Back in the 70s I knew someone who had Mao’s little red book, kept it with her at all times, and began every other sentence with “Chairman Mao says…” A prime product of our glorious universities, even back then.
This is an early Joe Collidge essay, but his ideas haven’t changed in three years. His position has hardened as his brain has softened. But that’s what college does to you.
I’m thinking of offering a prize to anyone who can state the difference between Joe Collidge and the Democrat National Committee, apart from the spelling.
This is a brand-new video by the Libera Boys’ Choir, singing Once in Royal David’s City. How they get children to sing like this, it’s a marvel.
The Christmas Carol Contest is over until we do it again next year, but the Christmas season isn’t, and we’re still taking Christmas hymn requests. Especially if you can come up with one we haven’t used yet!
They say a dog has the intelligence of a two-year-old child and can understand more than a hundred words.
My old orange cat, Buster, had that beat by miles. Two examples:
As he sat in the window, I remarked to him, “Buster, have you noticed how fat your sister’s getting? She needs more exercise. Why don’t you chase her up the stairs?” He jumped down from the window and did just that.
Another time, while he was recovering from dental surgery and still a little groggy, and slow in getting motivated, I made a suggestion to him, based on the fact that we had his litter box upstairs in the bathroom. “Whattaya say, Buster? How about we go up to the bathroom and have a pee?” And up he went, straight to the litter box: and he was just fine after that.
Another one of our cats, Henry, liked baseball and would argue about it to the best of his ability. I’m sure he understood what I was saying to him, but I was much too dense to understand what he was saying to me. It was either about stealing bases or stealing the runners who were on the bases; I couldn’t figure out which.
I’ll bet the sight of a cat thrashing around under the sheet was the inspiration for Oh, Whistle and I’ll Come to You, My Lad. If not, it should have been.
Y’know, I’ve got to try that trick with the cat under the sheet and the jingly ball thingy on top of it. Looks like fun!
It’s only a few minutes past 1 p.m., and I want my Narnia! Patty gave me the BBC Chronicles of Narnia on disc, the whole series, and rather than just sit here and watch my work-load pile up before my very eyes, I’m going to light out for Narnia.
The still, above, is from The Silver Chair. The cast is interesting. The girl playing Jill Pole, Camilla Power, is still a busy actor on British TV, and in spite of all her other work, is still best known for her visit to Narnia–which she doesn’t mind a bit. We have Tom Baker (center) as Puddleglum: he’s best known for playing Doctor Who. And the boy playing Eustace, David Thwaite, I believe has gone on to be a lawyer. They don’t seem to have any lawyers in Narnia, so he wouldn’t have a lot of competition.
The big splashy new Narnia movies, replete with hi-tech special effects–well, sorry, but there’s just no comparison. They never have gotten around to making their version of The Silver Chair. The kid they had for Eustace, who was perfect in the role in their otherwise not-so-hot Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is now way too old to pass for Eustace. I wanted those movies to succeed, but they tinkered with the stories, plugged in a lot of “improvements” that were not improvements at all, and the whole project seems to be floating belly-up.
Oh, well. We still have these, from the 1980s, and they’re still just wonderful. Now that you can get them on easy-to-store discs… what are you waiting for?
Note: I’m pretty sure there’s a made-in-Hong Kong version of The Silver Chair. I’d love to see it, but so far it has eluded me.
P.S.–I have just discovered a trailer for a new movie of The Silver Chair–which is the first I’ve heard of it. I’m not convinced this movie will eventually be released, and not going to hold my breath waiting for it.
I’m sorry, but if that’s Jill and Eustace, I’m the Smith Brothers.
Well, here it is, December 29. And if I can get 1,000 views a day, today and tomorrow and the next day, I will have hit 100,000 for the year.
Just missed! But it does give this blog something to shoot for next year. I didn’t say “me” because this blog is a lot more than just me. It’s all of you, too. We’re all in this together. That’s one of the things that makes it so worthwhile.
Anyway, I’ll do the best I can, these last three days.
Thanks to all of you for helping push this merry-go-round.
Oh man did yiu “see” that??? Hillery she is Pressadint!!!!!
That stopid Donold Trumpt he whent on “some” Trip “somewear” and wile he “was” Gone Hillery she whent Back inta “the” Whity House and now It “is” hers like It shuld of Bin al allong only Trumpt he collided Whith the Russhins and cheeted Her out Of “it”!! We.ll Ha Ha Ha Trumpt! Gess the Joak it is “on” yiu! Turn yore back and Hillery she has took waht “is” rihghtfolly hers!!! She even brung Bill back inta the Whyt House whith her!
And i know “it” is True becose i seen it on the Inter Net!!!! She sended Out Chrismiss Gretings fromb The Wyhite House and thare “was” The Pixture and pixtures thay dont lye!!!
So hear at Collidge we holded “a” Big Celebbratchin and somboddy she “is” a Satinist she sayed “It “is” a Mearacal done by Satin!!! Hale satin!!”
Welll we lyke satinists butt reely sombtiymes Yiu “has” got to “carreck” themb and So The Commassar of our Stodent Soviet she ansurd this Satinist,, she “sayed” “We admyre Satin but come On “now” whoo neads Satin wehn yiu Got Hillery and Pressadint Obamma??” We “has al bin” preying to Pressadint Obamma to maik Hillery she be the Pressadint and gess waht,-, he Came Thruogh”!!!!!
Now thay has to ketch Trumpt and extracute himb and “his” fambly befour thay Can “maik” enny more Trubble!!
I was hoping to watch some BBC Narnia today, but now I have to go pick up a prescription for my cat.
Anyway, as I try to rest between books, I thought it might be edifying to revisit the question of whether fantasy can be profitably used in God’s service.
I really can’t blame readers who think fantasy is at best idle nonsense, and at worst, some kind of dalliance with the occult. But that can be said about anything, can’t it? There’s music that glorifies God, and there’s music that debases man and everything around him. When was the last time you heard somebody zoom down the road with a hymn playing on his car’s sound system?
So of course we can use fantasy in the service of the Kingdom: and the more who decide to try to do it, the better.
Hey! It’s still the Christmas season, and we’ve still got some proclaiming to do.
This is the King’s College Choir, at Cambridge, singing We Three Kings–and oh, the voices of those soloists! Music gives glory to God who created us in His image, with the capacity to create beautiful things.
A great deal of thought, on the ferret’s part, went into this caper. For us, what’s thought-provoking here is… why? What possible motive could the ferret have had, to commit this crime? What was it supposed to accomplish?
Joe Collidge probably knows, but I don’t know when he’s coming back again.
