Dinosaurs of Awesome

Dinosaurs are awesome.
Finding their bones is like stepping into another time, another world. But it is our world, and they are part of its history. A ferocious history, according to these velociraptors.

And there is an exciting mystery enshrouding our understanding of dinosaurs: where did they all go? What happened to them? That's one of the first things I'm going to ask when I die.

What I love most about dinosaurs (besides the fact that they can be the cutest characters in adored children's movies [see below]) is that they show possible insight into the creation of the world as we know it. Many Christians see evolution as absolutely incompatible with religion. But I don't see why God could not have created the creatures we recognize as reptiles and birds today by first making dinosaurs. It doesn't lessen the miracle of creation at all. For me, in fact, it enhances the miracle.

And, of course, it also provides for thousands of wonderful childhood memories.

Symbols on Sunday

Clouds
Symbols of heaven and, in turn, paradise. Think of it: cloud nine. The cloud with the silver lining. Head in the clouds.

Clouds float about above us, drawing our eyes to the sky. Like heaven, they rain blessings down upon us in the form of shade and, well, actual rain.

In a way, they even act as the veil that protects us from the overwhelming glory of the sun. What waits for us beyond the clouds?

Silly Socks Saturday

Because why not knit your own awesome aqua-purple-cerulean socks?

Book Review: For Freedom

In this historical novel by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, a young French girl becomes a secret courier. Suzanne is training to become an opera singer during World War II, but as the war progresses, she finds a way to secretly fight the occupying Nazis. Her story is one of courage and integrity. The most memorable moment of this book for me was the ending, which coincides with the Allied landing at Normandy. The readers know that the war will end soon, but Suzanne wrestles with the pain and fear even as the Allies are breaking down the door.

For Freedom, like many other novels that take place in World War II, inspires hope and provides models of morality under stress. I love stories like this for the very reason that Samwise Gamgee liked the old tales:

"Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened?... Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going."

Suzanne David kept going. Despite all the evil and danger, she fought. She fought for her neighbors, for her family, for France, and in doing so, she fought for freedom.

Lamppost

Today's lamppost is brought to you by Outdoor Webshots and the season of summer! Because summer likes to tease us with thoughts of green things in February.

Poem: Stars

by Robert Frost

How countlessly they congregate
O'er our tumultuous snow,
Which flows in shapes as tall as trees
When wintry winds do blow!--

As if with keeness for our fate,
Our faltering few steps on
To white rest, and a place of rest
Invisible at dawn,--

And yet with neither love nor hate,
Those starts like somw snow-white
Minerva's snow-white marble eyes
Without the gift of sight.

Music: Baba Yetu

This song, which recently won a Grammy, was written for the video game Civilization IV. The lyrics are a Swahili translation of the Lord's Prayer, and the accompanying video is delightful. Enjoy! And beware: it just might get stuck in your head.

Kitties of Awesome

If I could be any animal, I would be a cat. Probably a big kitty, like a tiger, but a kitty nonetheless. I love cats. My true love was a cat. His name was Whiskers, and he was my best bud from the first grade to the day I left for college.

He was a dear friend and member of the family.

And he was so handsome!

But he got old and died a few days before I left home for college. So our family adopted a baby-brother-kitty. Meet Samwise.

He likes baskets apparently.

Kitties have been an important part of my life. They meow and they purr and they sleep on your bed at night (and during the day, too) and they sit on the piano bench with you while you practice and they play in the snow and they lick the tears off your face and they are just all-around awesome!

Symbols on Sunday

Circles
They go on forever and ever. Thus, they are often used as symbols of eternity.



If people were standing in a circle, you could say that "many that are first shall be last, and the last first" (Mark 10:31). There is no beginning and no end, so all people in the circle are equal.

This is also the reasoning behind King Arthur's legendary Round Table. No one can sit at the head of a round table, so all the knights have an equal position in the group.

As it should be in eternity. Existence goes on and on, and God is no respecter of persons. We are all equal in the eternal perspective, so why not now, here?

Silly Socks Saturday

Smile!

Movie Review: Lady in the Water

Instead of a book review today, I thought I would post a movie review. Lady in the Water is based on a bedtime story that director M. Night Shyamalan made up for his children. Cleveland Heep, the lonely superintendent of an apartment complex, is surprised when Story, a young woman, miraculously appears in the swimming pool. She claims to have come from a faraway watery world. With the help of Young-Soon, one of the many bizarre tenants, Cleveland discovers an ancient legend of water-angels who are sent to Earth to help and inspire mankind. But the water-angel Story is in danger. Dark forces are trying to destroy her. Cleveland must gather the strange talents of the complex's tenants in order to send Story back home in safety.

Lady in the Water is not your typical movie. It is rich with symbolism and hope! First, I love that the name of the salvation figure is Story. Story saves mankind. As an English major, I promise this is true. The other thing that I love love love about this movie is the resolution. Each individual at the apartment complex is very strange. One man only works out one half of his body as an experiment. Another man is always in the bathroom while his wife shares his secrets on the other side of the door. One child reads cereal boxes in order to work through his feelings. They are a bizarre bunch of folk, all somewhat outcasts of normal society. However, in order to save Story, everyone is needed exactly as they are. In short, you are the way you are for a reason. As a strange person myself, I love this concept!

Overall, Lady is a movie about people, and if you love people, you will enjoy learning to appreciate what everyone has to offer.

Lamppost

Today's lamppost is brought to you by darkness. And the number pi, which sponsored the beautiful concentric circles of light.

Poem: So nigh is grandeur

by Ralph Waldo Emerson

So nigh is grandeur to our dust,
So near is God to man,
When Duty whispers low, Thou must,
The youth replies, I can!

Music: Nessun Dorma

Stories of Awesome

On a planet with 6 billion human inhabitants and trillions of other life-forms, we are a lonesome people. We notice our differences more than we notice our similarities, and we tend to think that no one can understand us.

And so, in our loneliness, we started telling stories. Stories allow us to recognize that we are not alone after all. There are some universal things about the human experience that come across in stories. It does not matter what form they take: book, song, TV show, movie, etc.

There are stories about family and figuring out what's right.

There are stories about imagination and doing hard things.

There are stories about being a leader even when you're the little guy.

There are stories about confronting temptation and changing your attitude.

There are stories about friends and adventure.

What stories do you identify with?

Symbols on Sunday

Doors

They come in all shapes and sizes. They keep stuff in. They keep other stuff out. In one respect, doors are barriers.

However, doors are not permanent barriers. They can be opened. Sometimes you have to use a key. Other times, all you have to do is knock.

There are barriers in life that keep us from doing the things we need or want to do. If we do nothing about them, we let these barriers stunt our potential! What we should do is find the key that fits the keyhole or work up the courage to knock.

Jesus Christ said, "Knock, and it shall be opened unto you" (Matthew 7:7). What barriers are keeping you from Christ and His love? What barriers are stunting your eternal growth? How can you, personally, find the strength to reach out and knock? We cannot imagine the wonders that await us on the other side of that door. It would be like stepping into a whole new world...

Silly Socks Saturday

Double jeopardy! Mismatching polka-dot socks AND awesome checkered sneakers!

Book Review: The Wednesday Wars

While the troops are away fighting in Vietnam, Holling Hoodhood (great name, right?) finds himself waging war with his 7th grade English teacher who is making him read Shakespeare outside of class. He is sure that Mrs. Baker is punishing him. In the meantime, his family is waging war with itself: Holling's 16-year-old sister runs away to join the hippies in California, and Holling's father is trying to rule the household with an iron fist. As America's drama escalates both at war and on the homefront, Holling's drama practically destroys everything he has ever loved.

However, Holling discovers many things in this time of trial. Among them, these are the discoveries that stood out to me: One, he loves his sister very much. Two, Shakespeare is not punishment. Three, trials can bring out the best in all of us.

I love this story because it exudes hope (and encourages young people to read Shakespeare). Though it is set in a time of hopelessness both for the country in general and also for Holling Hoodhood's small sphere of influence, there is plenty of humor and happiness. Holling discovers that he has the power to be happy in any circumstance. He can choose to be happy. No matter what. Specifically, by reaching out and developing relationships, Holling finds joy and peace.

I hope you get the chance to enjoy Holling's journey, too!

Lamppost

This lamppost brought to you by the Internet! And also by eerie blue glowing things!

Poem: The Cart of Life

by Aleksander Pushkin

translated by Yevgeny Bonver

Tho’ it is hard – the earthly load,
The Cart is easy in its move,
The reckless couch-time, on road,
Will not get of his bench above.

In early morn we take our places;
We glad to break our empty head,
And leaving leisure for the races,
We cry, “Go on, you idler, damned!”

At noon, our bravery’s diminished;
We have been tossed and more afraid
Of slopes, steep, and ravines, peevish,
And cry, “Be easier, you, brat!”

The cart rolls in the former fashion,
By evening, we have used to it,
Wait for night lodgings, doze, patient, –
And Time tends horses to full speed.

Music: October Sky

Enjoy the theme from October Sky!

Maps of Awesome

I think old maps are pretty nifty. Especially when they have drawings of sea-serpents and other mythical beasts.

Maps allow us to see where we are, where we're going, and where we've been. Like the spyglass, they give us a new picture of our homeland. Many of us lack the ability to "see" what the cartographer sees. How did these men of old make such detailed maps anyway? It blows me away how accurate they were. I must research how they created maps.

These ancient maps are also works of art. Look at the detail, the imagination going into some of these. I wish our maps nowadays included fun little characters!

Maps often give us a sense of who we are because they show us the land where we live.

Aren't these maps gifts from God?

Symbols on Sunday

The Spyglass
A small telescope for viewing distant terrestrial objects.

The spyglass changed how people interacted with the landscape. They could see far distances without having to travel them. They could see approaching enemies, fleeing livestock, and waiting destinations. The spyglass changed their perspective.

I have a hard time changing my perspective. Often, from where I sit, things look gloomy or foreboding. Life is too hard. School is too hard. Work is too hard. But if I took the time to see things how another person sees them or even how (gasp) Heavenly Father sees them, I might change my tune.

Once upon a time, I was in high school. I overheard one of my good friends saying not-so-nice things about me. I went home very upset. If she didn't like me, did anyone like me? I'm sure I cried a little. But then I got to wondering what my friend was feeling. She had recently broken up with her boyfriend, and the stress of school was looming over everyone. I imagined that she was going through a hard time. Suddenly, the things she had said didn't seem so bad. I wrote her an anonymous, cheerful note and had it delivered to her at school. I don't think she ever found out it was me, but she gave me a great big hug the next day. My perspective had changed.

One of my favorite instances of the spyglass as a symbol of new perspective is in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Robin's companion throughout the movie is Azeem, a Moorish man whom Robin rescued from prison while on the Crusades with King Richard. At the time, the Moors were enemies of England (yet another holy war of history), so Azeem and Robin's friendship is highly unusual. However, they find that they can learn much from each other as they begin to trust one another. Here, Azeem hands Robin a spyglass so that he can see the Sheriff's men approaching. Robin has never used a spyglass before, so he believes that the men are a lot closer than they really are. The scene is very funny but also symbolic of Azeem sharing the perspective of "the enemy" with Robin. It is often hard to hate someone when you see life through their perspective.

That day, Robin Hood gained a new perspective. Will you also look through the spyglass? You might be surprised by what you see.

Silly Socks Saturday

In honor of the upcoming Valentine's Day, I would like to present to you my Lava Leopard feet!

Book Review: The Book Thief

World War II. Everyone versus the Germans. Scratch that: Everyone versus the Nazis. I've always wondered about the Germans who disagreed with the Nazi party. I mean, every government that has parties has opposing forces built into it. So what about the Germans who were trapped under a regime that they did not support while the Allies tried to shut down the country by force?

Here is the story of one German girl who does not support the Nazis. She doesn't know exactly why, but she knows that she wants to save as many books she can from the Nazi book-burnings. So she steals them from neighbors. And when the Allied bombing raids reach her city, she reads her stolen books in the neighborhood bomb shelter to any and all who will hear her.

Book Thief is narrated by Death, who provides illuminating commentary on war. He remembers each death and whether or not the dead were treated with respect. I think Death dislikes his wartime job: he doesn't get to spend enough time with the recently released spirits (there is just too much work to do) and he doesn't get to be as gentle.

This book helped shape my perception of war. I have always seen World War II as a war against evil, but our forces also killed innocent civilians in the process. All people, evil or not, are children of God, and we should mourn every single loss as Death does in the book. I find it very hard to pass judgments on people, especially public figures who are made to look "wrong" or "bad," because I know that they are also a son or daughter of my Heavenly Father. We Earthers have a powerful sibling relationship that should not be ignored.

Lamppost

This lamp brought to you by Disneyland and the letter E. Just because. E for awEsomE.

Poem: All that is gold does not glitter

by JRR Tolkien

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Music: Espacio Sideral

Yes, this song is in Spanish. However, I think that this dramatization will help you understand. Enjoy!