Up Old Narnia!

As promised, a post about Narnia on film vs. Narnia of the books. The title of this post is taken from chapter 14 of Prince Caspian, which I just finished reading to my favorite six-year-old. The scene is like this: Peter the high king is in an arranged battle against Miraz, tyrant/king/usurper of what could be called 'Narnia of the Telmarines.' The Narnia that Peter is fighting for could be called 'Old Narnia'; the land of talking beasts and wakened trees and waters, the land that Aslan, the Great Lion, Son of the Emporor-beyond-the-sea, established. Peter gets in a good jab on Miraz and King Edmund (Peter's brother) takes up the cheer: "Up Old Narnia!"

The book unfolds to reveal that the Land of Narnia under Miraz has become something quite different than the land that Aslan created. Much of what should have been valued and cherished has been forgotten or destroyed, many new things were added to the governing of the land to make it just like any other land ruled by men.

So it is with the movie version of the first book in the series. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe(the movie), for me, was a huge disappointment. So much was left out that should have been included. The Aslan of C. S. Lewis was allegorical to Jesus Christ, the Aslan of the movie was just a magical lion. This was the biggest disappointment for me; I completely submerged myself in Christ that Lewis filled out in his books and found I could breathe there (except for a gasp or two toward the end of the last book). The lion of the movie had no mystery, no majesty, no eternity, and no Trinity about him.

I did like some things in the movie that they did to accentuate the story, but they could have done that with any movie. What they should have done was to make it more of Lewis's Narnia and less Disney's.

I wish there were a way to do what the J.R.R Tolkien fans did. They made (or pestered) Peter Jackson to make a version that was true to the original. He didn't exactly, but he probably got closer than he would have had they not spoken up. Has somebody already tried to do this, or must I start it? Any help would be appreciated.

What , Again?

I haven't posted in a few days. So much else on my mind. I guess that could be why I've done poorly with sort of thing in the past; so much on my mind, I forget to tell my journal what's on my mind. As in the past, all I can think of is how I'm failing my sons as a father. How I fail as a husband. As a certified genius, how I have failed to live up to that. How I've failed to tell the truth about being a certified genius. Failure weighs heavily in my mind. Tends to cripple goals and dreams. Tends to make one absent minded about things like blogging.

But I've always had hope.

Hope only in how God is gong to change my life, one of these days. I am learning that God so far has not magically transformed me, but He transforms me as I chase, pursue, the transformation. It is not, "God helps them that help themselves" (Aesop, not God's word, said that). It is the puruit of crying out to Him in utter helplessness for help, for victory over sin. This is the hope that I have; I will be like Him, He will make it so, and I must chase the transformation like my life depends on it. The hope is that I will catch the transformation, one day. He'll let me catch Him, and I will be like Him.

Next post: I vent about New Narnia (New Narnia is tripe, and on film. Old Narnia is found in BOOKS by C. S. Lewis)

I'll keep a web log, even if it kills me(and it)!!

Welcome to my blog. Clever title, no? I don't want to give any impression that I approve of suicide, or murder-by-health care provider. Created in God's image, life is best borrowed from God, who collects when He sees fit.

No, what my title implies is that all attempts my at journaling, web or otherwise, have ended in sites shut down, 3 pages partially filled of a 150 page spiral-bound note book, and broken crayons.

So, I will start a pool to place bets on how long this one will last. If you want a piece of this action, just place your dollar amounts (USD) and life span guess (in days) in the comments section. The winner gets it all, but there may not be a good way to collect.

I have plenty to say, but hardly the time,ambition, and talent to say it well at the keyboard (or, from your perspective, the monitor). That's enough for the first one.