If you're like me, you forget Columbus Day is a holiday until someone on the internet reminds you the day of. When I was reminded, I decided I was going to post a few appropriate pictures ... and forgot. Then I decided I'd do it Tuesday... and forgot. Yesterday... forgot. But I remembered today!
I'll get to the picture in a minute, but first, I'd like to make a little argument against calling it Columbus Day. It makes sense to call it Columbus Day, because it's the anniversary of his arrival in the New World at San Salvador after a voyage where he really didn't know where he was going. (At least when the Apollo missions went to the Moon, they knew where the Moon was.) The real reason to celebrate Columbus is that he was willing to take a huge risk without knowing anything that lay ahead. He was a great navigator and he could use the winds to speed his travel, but he didn't know what was waiting for him. I think that's why we celebrate him - because he was willing to take the risk to be an explorer. But here's the thing - he wasn't the only explorer! It's called the "Age of Exploration" for a reason! Not that everyone and his cousin was an explorer, but that, a) the explorations were the highlight of the age rather than more of the same old, same old, and b) that there was enough exploring going on that it could be considered a characteristic of the age. So instead of calling it Columbus Day, I think we should call it Explorer's Day!
Having said that, here are the pictures. If you've been to my Travel Blog, you've seen these pictures before.
If you've seen my Travel Blog, you know I really like this picture
I was browsing the Internet (dangerous, I know,) and the experience left me with two questions.
First, what is with all the Marvel Cinematic Universe actors in all these live-action Disney movies?
Second, what is with all these live-action Disney movies???
Come on! Was the original Snow White, the first full-length colored animated movie not good enough for you, that you had to do one with Chris Hemsworth (and Kristin Stewart, Kristin Stewart, as Snow White)? Was the original Cinderella so bad that it needed a Kenneth Brannagh remake (with Hayley Atwell - Agent Carter - as Cinderella's mother)? Do I even need to say anything about Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? I guess Maleficent is the most justifiable remake, and from what I've seen, the story in and of itself was interesting, but did anyone need to take that particular story and apply it to Sleeping Beauty?
And as if nobody learned their lesson from all of those, we now have two more disasters (that I know of) showing up in theaters. The first just came out recently, I guess, and it's called Pan. Basically, it completely rewrites Peter Pan's perfectly adequate backstory - now he comes to Neverland at 12, and he and Captain Hook start out as friends, along with Tiger Lily, trying to destroy... Blackbeard? (Who's played by Hugh Jackman, Wolverine in X-Men - not MCU, but still based on Marvel books.) Because, if there's one thing that the perfectly adequate and done-to-death story needs, it's a backstory for Captain Hook!
Here's the trailer:
(from YouTube)
And as if that's not bad enough, this came out:
(from YouTube)
The Jungle Book - Rudyard Kipling's most famous work (which, incidentally, includes "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi") directed by the guy who did Iron Man, produced by the studio that trainwrecked the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and apparently starring Black Widow as Kaa - who thought that was a good idea?
What was wrong with the original?
But wait - that's not all!
Live-action Beauty and the Beast, apparently starring Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) as Belle, Ewan McGregor (the Obi-Wan Kenobi from the Star Wars prequels) as Lumiere, Ian McKellen (Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and old Magneto from X-Men) as Cogsworth (seriously - Gandalf playing a talking clock?!) Luke Evans (Bard, from The Hobbit) as Gaston, and Josh Gad - freaking Olaf from Frozen - as LeFou. If you have a chance, take a look at the cast list over at IMDb. It's amazing - they have every minor character from the animated version, but then they added a king and a queen and apparently Belle's mother ... what? That one's going to be completely off the rails.
And then - as if all this isn't enough - apparently there are plans for a live-action Cruella de Ville movie. They are making a movie about, and I'd bet giving a backstory to, a woman who kills puppies. Do I need to say anything?
Disney, stop. Stop doing those, and instead, do more of this:
I'm sure you've heard by now about the deranged man who shot and killed people in a community college in Oregon. I've heard from several places that he demanded his victims name their faith before shooting them; according to one survivor, if they said they were Christian, he killed them, and if they said they weren't, he shot their legs. On Twitter, there was a responding hashtag and avatar picture that say #IAmAChristian. Lots of people have posted under this, but here is the one I want to focus on:
No, I'm not focusing on this because I support Dr. Carson for president, but instead because he used the Christian fish in his sign. During times of persecution, a Christian looking for a fellow Christian might draw one half of the fish, and another Christian would complete the fish. It was a question and a challenge - "I am a Christian; are you?" - when it would have been easier to be like Peter and say, "No, I'm not a Christian." At a time when Christians are being targeted in the Middle East, and shooters break into college classrooms to target Christians, God still calls us to stand firm and answer, "Yes, I am a Christian" - to complete the fish.
You know, I really do love my majors. I love talking about history, as evidenced by my travel blog, and I love talking about literature.
About a week ago, I got to combine both of my majors and my Europe experience in a class discussion. We were talking about my new second-favorite poem called Dream of the Rood - the Rood being the cross Christ was crucified on. The poem tells the story of Christ's crucifixion from the point of view of the cross, making parallels between the cross and the believer, and the poem is tear-inducing both for its theology and its literary beauty.
Anyway, as part of understanding the poem, we also read the legend of the cross, from its growing from a seed from the Tree of Knowledge to Helena finding it in Jerusalem. This legend shows up in the frescoes in the Cathedral of St. Francis in Arezzo. When I posted about that, I got an email from a friend (sent by that little Talk To Me box at the bottom) talking about that legend. In her email, she used a phrase I had never heard of, but when I heard it, it gave me a completely new perspective. Seriously, I felt enlightened after seeing it in her email.
Ready for it?
Here it is:
"Biblical fanfiction."
I cracked up the first time I saw it, not because it's funny, per se, but because such a funny phrase fits the story so very perfectly. When we were talking about Dream of the Rood and the Legend of the Cross in class, I mentioned that phrase, and the response was a combination of laughter and comments that sounded like, "Yeah, that's pretty much right!"
I'm so glad my friend decided to share that insight with me, because it gave me a whole new way to look at some long-standing literature. So if you, dear reader, have an insight about something you're reading, be sure to share it with people around you. You never know who might benefit from it! I was hyperbolizing a little bit about feeling "enlightened," but I am not kidding at all when I say that hearing it gave me new perspectives, and I am very grateful for it.
You all know how much I enjoy sharing stories about teenagers who take early steps in pursuing their dreams. Well, Kaitie Wade isn't a teenager anymore. She is my age. How do I know this? Well, because we sat next to each other in grade school. As of last February, she is a recording sound artist with one single released, called "Tail Lights." I know nothing about music, so I can't really say any more about Kaitie's song, so I suggest you check out her Bandcamp page. I think you can listen to her song with the right app, and I'm pretty sure it's on iTunes also.
Now I'm wondering if I should find an old picture we're both in and post it here just to embarrass her... (Just kidding. I wouldn't even know where to begin looking.)
I'm told those are the only decent movies to come out of that franchise. I haven't seen Lost World or Jurassic Park III.
Anyway... I saw Jurassic World (several times) before seeing Jurassic Park. I'm not going to comment on which one was better, per se. I'm just going to say this: Jurassic Park had surprisingly few dinosaurs.
That was my takeaway - really. I think we waited half an hour for the first dinosaurs to show up, and then... well, there weren't many dinosaurs. Even with the scenes with dinosaurs in them, you can't see the dinosaurs! Mostly you can just hear them.
I know for it's time (22 years ago) it was incredible and unprecedented, and the effects on the brontosaurus (bracchiosaurus? The ones with long necks that ate leaves) were fantastic. They were, by far, my favorites.
Okay, one more thing. Having seen JW's velociraptors first, and having freaking fallen in love with them, I was waiting on the edge of my seat for the velociraptors to do velociraptor things. This really got under my skin, because the main scientist guy has this little monologue in the opening about the significance of the -raptor part of their name. Unfortunately, they completely forgot about the veloci- part of the name. Velocity is speed. Being fast. Running like the wind! In JP, they remind me of the beavers in the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. Awkward, slow, and kinda making things drag a little bit. Except for the scene where they jump out and surprise the lady doctor - that was freaking awesome!
Anyway, that was what I liked best about Jurassic World. Once they put the dinosaurs in there, they stay. I think it's safe to say there is a dinosaur in over half the scenes, maybe even two-thirds. The other thing was that the velociraptors were just so freaking incredible! You can feel their power and their hunger in everything they do - they are scary, but in an awe-inspiring way. I mean, wow.
So, if you haven't seen Jurassic World yet, I recommend you do. If you're too young to drive a car, then you should get your parents' permission to see the movie, because there is some language in it and general other things that parents get the say on, But otherwise, it's a good movie, and the dinosaurs do some fantastic things! Needless to say, I really enjoyed it.
To be honest, the first time I went, I went because of Chris Pratt. He's a fun actor and is an outspoken Christian, so it struck me as a completely justifiable splurge, even though I had zero interest in the dinosaurs. The last six times I went, I went for the velociraptors.
Well, I'm settled (sort of) back into school for my senior year. I totally lucked out with some of my classes - so far, I think I'll have a TOTAL of fifteen-ish pages to write, not counting my English thesis. I really hope it stays that way, so I can dedicate more time to my thesis.
I haven't been at WLC since last December... this is a really strange feeling!
