see none of that in the film, and that's a shame. The rise of faith, and of the faithful, is the real story in Prince Caspian.

Prince Caspian, Is That You?

Saw the film this afternoon. It was absolutely beautifully filmed. The cinematography was magnificent. The action sequences were great; the story flowed well. But something bothered me...the story seemed slightly familiar. It reminded me of a story with the same name by C. S. Lewis. In a few places, even the dialog seemed to have been taken right out of Lewis' book, though often, the wrong character has the lines. This film even has a lion, similar to Lewis' Aslan, but more distant and mostly absent from the film. In fact, the film starts off so well that I really thought that someone might have made a movie of Lewis' book. But shortly into the film, I realized that this was a nearly entirely made-up story that takes place in Lewis' Narnia, but lacks the charm, innocence, and clean precision of Lewis' classic.

OK. So, it is supposed to be the real Prince Caspian. And I know that they cast Caspian much older than he is in the books; I forgave that months ago, during production, since it makes the three year gap (in Narnian years) before Dawn Treader easier. And I can understand certain edits for the sake of the story. But some changes, like some of those in the LWW film, are unforgivable. Here are a few major blunders (spoilers ahead!):

Reepicheep, most noble of mice, would NEVER say, "Shut up." Not even to a squirrel.
Peter is not a brawler (he and the other children were sneaks and liars in the first film, so I guess that fist-fighting is the next anti-social step for Peter).
Susan and Caspian do not kiss, ever; this was completely unnecessary.

All other complaints are nit-picky little things...not enough Dr. Cornelius, no Nurse, no Silenus nor Bacchus, wild dance nor wine, no school boys turned into pigs, and no astronomy lessons in the high tower; too much arguing between Peter and Caspian, too many silly mouse jokes (though overall, Reep was well done!), and way too much liberty with the story line.

But it was good in some unexpected ways. It was, in fact, a bit like a totally new Narnia story, with more depth of character in the Telmarines, greater landscapes, more manly kings, creepier villains, and more complex story twists. The film is long--2 hours and 20 minutes. Looking at Narnia for this period of time is a delight in itself, and if nothing else, Narnia is Narnia in this film. The river god, the hag and werewolf, the centaurs, the animals, the Telmarines, the ruins of Cair Paravel and Aslan's Howe, were all near perfection. Here, the director's vision was close to Lewis', and, ultimately, provides us with the satisfaction we all crave when we peek into that other world. It also proves that someone read the book carefully enough to get the setting right.

So see it, support it, and let's hope the Dawn Treader will steer a course closer to the story line.

Expelled

As a family, we have not been to a movie theater in quite a while. We were stunned when a movie and popcorn for 6 was nearly $90. We won't be going again soon (Prince Caspian is not Don's thing, so we might have just the 5 of us go).

Ah, but Expelled, the documentary by Ben Stein, was worth it. He keep us interested with his signature low-key humor and good-natured curiosity, with frequent laughs punctuated with somber thoughtfulness. His question: Can Intelligent Design be engaged by the intelligent, or does interest in ID guarantee a pink slip to its academic adherents? Stein lets both sides be heard, interviewing proponents of both strict atheistic Darwinism, and ID. The interviews are punctuated with film clips and brief comments about faith, atheism, Darwinism, academia, the Holocaust, eugenics, and more. Stein asks the hard question: What's the big deal about ID that the likes of Dawkins and others find it so abhorrent? Hmmm?

Until this film, I had a good deal of respect for Dawkins in his own field (evolutionary biology), though I find his atheist musings both tedious and offensive. But this film showed Dawkins for exactly what he is--a bigot who is anti-religious to a point of absurdity. I don't want to give away the scene where Dawkins calmly demonstrates that he is a bit of a nutter, so I'll just say that the whole theater burst out laughing as he told us all his idea of how life started. See this film.

There Will be Music

So Don and I saw There Will be Blood, an interesting, if gloomy, film about California's early oil industry. Suddenly, the soundtrack became familiar. It turns out that two of Libby's audition pieces are featured in the film. And one, Arvo Pärt's Fratres, is pretty obscure. Now we are calling her audition "Hollywood". It ought to go over well in LA. ;)

Sisters in Sickness

I'm feeling a bit thoughtful tonight, after reading two thought-provoking blog entries...on from Elizabeth Foss, and one from Danielle Bean. I have known Elizabeth for a long time, and I know her well enough to know what she thinks about a subject, but I do so enjoy reading to get her way of saying things. I don't know Danielle as well, but I also enjoy her take on issues of motherhood. These 2 posts, in combination with this crazy day, got me thinking about sisters.

I don't have any sisters, but I always wanted one. I asked God for one frequently when I was little, but I guess, in the late 60s, I should have been asking my parents :) . In any case, I was thrilled when 3 years after Libby was born, Annika came along. There it is...that three year gap that some people (see the blog entries referenced above) think is just right for siblings. I'm glad I didn't know that, or there would be no T, as he was born smack in between the girls. I can't imagine life without T.

But back to these sisters. When I was expecting Annika, I hoped she would be very different from Libby, and she is. Libby has dark hair and dark eyes, but Annika has light hair (it was blond, but is now almost auburn) and green/grey eyes. Libby was quick at many things, but Annika, a typical Collier (my side of the family) was slower to mature. But they are also quite similar, sharing a room, clothes, and reading aloud to each other from their favorite books--Shakespeare, Austin, and more. They share babysitting jobs, and they both sing in the choir at church. Both have been CCD assistants in my class. Sure, they argue sometimes, but they are great friends.

These past few months, Annika has been going about her routine while Libby is caught in a whirlwind of activity. Between work, lessons, classes, and more, the girls see each other at bed time just long enough to say "goodnight." With all the applications done, and Libby's college physics class over, this week was going to be different, a time to do some sister things together.
They had big plans. On Monday, after Annika babysat in the morning, they both went in to the Metropolitan Opera to see The Valkyrie. Bonding over 5 hours of Wagner should have been enough, but they spent the night with a family friend, eating ice cream and playing poker way into the night. They came home on Tuesday, and had a regular day...Annika had her German class, and Libby taught her students.

Tuesday night, both girls began vomiting, and were up all night. All night. Libby had her 1st college audition today, Wednesday, just after noon, and I had to take her instead of letting her take the train, abandoning Annika on the couch with a bucket and a book, with a promise of Gatorade. Libby made it through the audition, weak and pale and shaky; there was no possibility of rescheduling. But that's one down...

Back home a few hours later, both girls napped and felt better. Together they sat up on the same couch for Gatorade, pretzels, and a sappy chick flick (Saving Sarah Cain). Annika asked about Libby' s audition. Libby asked about Annika's day. Both agreed they felt better. And they made plans for another outing. They poured more Gatorade and laughed.

I was so jealous.

Juno (warning: post contains graphic content)

I took the girls to see Juno last week. If you have not heard, Juno is the latest in the "pro-life" genre of films coming out this season. Unlike Bella, Juno is a comedy, and it's a great film, but...

I wish I had not taken my 14 year old. The film is rated PG-13. In another day, it might have been rated R. It was full of references to se*ual matters, anatomy, and birth control, and there was a fair amount of crude language. The opening scene has us looking into a room as a boy sits unclothed on a chair and Juno (the title character) removes what is left of her attire (though we don't see her, just her clothes). Most of this was tolerable for my 17 year old, who has been aware of most of the issues...but my 14 year old is "younger" and was a bit shocked.

So, why was it good? It was smart, funny, and the pro-life message was clear. And the target audience is the vast majority of teens: Public school kids who already know it all, or think they do. Sadly, none of this was shocking to the audience, made up mostly, in our theater, of teen girls. But the film seemed smarter than the audience at times. Yeah, sometimes we were the only ones laughing.

The scene at the abortion mill was brilliant and creepy. Outside, a lone girl, a friend of Juno's, carries a sign and calls out to Juno, telling her that her baby has fingernails. Inside, a bored, overly pierced receptionist offers Juno a condom as she is filling out papers. We look with Juno around the room through a surreal lens, focusing on the fingernails of the folks in the waiting room. She rushes out of the place, and goes home to tell her parents (who were some of the best characters in a film, ever). The film was worth seeing for this whole scene alone.

In a world where 12 year olds are se*ualy "active" (the stepmother in the film attributes this to boredom), Juno has a necessary message, delivered in a package that will appeal to teens. That we need a film like this to get the message across is disturbing, but I'm glad someone had the guts to make Juno. It's heroic.