Harmonious Glow Writings

You say Goodbye I say Hello

2007-07-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

I've come to the decision that I am not going to post on this blog any longer. Instead, I have created a more theme specific blog called "At the Study" http://atthestudy.blogspot.com/. I do plan to continue my photos blog. There is a description below of my new blog, but first I want to describe more specifically where I want to go with this blog.

Since not all my readers will be Christians, I will be sensitive to their needs and post more than Christian thoughts. Much of this blog will be mere commentary on current events, media, and modern moral. On Sundays, however, I do hope to post devotionals or Christian specific posts. Mondays will be about my own personal shelf life (in other words my personal weekly blog post that more often than not will have to do with my efforts to become healthier and lose weight). Tuesdays will be random. Wednesdays will be Bookmobile book review days. Thursdays and Fridays will also be random and Saturdays will be for movie reviews on new movies. Random days will include anything from politics to TV shows to movies I already own or check out to music I listen to, to commentaries on news and all of the above.

I've barely started, but please support me. Here's a more general description:

In the Study...At the Library...This is where you will find movie, book, music, and show reviews. In my own little corner of the world I review various things and comment on current events (mostly events having to do with Hollywood, Broadway, and Opera worlds). Please join me in a venture to look at all the movies and books in my library as well as shows (I have programs to) that I've gone to and music I listen to. Let us explore this world together and examine it as it changes. How do those changes show up in the media? Let us not let these things merely go up on the shelf. Let us explore these things, even to the extent of children's books and movies.

Resisting the Night

2007-07-11T07:21:00.000-07:00

Radio host Jerry Klein recently proposed “all Muslims in the United States should be identified with a crescent-shape tattoo or a distinctive arm band.” Shockingly, many callers agreed. At the end of the show, Klein unveiled his hoax, commenting that his callers demonstrated "how the German people allowed what happened to the Jews to happen.” He’s right. We need reminders of what the Holocaust involved and what allowed it to happen. Elie Wiesel attempts such a reminder in his novel, Night.
The book, which follows Wiesel’s teen years in German concentration camps, calls readers out of the darkness. People should learn from the past, keep informed, and resist the night, or ignorance. The Holocaust caused an entire people group to change for the worse, obfuscating and challenging everything they believed. Night doesn’t just deal with what happened; it deals with who let it happen.
Was it really such a shock that the Germans permitted the Holocaust? Nietzsche, Darwin, Spencer, and Materialism all supported the idea of the survival of the fittest, intellectual pride, and separation from God. Nobody thought it humanly possible to wipe out an entire people, especially in such a cultured nation as Germany. What was putatively thought of as a good thing (intellectual excellence) turned out for the worse. Wiesel tried to encourage his father, stating that humanity was their ally.
I told him that I did not believe that they could burn people in our age, that humanity would never tolerate it.
“Humanity? Humanity is not concerned with us. Today anything is allowed, even these crematories….” (30)
Wiesel soon lost his own faith in humanity when he became a number: A-7713. Man’s sinful nature had vanquished humanity as a standard of morality. The Germans thought themselves superior and condemned all others, redefining “humanity.”
The Jews denied the danger. They forfeited their chance: the elders kept the younger from rebelling. If they tolerated God’s test, they thought, He would deliver them. Besides, it couldn’t get any worse. The point of no return came for Wiesel and his companions when their deportation train stopped at the Czechoslovak frontier. “We realized then that we were not going to stay in Hungary. Our eyes were open, but too late (21).” What chance of escape remained in revolt disappeared.
Since the Jews clung to such false hopes, did they bring this upon themselves? They hadn’t thought anything of the rumors of German violence; the Germans acted kindly when they quartered in Jews’ homes.
Our first impressions of the Germans were reassuring…. They never demanded the impossible, made no unpleasant comments, and even smiled occasionally at the mistress of the house. One German… brought Madame Kahn a box of chocolates. The optimists rejoiced. (7)
Even corralled into ghettos, the Jews were content.
We were entirely self-contained. A little Jewish republic…. We appointed a… whole government machinery. Everyone marveled at it.... Our fear and anguish were at an end. We were living among Jews, among brothers…. (9)
After the Nazis expelled Moshe the Beadle with all the foreign Jews, “people were saying that they had arrived in Galicia, were working there, and were even satisfied with their lot (4).” Moshe had a different story. He managed to escape death and warn his fellow Jews of the coming Holocaust, but no one believed him.
Wiesel doesn’t blame the Jews, however. Wiesel blames God and never forgives him. His works question how God would let something like this happen. He wrote his first version of Night in Yiddish, but as he began to interpret his memories and they evolved in his mind, he began to bash Jewishness. He did not bash the Jews themselves; it was more about his own faith. Before the Holocaust, Wiesel studied and prayed regularly. By the end, he had lost his faith and did not know what to believe.
Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke. Never shall I forget the faces if the children, whose bodies I saw turned into wreaths of smoke beneath a silent blue sky. Never shall I forget those flames which consumed my faith forever. (32)
When a young boy is hung, Wiesel comments that God is there hanging with him (62).
Night is as theological as historical. As Gary Henry says in his analytical essay, Story and Silence: Transcendence in the Work of Elie Wiesel,
He has assumed the role of messenger…. But he does not continue to retell the tales of the dead only to make life miserable for the living, or even to insure that such an atrocity will not happen again. Rather, Elie Wiesel is motivated by a need to wrestle theologically with the Holocaust. (1)
Wiesel proclaims himself a messenger for victims of the Holocaust. Many survivors disagree. Although memories torture most, some have healed. Peter Wood, who worked with Wiesel at Boston University as Associate Provost, says survivors he knows dislike talking about Wiesel.
Some survivors do not think their lives are about the past. My friend Sam loves people. That’s what you’re supposed to take away from these terrible times. Sam pours himself out to others and to his family.
Wiesel mirrors the opposite of this. He never forgives.
As his interest in theology grew, Wiesel’s memories evolved. As his memories turned into one, solid account in his mind, they became stereotypes. Primo Levi discusses how a memory can become a stereotype in his book, The Drowned and the Saved.
[A] memory evoked too often, and expressed in the form of a story, tends to become fixed in a stereotype, in a form tested by experience, crystallized, perfected, adorned, installing itself in the place of a raw memory and growing at its expense. (23-24)
The perfecting of Wiesel’s story accounted for the increasing number of translations of his books and his increasing popularity. As Wiesel tailored his books to what the audience wants and what the author now wants, they evolved into the very picture and representation of the Holocaust. Wiesel’s image has advanced to where few question him. Wiesel has published 16 books; Oprah Winfrey interviewed him for both her magazine and her TV show; and PBS and History Channel documentaries have used him.
Wood questions Wiesel, saying he has done much for Boston University, but with few scruples.
He sold papers to the university archives and never delivered them. Also, after winning the Nobel Prize, he didn’t have to teach as much. He flew in once a week for a hand selected class of five students. Yet the university continued to use his name as a ploy to get new students, and it worked.
Henry suggests that the “drive to justify every second of his existence (3)” motivates Wiesel, but Wood suggests that part of Weisel’s motivation might be the desire to win the Nobel Prize. Both are right. As his stories developed and Wiesel began to question how he, of all the Jews, managed to survive, he gained a proclivity for questioning God and humanity even more. This motivated him to insert more theological background into his works and to promote his own work. Since he wondered how he of all people survived, he felt his life needed to have worth. He climbed to the top, preserving himself and his message just as he preserved himself during the holocaust. At the camps, Wiesel struggled with whether or not he wanted his father to die. He felt he would have a better chance of survival without his father, but knew that thinking this was wrong. Today, it is Wiesel's message that is left behind to die. He's allowed the stereotyped story to take over and kill the original, factual story. While he may have started out with good intentions, everything he appears to be about has become just a perfected story. Wood said he sees only the performer in Wiesel. “His story became what he was about. Who knows what’s underneath the performer.”
Readers can forgive Wiesel’s doubts, knowing what the Holocaust did to him. Furthermore, Wiesel will doesn’t want the holocaust to happen again. According to Night, a number of things contributed, to the holocaust, including Germany’s pride and the Jew’s ignorance; all revolving around God and whether He is just. If Wiesel believes that he is the voice of the Holocaust victim, let him. He may not represent all his fellows, but he remains a messenger to the world. We need someone to remind us. In a day of Muslim threats and invading immigrants, we should apply the lessons of history. Looking at what caused past holocausts, we can help prevent future ones.

New Blog

2007-07-10T23:43:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking. I've decided to make this blog for all my writings, but I'm going to start more theme specific blogs as well. My first try at this is http://atthestudy.blogspot.com/. There is a description below. I've barely started, but please support me.

In the Study...
At the Library...
This is where you will find movie, book, music, and show reviews. In my own little corner of the world I review various things and comment on current events (mostly events having to do with Hollywood, Broadway, and Opera worlds). Please join me in a venture to look at all the movies and books in my library as well as shows (I have programs to) that I've gone to and music I listen to. Let us explore this world together and examine it as it changes. How do those changes show up in the media? Let us not let these things merely go up on the shelf. Let us explore these things, even to the extent of children's books and movies.

“The Cobra King of Kathmandu” book review

2007-07-10T00:52:00.000-07:00

The “Children of the Lamp” series, written by P.B. Kerr, finds itself in line with a long list of well known children’s books. In fact, it’s making its way to the top, right behind Harry Potter. I started reading the series when the first book, “Akhenaten Adventure,” came out. Ever since, I’ve been watching book stores for the following books. I’ve just finished reading the third in the series, “Cobra King of Kathmandu,” and a fourth is scheduled to come out in September. I’ll make a few short predictions for the fourth book later. The series follows the Potter books in more than one way. It’s magical, it’s creative, and it’s a good series for both children and adults. The plots get better in each book. Before I get on with my short review of the third book, here’s a review of the plots in each book, in case you haven’t read them. I copied them out of the description on the books.

Book 1:
A one armed chauffer? Plus two djinn? Plus three wishes? Qwertuiop! What does it all add up to? An amazing adventure, for sure (and that’s not counting the Rottweilers. Alan and Neil, who are not exactly the pets they seem to be. Meet John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve-year old twins who one day discover themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn. All of a sudden, they have the power to grant wishes, travel to extraordinary places (and not necessarily on public transportation), and make people and objects disappear. Luckily (and luck does have something to do with it), the twins are introduced to their eccentric djinn-uncle Nimrod, who will teach them how to harness their newly found power. And not a moment too soon! Because John and Philippa are about to embark on a search to locate a monstrous looking (but supposed to be dead) pharaoh named Akhenaten, and his tomb, which may be holding seventy lost djinn. Will the twins be strong and skilled and clever enough to outwit Ilbis, the most evil djinn in the universe and live to see another say – another city – another adventure?

Book 2:
John and Philippa Gaunt, twelve year old twins who recently discovered themselves to be descended from a long line of djinn (which are commonly called genies) and who are now in possession of great magical powers, have only just returned from their adventures battling an evil djinn in Cairo and London. Now the mystery surrounding a powerful book of djinn magic lures the twins straight into their next extraordinary adventure. When the Solomon Grimoire is reported missing, John and Philippa are called upon to retrieve it. They travel across the globe, from New York to Istanbul, but, little do they know, a trap has been set and the djinn twins are about to walk right into it. Soon, John must embark on an epic journey to save his sister… before it’s too late.

Book 3:
Break-ins, a mysterious talisman, murder… too many bizarre events that just don’t add up. In the third book of the bestselling Children of the Lamp Series, the djinn twins, John and Philippa Gaunt, are on the trail of another magical mystery. As they travel from New York to London to Nepal to India on a whirlwind adventure, the twins try to help their friend and fellow djinn Dybbuk find out who murdered his best friend, using the venomous snakebite of the king cobra. All too soon, John and Philippa find themselves caught up in the lethal world of the cult of the Nine Cobras, only to discover that they themselves are a target of the creepy cobra cult. Now, the twins must find the invaluable Cobra King talisman, and stop the cobra leader’s deadly plan!

“The Cobra King of Kathmandu”

Rating: four out of five stars

Analysis: Out of the three books released so far, the third is by far the best. While the plots in the first two are entertaining and well written, the third book’s plot comes in as the most big screen worthy. Actually, following the example of the hit “Harry Potter” movies and other films based on children’s books, Dreamworks studios plans to make a movie based on the first book. The first and second book come together in the third book. Cliffhangers from the second book and enemies from the first book come back and new enemies are raised. “Cobra” starts out slower than the first two books and takes longer to capture your attention, but once you are deep into the book you can’t put it down. All the characters are separated and each holds a piece of the mystery. You don’t know the solution to the mystery until everything comes together in an unpredictable way. The book opens with a prologue taking place long before the first book. The opening seems pointless and irrelevant to the rest of the book. At the end of the book the opening prologue makes sense. New cliffhangers are created, as well. Kerr makes it obvious what forthcoming plots might include, but there’s no way to predict how they will unfold. Ilbis, the villain in the first book who is present in the background of the third book, has yet to get his chance at revenge against the twins. We are also introduced to the character of Faustina, the sister of Dybbuk, a friend of the twins. She has been missing for years and there is a chance that someone will find her in a future book. The twin’s mother leaves them to take on the ultimate djinn job in the third book. Kerr implies that Faustina could take her place. We also learn that Ilbis is Dybbuk’s father, so there is potential conflict there. Whatever happens, we can expect great things from this series.

Christian Content: Reference to stories from the Bible appear here and there in the books. Raised a Baptist, Kerr does have a Christian background, although he professes to believe in no particular religion. The djinn element in general plays more on the Islamic side of things, although even there it is not completely in tune with Muslim beliefs. Angels are also present in the third book to reward those who help them. Still, the series contains the classic battles of good versus evil, which I expect will show itself even more in future installments. Kerr’s books are no worse than stories of Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny. As long as you don’t take the non-Christian elements as truth they make a good read.

Potential Aida Movie

2007-07-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/07/beyonce-in-talks-to-lead-disneys-aida-source-says/

I love the music in Disney's version of Aida (even if the opera is better), but I never actually saw the musical on stage. I've only listened to the recording. I think I'd be open to a movie version of it. I guess disney is considering making their own musical movies. Musical movies has been a trend lately. Hairspray and Mamma Mia are on their way to the bigscreen. I'm glad to see how musical movies have progressed since "Moulin Rouge" came out, which was a total laugh, but the musicals today lack the classic, clean humor and light heart aspect of older musical films, but it's still nice to see them appreciated again. It does seem strange to me that Disney would choose to do a movie version of Aida, however. If I remember right, it was not out for very long and did not get very good reviews. I'm not too keen on Beyonce playing the title role, either. She has an ok voice, but she's a terrible actress. Plus, I hate how she dresses: just like all teenage girls today she refuses to dress modestly. I can only hope.

Harry Potter Week

2007-07-08T11:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.cinematical.com/2007/07/06/new-clip-from-harry-potter-5-turns-up/

In honor of Harry Potter week, I thought I would post something about the upcoming movie and book. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. I'm also a Christian. No, that's not redundant. If you'd like a good read, check out the book "Look ing for God in Harry Potter" by John Granger. I give it five stars! Actually, I've only been a fan since the first movie came out. Recently, my uncle told me it was blasphemous, so I went out and bought Granger's book and am now totally convinced that there is nothing wrong with Harry Potter.

To tell the truth, the fifth book was my least favorite book. Then again, the fourth book was my favorite book, but the fourth movie was my least favorite movie. I have a feeling that the fifth movie is going to be really good. So far, my favorite movie is the third one. I'm hoping to see this next installment on IMAX. It should be good. I'll post a review once it comes out.

I'm also anxious for the last book to come out. Any predictions?

By the way, the link at the top of this post takes you to a short article on the upcoming movie that is accompanied by an extra movie clip.

A laugh for any dog lover

2007-07-07T15:08:00.000-07:00

I have two dogs. One is a mutt and the other is half pit half lab. Freckles and Tucker are great dogs, but they love to rest on our beds and couches. We only "allow" them up on the bed when we invite them, but even then they take up all the space. Often, my dad will have to yell (in a kind way) "get off of my bed!" The dogs do fairly well with instructions, but still climb up when we're not looking every once in a while. What I really hate is when they lick your sheets and get them soaked with dog slobber! LOL! Anyway, I thought I would post these pics/comics on here because I think anyone with a dog can relate to them, and anyone in general can enjoy them.
(From the "Bed Hog" collector plate series by Gary Patterson, marketed by Danbury Mint.)

Details in a Masterpiece

2007-07-07T01:25:00.000-07:00

Every time I go on a tour, I think, “Do I have to? Tours are boring and the tour guides are always such dull, old people! Do I really want to risk getting a bad tour guide?” Most tours may not take money out of your pocket, but they can take a lot out of you physically and mentally. If you do not get lucky, you spend your entire time wondering how much longer the tour will last and thinking about the wasted time. As I walked down 5th Avenue on my way to the New York Public Library, I wondered whether I would get lucky. On a hot, Sunday afternoon, I did not feel like going anywhere. Would anyone else show up for the tour? After all, the library gives tours once every Sunday and twice every weekday except for Monday. Who would want to go on an indoor tour when they could go to the beach or some park and get a tan? I soon found that a small tour group, consisting of about five people, with a personable, middle-aged woman as your tour guide can push all the boredom and risks away.
I arrived five minutes early in a hurry to get the tour over with, and the tour guide came five minutes later in a hurry to start the tour on time. The hostess introduced herself to the five of us and asked some questions about our backgrounds. Then she started with a few basic facts. Two families brought their book collections together to found the library in 1895. The main library on 5th Avenue houses over 88 miles of bookshelves, and even more books are stored under the adjacent Bryant Park. It also contains the largest collection of Jewish books and newspapers in the country. You can read a Yiddish version of Sherlock Holmes or Hebrew text books.
Various artifacts and historical items throughout the library compete to sidetrack your attention. During the baseball season, the library displays a collection of valuable baseball cards. It also displays the Gutenberg Bible and a small globe made around the time when Columbus discovered the Americas. One of the hallways contains prints of maps and drawings of the American Revolution. Our guide told us that Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Declaration of Independence was edited before its passage because the states would not unanimously pass the original. Only two unedited versions of the original document exist, and the library puts one of them on display during July every year.
Air conditioning cools individual rooms, but the building as a whole does not have air conditioning. Inside, a new building exists, not visible from the street. The building is a masterpiece. The builders constructed Astor Hall completely with marble from Vermont. Marble from Greece makes up the hallways of the library. Our hostess pointed out that you can feel the difference between the marble from Vermont and the marble from Greece in their texture. One of the exhibition rooms is made of Italian marble, as well. The main exhibition room contains the only wooden ceiling in the building, and its bronze doors are modeled after doors found at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. Stucco makes up the wooden look the rest of the ceilings possess. The tour guide pointed out small, interesting facts you normally would not think important for a tour. She told us about the areas where drinking fountains were located. The structures of the fountains still exist, but due to lead pipes, the library cut the water supply.
Our hostess pointed out two things, however, that captured my attention above all else. First, the design of the building and its contents interested me. Most specifically, the use of nature and animals throughout the building caught my eye. As you enter the building, two lions greet you. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. Early art critics thought they looked too friendly, but studies later proved their realistic nature. The sculptor of the lions received the job after he made two similar lionesses at nearby Morgan Library. At one time, people decorated Patience and Fortitude for the holidays. For the baseball season, the lions would wear baseball caps, but the decorating stopped when the embellishments began to harm the lion’s marble. Looking up above the columns in Astor Hall, you notice a small Bumblebee carved into the marble ceiling. The light fixtures in Astor Hall follow a beast motif with beast-like creatures carved into the fixtures. On one of the ceilings in the building, a woman, made of leaves from the waste down, looks down at you. In the Rose main reading room, original tables depict serpents, benches show gryphons and New York State’s seal with a beaver, and carved dolphins decorate the wooden walls.
The second thing that won my immediate attention was the McGraw Rotunda room, full of huge paintings depicting different forms of print. A large ceiling painting watches over four other images. One painting shows Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. Another painting shows a monastery where monks copy books. The latter painting depicts two books: a prayer book for the entire monastery and a girdle book, a prayer book for personal use. The Gutenberg Bible appears in another painting, but the artist, Edward Lanning, leaves the most intriguing piece of art in the last of these paintings. The last image on a large scale portrays an old fashion newspaper company in New York City, but if you look closely, you’ll find the artist chose to leave his signature on a small part of this painting. In the bottom right corner, on an image of a small piece of paper left on the ground of the newspaper company, the artist signs his name. The painting also depicts a letter to Phelps Stokes, the man who enabled Lanning to take on the painting job. The letter seems small compared to the large paintings in the room, but once someone points it out, you cannot forget that individual part of the painting.
The small details in such a huge building make the New York Public Library unique. Our tour guide made sure we knew her own personal favorite elements of the building as well as the details that help the library to stand out from all other libraries. I have always appreciated art, and this tour gave me a chance to gain a deeper understanding of it. The building captured my heart. I went in anxious to leave, I left anxious to return.

Independence Day

2007-07-05T02:17:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. To view some of my favorite pics from my family fireworks night go to http://declarationphotos.blogspot.com/. To view all my photos go to: http://nycindividual.fotki.com/2007-pictures/fireworks-4th-of-ju/

Psalm 119:45I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.
Isaiah 61:1-3 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
Luke 4:18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,
Romans 8:21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

The Radical Heart of George Macdonald

2007-07-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

“Where are ye going?” said a voice with a strong Scotch accent. I stopped and looked…. On one of the rocks sat a very tall man, almost a giant, with a flowing beard….
“I – I don’t quite know,” said I.
“Ye can sit and talk to me, then,” he said, making room for me on the stone.
“I don’t know you, Sir,” said I, taking my seat beside him
“My name is George,” he answered. “George Macdonald.” (Lewis 64-65)

In this passage from The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis depicts a kind, elderly man who invites him to sit, talk, and learn. Lewis’ depiction of this man, old, yet strong and wise, fits the person of the real George Macdonald. In his writings, Macdonald invites the reader to sit down, relax, and learn something. He incorporates real-life lessons with spiritual lessons. Unfortunately, most of his books remain lost or rarely published in the modern world. He found fame during his own life, but his legacy found its realized expression in the works of others. Macdonald’s influence extended to writers such as C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Mark Twain. Inserting doctrine into his stories made his stories dull at times and kept his name from the fame his fellow writers received in the future, but his writings influenced some of the greatest works we have today.
A 19th century Scottish writer, Macdonald grew up with a Calvinistic background, . He was born on December 10, 1824, the son of a farmer. At only 16 years of age, he attended Aberdeen University, where he studied chemistry and physics. He hoped to go into medicine, but financial problems forced him to leave. Macdonald decided to go into the ministry and attended Highbury College in London for the Congregationalist ministry. In 1850, he became a pastor. Three years later, the leaders of the church he pastored sent him away for radical beliefs. In 1851, he married Louisa Powell. They had eleven children together, but disease killed several of them. Tuberculosis followed Macdonald’s family. He had his first attack in late 1850 and his father died of tuberculosis in the bones.
Unable to return to the ministry, Macdonald found support in writing. He started with poetry, his favorite kind of writing, and in 1855 he published Within and Without. He also wrote short stories, essays, and commentaries. This paved the way to his full-length novels. He covered several genres, but fantasy earned him most of his fame. His first book of this genre, Phantastes, came out in 1958. Queen Victoria gave him a pension of one hundred pounds per year in 1873 and he traveled the United States and a few Canadian locations on a lecture tour during the 1870’s. He spent most of his latter years in Italy, where the warm climate improved his health. Macdonald died in Ashtead, England on September 18, 1905.
Although he never wrote an autobiography, modern audiences can pick out some of Macdonald’s life experiences in several of his books. Alec Forbes of Howglen takes place in northern Scotland and contains many glimpses into Macdonald’s memories of Scotland. Annals of a Quiet Neighborhood is set near the area where Macdonald tried his hand at pasturing a church. Another of Macdonald’s novels, Ranald Bannerman's Boyhood presents a happier side of Macdonald’s childhood, and Malcolm or The Fisherman’s Lady, Sir Gibbie, and Thomas Wingfold served as a trilogy in his biography-like books. Writer Michael Philips describes Macdonald’s novel, Robert Falconer, on his website about Macdonald:
The reader gains a rare glimpse into MacDonald's own boyhood, with his internal struggles, his relationship with his grandmother (who largely raised him after the death of his mother) and his spiritual search as a young man attempting to discover God's love amid the hellfire Calvinism of his upbringing. Robert Falconer's resolution of this conflict is a wonderful window into the roots and development of MacDonald's own faith which would turn generations to come toward the Fatherhood of a loving God. (“The Original Writings of George MacDonald”)
Macdonald lived in a time of new ideas. Ideas of English and German Romanticism filled his head. As his views expanded and changed, he became less Calvinist and more Universalist. Victor Shepherd wrote in Fellowship Magazine:
Although the Scots had a reputation for theological precision, MacDonald thought it to be the product of the dissecting knife: fine work done on something lifeless. For doctrine (as he had seen it handled) appeared to have been made a substitute for living faith where the believer's heart is rightly related to the heart of God. (“Heritage”)
Macdonald argued that the Christian life involved more than believing in the right doctrine. One should exhibit their faith through the “fruits of the spirit” and strive to follow Christ’s example. Furthermore, he believed in a more personal relationship with God. God loves everyone and wants to save everyone. Macdonald rejected the idea of predestination and believed that everyone would eventually come to know Christ. In his article, “George Macdonald: Theology,” Mike Partridge summarizes Macdonald’s beliefs:
God is the Father welcoming his prodigal children home not just their creator or judge. Whether we realise [sic] it or not we are all on a road leading back to him. He is our Home. MacDonald believed that people were either responding to God or turning away from him. For MacDonald there was no absolute need for a moment of conversion as traditionally understood. We are all at different stages on the journey - a journey that has its beginning and end in God.
For Macdonald, life was an exploration to find God. You create your own hell when you reject God. Hell is the knowledge that you are separated from God forever. Christ came as God’s revelation to give us a clear vision of God. Once we receive this vision we should “be so overwhelmed by his [God’s] love that all wrongdoing would be immediately set aside. Seeing right was the beginning of acting right” (“George Macdonald: Theology”). God calls us home and wishes us to obey Him with all our hearts.
Macdonald inserted his beliefs in his letters to friends and family. The Heart of George Macdonald, a collection of Macdonald’s works edited and introduced by Rolland Hein, publishes a series of letters Macdonald wrote. In his condolence letters and his letters to ill friends, he emphasized God as father and Heaven as home. In a letter to Andrew Pym, he wrote that God cares for all His creation, particularly humans. He writes:
I want you to think over and over again… that God is just the one haven you have to make for in this storm. Say to him, My Father, I belong to thee, and I am ill, and I cannot help myself; be my Father and keep near me, and do what thou wilt with me. (Hein 9)
When he encouraged friends to think of Heaven as their future home where they would see their loved ones again, he also encouraged faith in the person to whom he wrote. The person should keep faith in God’s love and faith in the reality of Heaven. To Adelaide Pym he wrote a letter that compared the earth to a nursery. God puts us in the nursery, and some of our playmates in the nursery are taken home before others. In his letter to Susan Scott, he wrote:
God knows and cares, and uses for us as a means of education for our hearts and spirits which we do not ourselves understand. It is not needful that we understand the motive power in the processes that go on within us. It is enough to him who believes it that the Lord did rise again, although after that he was hidden from their sight. Yes, I will believe that I shall hold my own in my arms again, their hearts are nearer to mine than ever before. (Hein 10)
One of Macdonald’s last works, Diary of an Old Man’s Soul, details his relationship with God through a collection of short poems, one for every day of the year. On day three of January, he wrote about longing for his Heavenly home:
Sometimes I wake, and lo, I have forgot,
And drifted out upon an ebbing sea!
My soul that was at rest now resteth not,
For I am with myself and not with thee;
Truth seems a blind moon in a glaring morn,
Where nothing is but sick-heart vanity:
Oh, thou who knowest, save thy child forlorn. (Macdonald 4, Diary of an Old Soul)
Macdonald published a series of sermons as well as a few doctrinal books, but he constantly inserted himself and his beliefs in his other writings, as well. Many of his novels focused on father-and-child relationships. Mary Marston exemplified his views on obedience to God and obedience to parents. In Marston, he specifically writes to young women, encouraging them in their dedication to Christ.
Macdonald’s talent lay with his ability to apply his stories to the lives of his readers. Phillips writes in his introduction to The Fisherman’s Lady, “It is as though he were continually weaving two parallel stories - that of a ‘plot’ and that of the partially submerged spiritual journeys being traveled in a parallel plane by those characters involved in the story” (“Why new edited editions of George MacDonald's books?”). Macdonald added sermons and long speeches into several of his novels. Unfortunately, while this attracted an audience of great thinkers and writers of his time, it kept his books from gaining a permanent popular following. Readers must bear through these elements patiently. Paying careful attention to the contents, even the slow-going contents, often turns up unique and interesting ideas. Macdonald wrote most of his works in Scottish dialect, as well, which makes them hard for the modern reader to understand.
Macdonald experimented with various genres and decided on fantasy. Realism limited the imagination too much, and he believed that fantasy conveyed double meanings better than any other genre. Jesus used parables to get across his messages, and the Bible is full of symbolism, metaphor, and analogy. He could write a story and a message into a fantasy. Fantasy fills a story with symbolism. Macdonald took advantage of this genre, using the symbolism to pass on his religious beliefs.
Even though Macdonald filled his fantasies with unrealistic elements, he made his characters seem real. His characters depicted the average-Joe of his time. These characters appealed to Macdonald’s audience. He wrote two adult fantasy novels, Phantastes: A Fairie Romance for Men and Women and Lilith, and he wrote several children’s fantasy books and stories, including The Princess and the Goblin and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie. Goblin made it to film in 1994 as a cartoon.
One of Macdonald’s better-known short stories was a fantasy. “The Light Princess” first came out with a series of other short stories. They formed stories within a story in Adela Cathcart, a collection similar to Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. In it, a cluster of travelers gathers for shelter in an inn and share stories with one another. Macdonald later published “Light Princess” in a few other collections as well, including, Dealings with the Fairies, his first book of short stories, and Works of Fancy and Imagination, another collection of various stories he wrote.
The story of “Light Princess” follows a plot similar to Charles Perrault’s “The Beauty of Sleeping Wood” (Sleeping Beauty). A king and queen have a daughter, but forget to invite the king’s sister to the baby’s christening. Macdonald describes the child’s aunt:
[She was] a sour, spiteful creature. The wrinkles of contempt crossed the wrinkles of peevishness, and made her face as full of wrinkles as a pat of butter. If ever a king could be justified in forgetting anybody, this king was justified in forgetting his sister, even at a christening. She looked very odd, too. Her forehead was as large as all the rest of her face, and projected over it like a precipice. When she was angry, her little eyes flashed blue. When she hated anybody, they shone yellow and green. What they looked like when she loved anybody, I do not know; for I never heard of her loving anybody but herself, and I do not think she could have managed that if she had not somehow got used to herself. (Macdonald 6, “The Light Princess”)
The sister casts a spell on the baby princess that takes away her gravity. For the next several years, the princess cannot walk. She can only float. She regains her gravity when she swims in a nearby lake, but loses it again as soon as she leaves the water. Swimming in the lake gives her great joy, and she spends most of her time there.
A side effect of the spell causes her to never cry. She can only laugh. She cannot take things seriously and thinks everything should revolve around her. Her character is immature and selfish. Macdonald narrates, “When she was told, for the sake of experiment, that General Clanrunfort was cut to pieces with all his troops, she laughed; when she heard that the enemy was on his way to besiege her papa's capital, she laughed hugely” (Macdonald 23, “The Light Princess”).
Everything changes one day when she meets a prince looking for a bride. The prince falls in love with her at once, but she rejects his thoughts of love and laughs at him. Still, they swim together in the evenings and the princess’ joy continues to grow. Her aunt, however, cannot rejoice at the princess’ happiness. When she sees how happy the lake makes the princess, the aunt casts a spell to take away all the water of the lake. The king and queen discover that in order for the lake water to return, a man must willingly sacrifice himself for the princess. He must find the hole in the lake and place himself in it like a cork. Once he does this, the water will return and drown him.
The prince decides to volunteer because he loves the princess, but he makes the princess come out with him on a boat to feed him until the water drowns him. As the water covers him and he takes his last breath, the princess screams and jumps in to rescue him. She takes him back to the palace, hoping the doctors can restore him. For the first time, she cries out of sorrow. Her tears bring rain to fill the lake. She regains her gravity and the palace rejoices. The prince revives and marries the princess. They live happily ever after, while the aunt’s caverns under the lake collapse with her in them.
Macdonald’s “Light Princess” can symbolize more than one thing. God sacrificed Jesus for our salvation, just as the prince willingly sacrificed himself for the joy of the princess. The immature and frivolous nature of the princess before she saves the prince represents human nature. As humans, we do not take the time to stop and see the truth found in God’s word. Macdonald believed that we should respond to Christ and rediscover God in nature and in scripture. In “Light Princess,” he also stresses the importance of love in a relationship. Our relationship with God should come from the heart. Love saves the prince and princess just as God’s love saves us. The conflict of “Light Princess” also revolves around life-giving water. The lake water gives life to the princess and her kingdom and, similarly, Christ exists as our living water. Bob Trexler points out in his article, “George MacDonald and the ‘Light Princess,’” the common themes evident in Macdonald’s stories:
All MacDonald's ideas derive from and point toward two central themes: The Fatherhood of God and the obedience of the Son. But in choosing these two themes, it would be necessary to include death as the major subheading under the obedience of the son, for it is clear from MacDonald's writings that our obedience is to be modeled after that of Jesus Christ, who became obedient unto death.
In “Light Princess,” the princess' willingness to risk joining her savior-prince in death illustrates Macdonald's belief that one must die to oneself in order to live unto Christ.
A letter to a man Macdonald once met at an inn confirms the theme Trexler points to. Macdonald states that belief in an idea in the Bible and the understanding and explaining of an idea in the Bible does not confirm your faith. He writes:
It [faith] is to take him as our Lord and Master, obey his words, be prepared to die for him; it is to take on us the yoke his father laid on him and regard the will of God as the one thing worthy of a man’s care and endeavour – as indeed out very life – that, and nothing less than that, is faith in the Son of God. (Hein 6)
Later, in the same letter, Macdonald says that people too often focus on understanding instead of acting. They tell others what to do instead of doing it themselves. Macdonald’s beliefs on faith and salvation resembled the book of James in the Bible. Yes, faith saves, but works, or the fruits of the spirit, accompany true faith. Preaching doctrine does not always save and sometimes deters people from focusing on the Bible as a whole. Thinking in terms of doctrine alone limits God. Macdonald wanted the kind of faith that moves mountains, a faith that acts.
Macdonald’s spiritual themes influenced G.K. Chesterton. In his introduction to the biography written by Macdonald’s son, George Macdonald and His Wife, he cites Macdonald’s book, The Princess and the Goblin, as his favorite George Macdonald book. Chesterton says, “[It] helped me to see things in a certain way from the start; a vision of things which even so real a revolution as a change of religious allegiance has substantially only crowned and confirmed” (“George Macdonald”). Chesterton admires Macdonald’s use of real world issues in a fantasy and enjoys the ability to apply a fantasy story to his own life. In the introduction to Macdonald and His Wife, he notes how Macdonald’s descriptions make him feel as if the plot could take place inside his own home. Chesterton says:
There is something not only imaginative but intimately true about the idea of the goblins being below the house and capable of besieging it from the cellars. When the evil things besieging us do appear, they do not appear outside but inside. (“George Macdonald”)
C.S. Lewis read Macdonald’s novel, Phantastes, as a teenager. It initiated his imagination and inspired him to begin considering Christianity. An atheist at the time, Lewis slowly found himself drawn to Christ’s amazing love and redeeming power. Later in his life, Lewis published George Macdonald: An Anthology, a collection of his favorite Macdonald works along with his own comments showing his appreciation to the author. Like Chesterton, Lewis found inspiration in The Princess and the Goblin. He claimed that of those who inspired him to write The Chronicles of Narnia, Macdonald played a key role. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin share many common themes. Most noteworthy, both stories appeal to the childlike nature of the average reader. Characters reflect the reader’s desire to become fully childlike and the reader’s inability to gain the perfect childlike attitude.
Exploring Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books in more detail reveals that they both make an effort to distinguish between the childish and the childlike. The childish character starts out selfish, but slowly transforms into the innocent, childlike character. Edmund Pevensie demonstrates this character in Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, part of the Narnia series. Edmund desires power over his brother and sisters and betrays them to the White Witch when she promises to give him power and riches. Subsequently, the witch does not keep her promise, and Aslan, the lion ruler of Narnia, sacrifices himself to save Edmund. Aslan redeems Edmund. Edmund realizes the full truth and accepts it, putting his sins behind him and moving forward.
Macdonald uses this transition in his characters to symbolize redemption. Dr. Don W. King, of the department of English at Montreat College, observes this in Macdonald’s adult fantasy novel, Lilith:
Mr. Vane in Lilith is a striking example. Throughout most of the story he is vain, short-sighted, ego-centric, conceited, stubborn, and over-confident. It is only through his relationship with Mr. Raven (Adam) and after a series of misadventures that almost lead to a catastrophe for the innocent who inhabit Lilith's world that Vane finally comes to see his short-comings; and, in the end, after he gains a childlike attitude toward life, he experiences a kind of inner healing. (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis”)
Curdie, in Macdonald’s Princess and the Goblin, gives us another example of the childish character. A worker in the mines, he finds himself forced into an adult mindset at an early age. He becomes friends with Princess Irene and later discovers the plot of the goblins to take over the kingdom. The goblins capture Curdie, but Irene saves him with the help of her mystical grandmother’s invisible thread, which leads her to Curdie’s location. Curdie refuses to believe in the invisible thread and Irene’s grandmother. He remains unconvinced until Irene’s grandmother appears to him and heals a wound the goblins inflicted on him. This reminds us of Thomas’ unbelief in the Bible. He would not believe in Jesus’ resurrection unless Jesus appeared to him.
Similar to Curdie’s unbelief, the brothers and sister of the character, Lucy, in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, refuse to believe in a magical world called Narnia that Lucy finds in a wardrobe. In Prince Caspian, another book in the Narnia series, Aslan only appears to Lucy. He tells her which way to go when she and her siblings are lost, but her brothers and sister do not believe her story and decide to go the opposite way of Aslan’s directions. Lucy goes with them and after a long, tiring journey, Aslan appears to her once more. He points out her failure to obey and shows her the right path again. In this, Lewis points out that no one can achieve perfection, but hope still exists. Although Lucy fails to obey Aslan the first time, Aslan continues to appear only to her.
Lucy and Princess Irene represent the childlike character in Lewis’ and Macdonald’s books. With a childlike heart, these characters long for something more than what they have. Dr. King points out, “the child within, our childlike self, enables us to see, even if momentarily, that there is more to life than the physical reality about us” (“The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis.”). Macdonald’s wording becomes playful in The Princess and the Goblin when he describes Irene’s desire for something more. She lives in a great house in the mountains, built on top of the caverns the goblins inhabit. Macdonald narrates:
She [Princess Irene] got very tired, so tired that even her toys could no longer amuse her. You would wonder at that if I had time to describe to you one half of the toys she had. But then, you wouldn't have the toys themselves, and that makes all the difference: you can't get tired of a thing before you have it. It was a picture, though, worth seeing − the princess sitting in the nursery with the sky ceiling over her head, at a great table covered with her toys. If the artist would like to draw this, I should advise him not to meddle with the toys. I am afraid of attempting to describe them, and I think he had better not try to draw them. He had better not. He can do a thousand things I can't, but I don't think he could draw those toys.
Irene’s curiosity and longing for something new leads her up three flights of stairs to several passageways filled with mysterious doors. Eventually, one particular door leads her to the spirit of her grandmother. This contains similarities to the wardrobe door through which Lucy enters the land of Narnia in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Irene’s grandmother tests her childlike faith, telling her to come back in a week if she still believes that her grandmother is real. She returns and her grandmother rewards her, showing her various mystical items, including the invisible thread that leads Irene to Curdie’s prison.
Lewis and Macdonald often drew ideas from each other, as shown in the similarities between The Chronicles of Narnia and The Princess and the Goblin. The two writers link humility and innocence with a childlike attitude. In this state, a character believes what seems unbelievable. Lewis and Macdonald harken back to Jesus’ statement in Matthew 18:3: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” The Heart of George Macdonald contains excerpts from some of Macdonald’s sermons. Macdonald gave more insight to his views on the childlike state in his sermon, “The Child in the Midst.” Referring to Matthew 18, Macdonald said:
[W]hen the child was employed as a manifestation, utterance, and sign of the truth that lay in his childhood, in order that the eyes as well as the ears should be channels to the heart, it was essential – not that the child should be beautiful – that the child should be childlike. (Hein 323-324)
Macdonald said Matthew 18:3 calls us to become humble and discontinue fighting over who will be the greatest in Heaven. He saw that the Calvinist preachers of his own time missed this essential requirement for entering the Kingdom of God.
Lewis describes this in chapter 9 of his book, The Great Divorce, when the character of Macdonald shows to Lewis ghosts that come to the edge of Heaven. Macdonald is the teacher at the edge of heaven. The spirits of Heaven try to convert the ghosts. The ghosts can gain joy if they accept it and put away their sins, but they come to the edge of Heaven only to spit at its gates or to tell others about Hell. Some preach about the sins of other ghosts and the statistics of Hell, ignoring their own sins. Some do not ignore their sins; rather, they think their numerous sins give them authority. One particular ghost longs for his earthly fame. The fact that everyone has equal fame in Heaven appalls him. When he discovers that people do not remember him back on earth, he rushes away to gain back his fame. We also see a reference to the ministers of Macdonald’s time when Macdonald’s character states,
There have been men before now who got so interested in proving the existence of God that they came to care nothing for God Himself… as if the good Lord had nothing to do but exist! There have been some many who were so occupied in spreading Christianity that they never gave a thought to Christ. (Lewis 71)
Macdonald and Lewis spend much of the chapter talking about the nature of Heaven and Hell. This chapter gives more insight to Macdonald’s own views on Hell. According to the character, Macdonald, Hell is a state of mind. Many choose Hell over the joy of Heaven because they cling to their passions and sins. They cling so hard that they become their passions and sins. Even when presented with the chance to gain joy and put away Hell, these people choose Hell. They would rather be master of their own Hell than serve God. On earth they knew the truth and rejected it, and they do the same in the afterlife. As Macdonald tells Lewis in the book, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it” (Lewis 72). It is hard to tell whether Macdonald would believe that the Hell depicted in Lewis’ Divorce should be taken literally or allegorically. Lewis seems to suggest that it is more allegorical: All people have the chance to go to heaven, but they choose Hell when they reject Christ.
It was not through his doctrine alone that Macdonald influenced his peers. Macdonald’s influence expanded with his children. One popular author of the time, Lewis Carol, became good friends with the Macdonald family and would not publish his book, Alice and Wonderland, until Macdonald’s children had read and approved it. Another writer Macdonald became friends with was Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. Macdonald’s method of storytelling attracted Clemens. Macdonald’s and Clemens’ diction and style resembled each other. Both drew from their own experiences for inspiration, and both captured the language of their homelands in the dialogues of their texts.
Clemens’ first encounter with Macdonald’s work was Robert Falconer. Reading it with his wife, Olivia, he enjoyed the first half of it, but hated the book as a whole. Thus, Clemens and Macdonald got off to a rough start, but they soon became well acquainted in America when Macdonald went on his lecture tour. Both took interest in a group of freed slaves called the Jubilee Singers. At the time, the Macdonalds lived in England. Clemens eventually visited England, and he and his wife attended one of the Macdonalds’ garden parties, which the Jubilee Singers also attended. By this time, Clemens and Macdonald had become intimate friends. In her article, “Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet,” Kathryn Lindskoog asks, “Is it possible that the two men conceived of a story about a white orphan boy whose friend was a good-hearted black man? Within thirteen years they both happened to write and publish such a story.” Clemens came out with Tom Sawyer soon after Macdonald wrote Thomas Wingfold, Curate. Macdonald’s Sir Gibbie contained similar characters. Lindskoog pointed out in her article,
On May 10, 1880, Mark Twain bought a new book from the J. R. Barlow bookstore in his home city of Hartford, Connecticut: Sir Gibbie, by his British friend George MacDonald. It was in a paperback Seaside Library Edition, and it cost twenty cents. In July, Twain received a bill for the book. On July 5, 1880, he paid the twenty cents. And that long-forgotten twenty-cent purchase may have contributed to Huckleberry Finn. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn share many themes and story elements. Lindskoog continues:
Both Sir Gibbie and Huckleberry Finn explore questions of ethics and truth through the life of an unusually bright and unusually unfortunate boy. Both are set in the colourful [sic] region where the author spent his boyhood. Both were written for children as well as adults. And they have at least twenty plot elements in common. (“Mark Twain & George MacDonald: The Salty and the Sweet”)
Once, Macdonald proposed that Clemens help him write a sequel to Sir Gibbie, but it did not work out. The two authors also exchanged books written by others and by themselves. At the Back of the North Wind, one of Macdonald’s better-known novels, played a special role in Clemens’ home. Twain’s children often convinced him to make up stories about the book’s main character, little Diamond. Scholars have also proposed similarities between Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court and Macdonald’s Lilith.
Macdonald became a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien, who took some inspiration from Macdonald’s fantasies for his The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although Macdonald never got the chance to join Tolkien’s famous group for writers and thinkers known as the “Inklings,” he gathered around him various types of fellow writers. While his beliefs kept him from a typical career in the ministry, they enabled him to preach his message in other ways. He lectured and he wrote. His theology and his writing style attracted readers and inspired great thinkers. Macdonald brought about a new way to write. While many of his peers wrote entirely realistic works, Macdonald maintained a realistic message within a fantasy story. C.S. Lewis took a few cues from Macdonald when he wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. Others, such as Samuel Clemens, merely exchanged ideas with him. G.K. Chesterton looked to him as a role model.
Macdonald stood out from the crowd. In his lifetime, he wrote over 50 books. While his books are not as popular as they once were, his ideas live on in the writings of others. As readers sit down with a book by C.S. Lewis or G.K. Chesterton, they are still invited to learn from the old, kind man with a flowing beard.

Works Cited
Chesterton, G K. "George Macdonald." The American Chesterton Society. 1924. 17 Apr. 2007 .
King, Don W. "The Childlike in George MacDonald and C. S. Lewis." Into the Wardrobe: a C.S. Lewis Web Site. Summer 1986. Dept. of English, Montreat C. 16 Apr. 2007 .
Lewis, C S. The Great Divorce. New York: Macmillan, 1976.
Lindskoog, Kathryn. "Mark Twain and George Macdonald: the Salty and the Sweet." The Mark Twain Journal 30 (1992). 17 Apr. 2007 .
Macdonald, George. Diary of an Old Soul. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006. 3-4.
Macdonald, George. The Heart of George Macdonald. Ed. Rolland Hein. Vancouver, British Columbia: Regent College, 2004.
Macdonald, George. "The Light Princess." The Complete Fairy Tales. Ed. U C. Knoepflmacher. Penguin Group, 1999.
Macdonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. enotes.com. 25 Apr. 2007 .
Partridge, Mike. "George Macdonald: Theology." George Macdonald WWW Page. 2001. 17 Apr. 2007 .
Phillips, Michael. "The Original Writings of George MacDonald." George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 17 Apr. 2007 .
Phillips, Michael. "Why New Edited Editions of George MacDonald's Books?" George Macdonald & Michael Phillips. 1982. 17 Apr. 2007 .
Shepherd, Victor. "Heritage." Sermons and Writings of Victor Shepherd. Prof. of Systematic and Historical Theology, Tyndale. 18 Apr. 2007 .
Trexler, Bob. "George Macdonald and the "Light Princess"" George Macdonald WWW Page. Mar.-Apr. 1999. 18 Apr. 2007 .

When Difficulty Comes

2007-07-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

I still remember how I reacted the first time I was put into a worldly environment. I didn’t exactly embody the Christian attitude. I had a bitter attitude towards everything. It was hard for me to accept the differences in people, and I started to question my faith. It didn’t take me long to get over my feelings once the experience had passed. I thought I had learned my lesson, but I hadn’t. Similar experiences came, always with the same feelings and thoughts of rebellion against God. I wanted to question God; I wanted to know why I was having such a difficult time. I knew something had to change. That’s when I decided to go to France. I came close to rejecting my faith then, but I could never let go no matter how hard I tried.
I had visited France once before and loved it. This time, though, my journey to Montpellier was not so pleasant. On the plane, I sat next to a very nice German man who had plenty of interesting opinions. I was not strong enough in my faith to witness to him, but we did have a few short conversations on government and life in general. He spent the rest of the eight or nine hours of the flight in the bathroom throwing up because he had drunk too much alcohol. Needless to say, he didn’t exactly have the sweet aroma of flowers upon him when he was sitting next to me. Inside I reacted as if a skunk had mysteriously appeared and sprayed the entire plane. This was not much of a difficulty in itself, but it did foreshadow what I would see in many of my fellow students once I got to France.
Bad omens seemed to keep coming my way. When I arrived at the airport, my hostess recognized me right away, but as soon as she identified herself, she started to walk towards the parking lot, not even giving me a chance to get my luggage. Later that week, I came back to the apartment to find I had missed dinner. Another night, my hostess welcomed another woman into the apartment as a tenant who was not even part of the school I attended. One time, she had family over, a daughter, granddaughter, and son. Her granddaughter would not leave me alone; she was annoying, but cute in her own way. The daughter and granddaughter left that night, but the son stayed. I did not exactly feel comfortable wearing pajamas at night when I knew he was there.
I did get my own room, however, and I was grateful for that. My first night I fell asleep right away, but awoke in the middle of the night disturbed by two things. The first was a small rumble coming from my empty stomach. I was so hungry I heard my stomach talking. It seemed to sound off like a pig, “oink, oink, oink, feed me.” The second thing that awoke me was the need to use the restroom. I was rather irritated that no one had awakened me for dinner. Even more irritating was the fact that I did not know where the bathroom was. Here I was, in a very small apartment, and afraid to look for a bathroom! I don’t know why I was afraid. The overall experience I’d had so far made me want to crawl up in a corner and cry. The only thing I could think of to do was call my mom. I spent the entire night on the phone complaining. I held my need to use the restroom for quite some time, but eventually I got up the courage to find out where the bathroom was. As it turned out, French homes have two separate rooms for bathroom uses: one for the toilette and the other for the bathtub, shower, and sink. In the apartment I was in, both rooms had signs on them to tell what they were!
The next morning, I met two other girls who stayed in the room next to mine. Our hostess slept in the living room. They both came from other countries but were in the same student exchange program as me. I thought this odd, but knew they spoke English, so it would not be too strange for them to take classes with me. They showed me the ropes: how to get to school, which was in a large town center much like the markets and squares of Italy. The school was on the fourth floor of an old building. We almost always had to take the stairs. For a plus-sized girl like me this became a difficulty in itself, especially considering my apartment was also four floors up. As soon as I entered the classroom doors, I knew things were not going to be what I had expected. I soon found that these classes were not for beginners. Although I’d taken one year of French, I couldn’t understand a thing because the teachers spoke only in French!
I did make a few friends at first but soon learned how worldly they were. When we started to talk about our worldviews, I didn’t have much to say in my defense. After that, no one really liked me. It didn’t help that I wasn’t willing to visit bars, drink, and smoke with the other kids. Many came from other countries where they used beer and cigarettes at a young age; and all those from America took the opportunity to drink and smoke legally. I was the strange American. Even the woman with whom I stayed pressured me to take part. On top of all this, I became very homesick and got into the habit of crying in bed every night. I called my parents as often as possible, wrote in my journal as a way of venting, and did my Bible study every night.
The various difficulties depressed me, but God found little ways to cheer me. I began to realize the importance of difficulties and the possibilities of what we can make out of them. I met with American missionaries who were very kind to me. Other times I explored the streets of Montpellier and found a sense of independence. God gave me strength to persevere. I was content in those few moments when I could stop to watch a street performer or sing along with a ministering church choir. It was encouraging. I had often thought I would fall away in my faith; that I would somehow lose it and come to believe something else – or nothing. I have doubted my beliefs as much as any other Christian. Having grown up in a Christian home, many would expect me to rebel against what I’ve been taught. Now I was thinking about it again, but something kept me going. No matter what I thought or did, no matter how empty I felt, I couldn’t be separated from God. Romans 8:35, 39 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The difficulties I’ve faced have brought me to the point where I couldn’t stop believing in God or in His love for me; His love kept me going when I was in France.
When the end of my adventure came, my hostess refused to take me to the airport. I tried to call Dorcas, one of the missionaries, but couldn’t find her phone number. Next, I called the missionary pastor. He gave Dorcas’ number to me, but when I tried to call her, my cell phone ran out of out-going minutes! Throughout my trip I had come to depend on God to get me through the hard times, so I prayed. I was about to go find a pay phone when my cell phone rang. It was Dorcas! The pastor had called her to make sure everything turned out OK. She was happy to take me to the airport that morning. The Lord had prepared my way home.
I felt like I had wasted my parents’ money on my trip. When I came home, my parents inveighed against the program’s curriculum and organization, hoping to get their money back, but they were forced to accept what I had learned as reward enough for their money. I realized that this trip was meant to be. Just as those long stairways and walks about Montpellier exercised my body, the difficulties built up my mind and developed my independence. Most important, my troubles caused me to depend on God instead of on myself and pushed me to do my own research and form my own worldview, to learn more about what I believe so I can defend Christianity.
My faith was challenged, but I took the opportunity to confront difficulty and overcome it. Epicurus said, “The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.” During my trip to France, I grew spiritually, mentally, and physically because of the trials I faced. Difficulty taught me. I was its pupil. I‘m sure many more difficulties will come -- life is full of difficulties. The question is: How will I react when they do come?

Book Review of California Driver's Handbook

2007-06-30T23:04:00.000-07:00

If there is any person qualified to write a book review of the California Driver’s Handbook, it’s me. No, I do not work for the DMV, and no, I am not a perfectionist driver. In truth, I am very afraid of driving. While still on my first permit, I got in an accident. With my driver instructor, my sandal got caught on the pedal and I pushed the gas pedal instead of the break. This caused me to get into a minor bumper accident, no damage. I cried when I got home. Needless to say time came and went and I did not go for my license. My permit expired. Since then I have taken the permit test two more times and gotten better at passing each time. I always passed, but each time the number of missed questions lessened. I actually was scheduled to take my permit test earlier this month for the third time, but my mom lost my passport. A weeks worth of reading was wasted. Luckily, this time I highlighted the important parts and when my mom found my passport a month later I only had to skip read the highlighted parts. Two days ago, on June 28th, 2007, I took the test and only missed two questions. My picture would have turned out good if my double chin had not shown up. It has a way of coming out like that. I hate being fat, I hope to lose weight. Nevertheless, I will not let my bad health drag me down. I did dream once that my double chin saved me from a man who tried to slit my throat. The knife did not go deep enough to kill me, although I did lose some blood. It’s a real dream I had. Anyway, back to the driving thing. As already stated, I hate driving. I’m always afraid I’ll do something wrong. I remember my first experience with driver’s rage. I pulled over to let people pass, but when I tried to pull back into the lane a driver got mad at me and followed me to my turnoff where he proceed to honk at me and flip me off. I eventually got over my fear and got back on the road, but then college came. When you live in NYC you don’t drive much. Thus, it has been over a year since I last drove and my old fears have returned this summer. Since I am attending a different college this fall, I will need to drive and I will need a car. Needless to say, I have so far avoided all my parents attempts to get me on the road, but I really do need to try. Maybe I should go back to that handbook for some help, but don’t expect a book review of it. I already hate it enough, I doubt I would be able to keep from becoming overly judgmental and bias.

IPig

2007-06-29T23:10:00.000-07:00

I was watching tv with my family tonight when a preview of tonight's news came on. I thought I misheard them when they said to forget about the iphone, a new ipig product is out. What's an ipig? I looked it up on google and what should I find but this:

"ST. PAUL, MN (June 27, 2007) – In an effort to beat Apple to the punch the St. Paul Saints Baseball Club today announced its plans to compete with the iPhone, releasing the much less-hyped iPig."

I guess they beat me to the punch of finding something funny to say about the iphone and our modern obsession with technology. I suppose I shouldn't be too passionate about this topic considering I own an 80 gig ipod. Still, I have learned myself this summer that you can benefit a lot more from reading than watching tv. I also must say that it is proven that listening to classical music helps develop your brain for school when you listen to it while studying. That's my bit for today. I also shared my thoughts in my dad's words on my dad's blog.

To read more on the ipig, go to it's creator's site at http://www.saintsipig.com/

http://poorhousedad.blogspot.com/

2007-06-29T00:25:00.001-07:00

I've started a new blog for my dad with his own account. It's called PoorHouse Dad's Forwards. It consists of all his forward emails to me which range from political topics to funny pictures to current events. He also writes his own stuff sometimes that he sends to me to post for him. Here is the link: http://poorhousedad.blogspot.com/

Christian Themes in Nancy Drew

2007-06-28T01:19:00.000-07:00

Many are surprised to find out that Christian values are present in so many locations: books, stories, present day morals, and movies. You would expect this is Christian fiction, such as “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and movies based on Biblical stories, such “Evan Almighty,” but would you really expect it in a movie like “Nancy Drew”? It’s there.

Nancy has an earthly father who wants her to give up “sleuthing.” However, she continues to “sleuth” even once he tells her to stop. He wants her to become a more normal teenager. She tries to fit in, but it does not go so well and she cannot keep away from investigating the murder of a famous movie star. She discovers that should not give in to peer pressure and persecution, but should stay true to who she is. In the process, Nancy learns to put the needs of others above herself and to keep persevering no matter what. She follows her heart and tries to do the right thing, but also uses her mind to make sure she makes the right choices.

These lessons are very similar to the Biblical lessons we find in “Evan Almighty.”

1. Nancy has a purpose in life. She tries something different for a while, listening to the suggestions of her earthly father, but finds she cannot keep away from her true calling. Throughout it all she endures persecution, but pushes through to the end of the race. Like Nancy, we all have a purpose in life. We may stray from that purpose for a while, but God always gets His way. When we are persecuted, we can find shelter in God’s sovereignty.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

2. Nancy follows her heart and uses her mind. The Bible promotes using both the heart and mind. In our heart we must follow God in faith and believe what we profess. We must also become sober-minded and use our minds to meditate on God’s word.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:2-3)

Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours? (1 Kings 3:8-9)

My heart says of you, "Seek his face!" Your face, LORD, I will seek. (Psalm 27:8)
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Selah. (Psalm 62:8)

I expand more on these themes in my review on “Evan Almighty.”

Click here to read my movie review on "Nancy Drew"
Click here to read my movie review on "Evan Almighty"
Click here to read my published movie reviews
Cleck here to read all my reviews

Foundations of a Leader

2007-06-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Well, time got away from me again today so I thought I would go ahead and post something a little more interesting (and controversial - I warn you, I am conservative, but this review should not offend anyone). This is also regarding a past event, but is still relevant today.

You never know what to expect when a politician speaks. I didn’t know what to expect when Ralph Nader spoke about his new book, The Seventeen Traditions. I knew that he was a politician and had run for the presidency in 2000 as a third party candidate, but little else. My dad told me he was a liberal. I wondered if a liberal could have a good side. His book looked like it was about traditional values that should be implemented into society, but I didn’t know what values.
“This is the shortest book I’ve ever written,” Nader started at the book discussion, “but it’s long overdue.” Why? It’s overdue because the times are changing for the worse. The rest of his speech detailed why we need to look at foundations to change times for the better. Nader found his foundations in his family life as a child.
“We aren’t seeing enough people rising to leadership,” Nader said. He suggested that the solution may lie in civic education and other basic units of life. He asked, “What generates civic spirit?” His answer: the family unit. “If you ask anyone involved in civic activities how they got started in those activities, they’ll tell you it started with a friend or family member that took them to a speech, rally, protest, or event of some kind.”
Nader talked about what we can gain from the foundations of older generations. He pointed out that not only did people communicate more orally in older days, but they listened to nature and to those around them, whereas today it’s all about virtual reality instead of real sights and sounds.
Nader said that he was disciplined by proverbs, not by shouting. “There was a proverb for every conceivable occasion,” he commented. His parents made sure that their disagreements weren’t shown in front of their children. “When dinner came,” he said, “mother didn’t ask us what we wanted to eat. We weren’t old enough to know what we wanted to eat.” Life was full of hypotheses, logical arguments, and conversation. He was in a continual state of learning that would eventually make him what he is today.
One day he asked his mom if he could have long pants since all the other boys’ mothers let them wear long pants. She replied, “They’ve got their mothers and you’ve got yours. Why are you afraid to be different?” This made him realize that standing out was a good thing.
Another time Nader’s mother asked him if nature was for sale. He knew the answer was no. That got him thinking about all the other things that shouldn’t be for sale, such as democracy, elections, and education.
Nader recalled an example of the shaping of his mind. At school one day, a friend of his looked at a girl and said, “What a pig.” “I thought about it all the way home,” he said. “I wondered why my friend would say such a thing. He seemed a better person when he was younger. It got me thinking about discrimination. Too many jobs today are based on looks instead of personality or qualification.”
Nader concluded, “we all should look back and try to find wisdom and try to find the things that work.” He also asked, “Do you love your country?” If you love your country, he said, you should work harder to make it a better place. Most places of influence were contributed by individual benefactors. Nader said there should be more benefactors in this world. “It’s no soup kitchen charity, it’s institution-building.”
Overall I agree with everything he said. When it comes to education, we need to study the old as well as the new. Part of the reason the newest generation lacks in leadership is that they aren’t observing, reading, and interacting enough. There is a lot more initiative to be taken and a lot more potential to be developed.
A reform of the family is needed. The Village may have its role, but the Family lays the foundation. Our politics may conflict and our practices of family living may differ, but we agree that the American family needs revitalization.
The real entertainment came during the question and answer time, which was heated with arguments that required security intervention. One person shouted that George W. Bush should be imprisoned. Two audience members wouldn’t stop interrupting the people who had put their hands up to ask questions. These protestors demonstrated how their families failed to instill in them respect, manners, and a sense of relevance.
Nader ended by recapping his lecture. He said students need to stop rationalizing their failures. “If others can do it, so can you! Kids need to stop making excuses for themselves!”
Nader is a good speaker, and I believe he has a good heart, too (or at least good foundations), even if he is a liberal.
Works Cited
Nader, Ralph. Discussion of The Seventeen Traditions. Barnes and Nobles. Union Square, New York City. 30 Jan. 2007.

The Art of Interpretation: Die Ägyptische Helena at the Met

2007-06-26T23:48:00.001-07:00

Well, I was going to post something on the Christian themes in Nancy Drew today, but time ran out so I've decided to post something I know no one will read and post something else tomorrow. The following is my review on the Metropolitan Opera's production of Die Ägyptische Helena, which is long over. However, if you are an operalover I'm sure you'll enjoy reading it for the sake of future productions of it at the Met as well as for the sake of just getting an idea of what the opera is about.

HGTV airs a show called Designers Challenge in which three designers compete to create the best design for a room in someone’s house. Each designer has a unique interpretation of the room. They all have good designs, but only one can win, only one stands out above the rest. Similarly, if we give one opera to four directors, each person will come up with a unique cast and visual design. Sometimes one interpretation stands out above all others. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2007 production of Richard Strauss’ Die Ägyptische Helena stands as one of those productions. While most productions tend toward a more realistic look, David Fielding, director and designer, decided on a more fantasy-driven look. Rarely performed, this opera requires something special to attract an audience. In Fielding’s production, the surreal sets and extraordinary cast attracts an audience. Once the audience shows up, the story pulls them in further.
Helena follows relationships between two married couples: Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Aithra; and King Menelas of Sparta and Helen. Aithra worries that her husband no longer loves her. Her oracle mussel shell reassures her of Poseidon’s faithfulness and tells her about Menelas and Helen, who are on their way home from Troy. Menelas wants to kill Helen. With her powers, Aithra sinks Menelas’ boat just in time to save Helen from his dagger. Menelas and Helen swim ashore to Aithra’s palace. Aithra gives Menelas a potion that makes him forget his past. Aithra then sends him with his wife to another land where they can live a new life together. She also gives Helen two potions, one that would give Menelas back his full memory and another that would take away the pains of Menelas’ past. The previous owners of the land that Aithra gave to Helen and Menelas end the peace when they appear. First Da-ud attempts to woo Helen with a song, then his father, Altair, tries to take Helen by force. Meanwhile, as the potion begins wearing off and his memories start to return, Menelas mistakes Da-ud for Paris and kills him. Tired of living in an artificial reality, Helen realizes that in order to live a happy life, she will have to give Menelas the potion of forgetfulness continually. She decides to give Menelas the potion of remembrance, confident that only it can save their marriage. He takes the potion and it restores all: Menelas recovers his memories and renews his marriage with Helen.
Fielding creates an interesting contrast between the characters and the sets. The sets match the magical element of the story. Planets and neon colors splatter the canvas and oversized beds, and slanted doors provide a surreal, grandiose atmosphere. When Menelas’ ship sinks, a giant silhouette of a running man with a briefcase appears in front of a background that looks like a raging sea. Later, when Altair and Da-ud emerge from the bathroom, a similar silhouette appears, but in front of a background that looks like a Sahara desert.
On the other hand, the characters wear plain, solid-colored outfits. The men wear business suits and the women wear straight-cut dresses that drag behind on the ground. The solid colors symbolize the identities of the characters wearing them. Aithra’s blue dress represents the sea and her divinity. The landowners wear yellow and orange suits, representing the land. Altair, in the autumn of his life, wears orange and Da-ud, in the sunny disposition of youth, wears yellow. Altair’s orange also symbolizes his aggressiveness when he tries to force himself upon Helen. Other characters wear white and black costumes, symbolizing the potions, Aithra’s oracle mussel shell, and the dagger with which Menelas wants to kill Helen. Another man wears a red suit to symbolize the deaths of characters. The colors also occasionally serve simply to brighten up the stage.
Symbolism, especially the use of colors and colored lighting, permeates the opera. When the owners visit Helen, they bring briefcases with lights inside of them, symbolizing jewels, their gifts to Helen. The shadows of characters tell the same story on the wall and make the characters and their colored costumes stand out. They also symbolize the darkness that follows each of us. Colored lighting emphasizes the colored costumes. The lighting also follows the mood of the events. The stage darkens during serious scenes and brightens during frivolous scenes. The character of Helen shines as a light. Like the lights used to symbolize jewels in the briefcases, her light shines as the ultimate treasure that every man wants to possess.
The story is not always easy to follow, but the abstract sets and costumes and the dissonant music fit an opera that tells the story of a mythical fantasy. The wonderful cast helps as well. Deborah Voigt draws most of the crowds in with her interpretation of Helen. She is not overly pretty. An opera company fired her once because of her obesity, but she later had surgery for it and had lost weight since then. She still qualifies as plump and what draws the audience to her is her voice. Voigt has a round tone to her soprano voice, and while most sopranos’ high notes are painful, her high notes are beautiful and make for easy listening. Her facial expressions and her hand gestures convey her character’s varying emotions.
Despite her pride, Helen will do anything to have her husband’s love again. In typical portrayals of her story (books, movies, and other productions that focus on the Trojan War), Helen loves Paris, but at the beginning of Helena, the story focuses more on who owns Helena. Paris took her, but Menelas won her back in battle and now she is under his dominion again. At the beginning of the opera, Helen’s love for Menelas remains in question because she had allowed Paris to seduce her. She might merely wish to keep her life, or she might submit to her husband as the conquerer. By the end of the opera, however, Helen clearly loves Menelas. Helen has tired of men trying to seduce her, causing her to realize she does love Menelas and does want to fix her marriage. The fact that Menelas loves Helen for who she is, not just for her beauty, convinces her to give him the potion of remembrance. She chooses real love over artificial, even with the risk that Menelas’ murderous fury might return along with his memory.
Although fictional, this story reflects relevant lessons about the human condition, the choices we make, and the values we ought to hold. The libretto, or text, of the opera and the emotions portrayed by the singers bring out these elements. One might not decode all the symbolism, but the attempt remains worth the effort. Overall, having the best singers, unique sets, and a beautiful story, Fielding’s staging stands as a masterpiece and a work of art.

Works Cited
Die ÄGyptische Helena. By Richard Strauss. Dir. David Fielding. The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, NYC. 23 Mar. 2007.
Designer's Challenge. Home and Garden Television. HGTV.

New Photo Blog

2007-06-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

I've started a new blog for my photographs: Declartaion Photos

Evan Almighty Movie Review: "Evan" turns out a clean, Christian, just plain good film

2007-06-26T01:18:00.000-07:00

Considering the dirty jokes of the first “Almighty” movie, “Bruce Almighty,” and the unclean humor of other films of Steve Carell (“40 Year Old Virgin”) you would not expect the second “Almighty” film to come out clean either. Surprisingly enough, “Evan Almighty” cleans up pretty nicely. Not only that, “Evan” also keeps to Christian beliefs and contains many Christian themes.

Newly elected congressman, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), must make good on his promise to change to world, but he knows he can’t do it alone. His new job keeps him from spending time with his family. When his wife (Lauren Graham) tells him she prayed for the family to grow closer Evan decides to do a little praying himself and asks God for help. Of course, help never comes in the way we would like it and God (Morgan Freeman) responds to Evan’s prayers, making Evan the modern Moses.

First, God sends Evan several clues pointing to Genesis 6:14 which says, “Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.” Next, Evan receives tools and wood from a company whose logo is a gopher. God, himself, shows up every once in a while to remind Evan of his assignment. Two by two, animals start to follow Evan wherever he goes. Evan tries to ignore God’s instructions, but the animals and a beard and long hair that grow back when cut and shaved get Evan in trouble at work. Evan’s wife leaves him and takes the children with her for a while. God gives her a pep talk to convince her to return. Everything seems wrong. God tells Evan He only does the things He does because He loves His people, but Evan does not understand and wishes God would love him a little less. Finally, the flood comes.
As a Christian, I worried that the flood would come from rain and wipe out a lot of people, thus ruining God’s original promise never to flood the earth again. The flood in “Evan” has little to do with rain, however. It does rain for ten minutes, but not enough to flood the earth. God does not commission Evan to build an ark to save a family from eminent doom and God does not condemn the world to drowning. Instead, God uses Evan to preserve the beauty of His creation. Another congressman (John Goodman) wants to make profit off of development in national parks and has already damned up the local river to make room for the valley Evan lives in. He also tries to get Evan in on his scheme, but God has other plans.

While I am no “tree hugger,” I do recognize that God commissioned humanity to take care of the earth. Yes, we are dominant over the rest of creation. Creation has its purpose, but as stewards of God it is also our job to take care of God’s creation.

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. (Genesis 1:28-30)

Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. (Genesis 2:15)

“Tend” and “keep” also mean to “serve” and guard.” In Numbers we see that these same terms are used to describe the priest with respect to taking care of the temple. Adam served as priest over all creation. Humanity should serve and guard the earth. We are unable to keep God’s original commandment to Adam to serve and guard the garden because of the fall. Our fallen, sinful nature keeps us from expanding the garden to the entire earth, but we can still strive to take care of God’s creation. That includes our fellow human beings. Christ brought hope, establishing the beginning of a new kingdom that will one day enable us to live in the perfect garden state once again. See Romans 8 for more detail.

Creation also forms a type of revelation that reminds us of our creator.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. (Job 12: 7-10)

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Romans 1:20)

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:13)

“Evan” also gives a description of God that does not hound the Bible or make fun of it. When God talks to Evan’s wife he comments on how most people think of Noah and the Ark as a story of condemnation, but in reality it is a story of love. God loved Noah and his family. He saved them from the flood. In the process, Noah’s family became closer. God explains that while everything seems so terrible at present, He is merely answering prayers. He asks Evan’s wife if a mother prays for the family to get closer together whether He would bring the family close or give the family the opportunity to grow closer. If a congressman asked for help in changing the world should God change the world in a flash or give the congressman the opportunity to change the world? Here we find that God answers our prayers, just not always in the ways we expect.

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (Matthew 7:7-9)

If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. (Matthew 21:22)

In His talks with Evan, God tells Evan the way to change the world is with one act of random kindness (ARK) at a time. In other words, God wants Evan to learn to do the right think and to think of others above himself, another Biblical principle.

Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matthew 22:34-40)

We find another Christian lesson in “Evan” in Evan’s reluctance to building the ark. God has a purpose for Evan’s life, but Evan does not want any part in it. Building the ark pushes Evan into hard times and trials. Friends at work make fun of him and his family almost leaves him. Despite his dragging of feet, Evan finds he cannot get away from God or God’s purpose. God is everywhere and no matter what you do He will always bring about His purpose. This reminds us of stories like Jonah and Esther. Jonah did not want to go to Ninevah, but God sent him there against his will and consequently saved many people. Esther took a risk and did the unthinkable to save her people.

When Esther's words were reported to Mordecai, he sent back this answer: "Do not think that because you are in the king's house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: "Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish." (Esther 4:12-16)

Evan also feels unqualified and ill-equipped to change the world once he gets into office. Although he wears a mask of pride, things are not as great as they seem and he goes to God in prayer for help. There are two things to learn from this. First, we learn that when we go through times of trouble, we can take our mask off and go to God for help. Second, we learn that God created us for a purpose. Sovereign and in control, we can always trust in God that all things will come out for the good.

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)

From birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you. (Psalm 71:6)

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. (Psalm 139:13)

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. (Exodus 9:16)

God is mighty, but does not despise men; he is mighty, and firm in his purpose. (Job 36:5)

The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever— do not abandon the works of your hands. (Psalm 138:8)

I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me. (Psalm 57:2)

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. (Proverbs 19:21)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

In some areas “Evan” misses. It forgets God’s ultimate purpose: to declare His glory and the hope we find in Jesus Christ. “Evan” hits the mark in many areas, but it never mentions Jesus and places God’s job around human needs. Besides this, one has to wonder if God would actually ever appear in person. God hardly ever fully appears in the Bible. The people of the Old Testament were not allowed to approach God improperly. If you mishandled the ark of the covenant you would die on the spot. Priests would wear a string around their ankles when they went into the holy of holies once a year. If they died in the presence of God others could pull their body out. Moses saw God in the form of a burning bush. Jacob wrestled with God, but this is the only place you really find someone in the full presence of God in person. Keeping God in person form with supernatural powers does not seem so bad when you consider how a loud voice from the heavens would make the film cheesy. The film also forgets that God does have wrath, He's not all happy man. In reality, He did judge the people of the earth with the original flood, but He loved the people of the earth as well. God showed His perfect judgment and good will with the flood.

The film does have a few inappropriate moments. One of Evan’s sons makes one or two crude comments. Evan finds himself naked in front of the mail lady when he tried to sneak his way out of building the ark to go to work. Lastly, a few mild swear words pop up here and there. Despite these few elements, “Evan” comes out fairly clean and will not offend Christian movie goers. So if you are a fan of "Bruce Almighty" and can't nejoy a movie without a bunch of lousy sex jokes, don't go see "Evan."

The acting is excellent. Wanda Sykes adds punch when needed and John Goodman once again tackles the role of the badguy. Nice to see, or rather hear, him in something other than the Dunkan Donuts commercial for once. Overall, the script is well written, the comic relief is well placed, and the audience is unlikely to fall asleep. "Evan" even ends with a rainbow and doves. How appropriate for a happy ending.

Photos taken from imdb.com

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

The Year of Jubilee

2007-06-25T11:49:00.001-07:00

My mother turns 50 years young today (although according to her she's turning 48 - she's counting down instead of up)! In her honor, I am posting the following verses as well as a paper I wrote about an opera star, Maria Callas (my mom loves opera and sings a lot herself, so I thought it a good theme for the day).

Leviticus 25:10Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.

Leviticus 25:11The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines.

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

Behind the Diva in Maria Callas

2007-06-25T11:45:00.000-07:00

Maria Callas lived the life of an operatic character. Controversy followed her everywhere. There was her temper, there was her relationship with her mother, there was her marriage, affair, and divorce, and there was her voice. To the press and her audience she upheld her confidence, but behind the diva stood a lonely and wounded woman. She was sensitive but ambitious. The lack of love in her life made her bitter. She became notorious for being difficult to work with. She wanted revenge on those who hurt her, but at the same time wanted them back in her life. Her emotions clashed and she incorporated them in her music. “Her genius was that, although she was interpreting, she made her audience feel that she was creating” (Stassinopoulos xiii). The slightest move of her head conveyed an emotion. “She exploded the concept of what beautiful singing means: Is it pretty sounds and pure tones? Or should beauty evolve from text, musical shape, dramatic intent and, especially, emotional truth?” (Tommasini).
Maria’s unique acting made her stand out. Like a magnet, she drew everyone to herself. She could sing badly and everyone would still love her. For a time she could sing almost any part written for the female voice. She took lessons from well-known voice teachers. She had it all, even a jewelry collection that was hand made for her performances. It was all these artificial loves that filled the days of Maria Callas. She worked hard to get to the top. Due to her myopia, she had to memorize the stages. This also forced her to focus on her music and drama more because she could not rely on a conductor. Being a perfectionist, she obsessed over her parts. She would spend several hours practicing just one gesture of the hand. At one performance she tripped and fell, but stood back up and continued the rest of the opera without anyone in the audience noticing she had sprained her ankle.
Much of Callas’ determination came from her mother. Her grandfather was a well-known tenor in Greece. His singing gave her mother, Evangelia (also called Litza), her dream to become an actress. Litza failed to achieve her dreams, but she passed her desires and ambitions to her two daughters, Jackie and Maria. Jackie played the piano and Maria sang.
Maria found acceptance in music. Five years younger and less attractive than her sister, she knew rejection at an early age. Her birth on December 2, 1923, in New York City, was not received joyfully. When they had lived in Greece, Litza and George Kalogeropoulos had a son, Vasily, who died at an early age. Litza expected another boy and mourned the birth of her new daughter. Four days passed before she agreed to nurse Maria. Eventually, the babe was christened Cecilia Sophia Anna Maria Callas. Litza reluctantly took Maria in, but continued to reject her emotionally until the discovery of her voice.
When Litza saw Maria’s gift, everything began to revolve around developing her daughters’ talents. Despite money problems during the Great Depression, she forced George to pay for piano lessons. Receiving little love and much discipline from her mother, Maria pushed herself just as hard as her mother did, hoping to earn more affection.
Family division made life harder for Maria. Litza told the girls their father was betraying the family by cheating on her. Maria, stressed, began to overeat at an early age. Her weight problems would follow her for most of her life.
Maria was a lonely child, left by herself for many hours a day while her sister attended school and her mother suffered her bouts of melancholy…. At school she felt awkward, her eyesight – even with glasses – troubling. She was significantly heavy and shy. She made few friends and never knew in what emotional state she would find her mother upon returning from school. Her greatest joy was to sit quietly and listen to the few records they had on the gramophone (Edwards 12).
During junior high school, Maria played roles in school shows, gaining short periods of popularity. This “crystallized in Maria’s mind the vague notion that singing was the only way out of her despised obscurity” (Stassinopoulos 12). For what her mother had withheld, she had found a lesser substitute.
In 1934, neighbor John Eriksen, a chorus member at the Metropolitan Opera, offered to give Maria free singing lessons. He wanted to help Maria relax her voice and warned Litza that pushing Maria too hard could damage her voice. Litza continued to push her daughter. Maria’s vocal range and power expanded, but, as Eriksen predicted, the extra effort would take its toll on her voice later in life. The rest of her teachers would teach her the right singing techniques, but Maria would still push herself too hard. Her dreams of getting to the top fast would ruin her.
Certain that Maria was a child prodigy worthy of Shirley Temple treatment, Litza dragged Maria to competitions, but no offers came. Litza felt America had nothing in store. Convinced that glory days awaited them in Greece, she packed her bags. Maria, age 13, had just graduated from junior high.
Once in Greece, Litza pushed Maria harder, making her sing for anyone who would listen. Maria hated singing on demand, but all the work paid off when Maria auditioned with Madame Maria Trivella, a teacher at the National Conservatory in Athens. Maria sang the “Habanera” from Bizet’s Carmen, an opera about a gypsy who plays with the emotions of a soldier. “Madame Trivella was stunned… by the young woman’s dramatic delivery of the aria; her seeming ability to understand Carmen’s passion.… The amazing thing was the way she used her eyes, her hands, the stress on certain words and phrases that brought the aria suddenly to life. This was something innate, truly felt, which the majority of hopefuls never achieved but that a great diva must possess” (Edwards 21).
Trivella would teach Maria how to avoid singing from the throat. At the National Conservatory, she studied languages and operatic history. She took the extra work as an opportunity to avoid home, never eating with the family and studying whenever possible. In 1939, at just 15, Maria sang the role of Santuzza, a woman whose lover leaves her, in Pietro Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
With World War II on its way, Maria had to change teachers. Trivella came from Italy, and the Greeks mistrusted all Italians. Maria auditioned at the Athens Conservatory for Elvira de Hidalgo. De Hidalgo did not expect much from her, but her mind quickly changed. “Before starting, Maria turned her face away. Then, as the accompanist played the opening chords, she pivoted, head high, facing front, eyes wide, hands slowly rising from her sides. There was an electric moment in the room when Maria began to sing” (Edwards 30).
De Hidalgo enabled Maria to expand her range and helped her develop the tools of her voice, both dramatic and musical. Their relationship enforced Maria’s habit of categorizing others as good or bad. Litza turned into more of an “evil stepmother” and de Hidalgo turned into a “fairy godmother.” Maria developed most of her habits with de Hidalgo. De Hidalgo “lent her the full scores that she could not afford to buy, and Maria, in order to give them back as soon as possible, would memorize them” (Stassinopoulos 23,24).
In 1941, the Germans took Greece. Years of hardship followed in which Maria’s singing kept her family alive. Soldiers who liked her voice provided food. When the Germans searched her home for fugitives, she started to sing and the soldiers forgot what they were doing in order to listen. During the civil war that followed, Maria would hide with Litza, with little to eat, while rebels besieged Athens. These war years were not all hard times, however. In 1942, she took the place of the leading soprano in Tosca, making her the youngest Tosca in history.
Along with an end to the war years came a renewed resentment towards Litza. Callas hated her mother because she hated living in Greece. One thing was not renewed, however: The Athens Opera, with which Maria had sung during the occupation, would not renew her contract. Maria returned to New York and reunited with her father. She auditioned for many companies, but found no offers. No one had heard of her fame in Greece. In 1946, she found refuge in Eddie Bagarozy and Louise Caselotti. Caselotti gave her singing lessons and became Maria’s agent along with Bagarozy, who wanted to revive the Chicago Opera. They would open with Turandot, a forgotten Puccini opera with an oriental twist on The Taming of the Shrew. Maria played the title role. “At the age of twenty-three she had managed to capture both the imperious coldness and cruelty of the Oriental Princess and the fire and sensuality that are burning underneath” (Stassinopoulos 47). Unfortunately, bankruptcy ended the endeavor.
Maria found her next job with Giovanni Zenatello, who needed a soprano for the title role in La Gioconda at the Verona Festival in Italy. In Verona, Maria met Giovanni Battista Meneghini, her future husband. He had “a manner that conveyed interest, a certain sophistication and an aura of success” (Edwards 69). Maria threw away Bagarozy and Caselotti for Meneghini and soon won the role of Isolde in Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde at La Fenice, in Venice. She had a month to learn the part. Maria suddenly found herself booked at opera houses all over Italy. Part of that success came from conductor Tullio Serafin, who conducted Gioconda and many more of her successful operas. Maria later commented that he “taught me, in short, the depth of music” (qtd. in Edwards 72).
The ultimate turning point in her career came when she performed the title role in Norma, in Florence. The role required a wide vocal range and demanded much from the leading soprano. In this kind of a role, Maria was invincible. “Maria was the first coloratura [lyric soprano of high range]… to sing the high notes dramatically, not merely as ornamentation, nor to display her ability to sound like a trilling bird, but to stress the meaning of the words that landed on those notes and so integrate them into the dramatic line of the story” (Edwards 85).
While playing Brunnhilde in Wagner’s Die Walkure, Maria was asked to replace the soprano who played Elvira in Verdi’s I Puritani. She alternated between the two operas, practicing Puritani during the day and performing Walkure in the evening, switching from one character to another in just moments.
As her career improved, Maria became depressed. She wanted Meneghini to propose. He always accompanied her, but nothing more. Her wish came true and they married on April 21, 1949. Maria would later say in an interview with Hy Gardner, “It was as though God sent him to me, because I was very alone and he really was always with me since then and was everything to me.” Although Meneghini dined and wined Maria, he used her money to do so and gave some of her money to his own family, as well. They were happy, however, and Maria contented herself with the role of housewife. Meneghini at least appeared to love her and was the first to show affection for her as a person.
Meneghini booked Callas internationally, from Naples to Buenos Aires, and worked hard to schedule her in the famous Italian opera houses. She found national approval in Mexico City and had her first solo bow, but Meneghini seldom accompanied her and she missed him. When he playfully suggested that she give up her career, it reminded her of her goals and ambitions and drove her onward. She lost over eighty pounds between 1953 and 1954.
In May of 1953, she performed in Cherubini's Medea, one of her greater roles. In Medea, the title character is a headstrong woman abandoned by her husband. Maria Teresa Filippi Abriani, who sang in the chorus, was amazed by Callas’ singing. When the chorus left the stage, she stood watching, forgetting to leave with the chorus. “I remember when she arrived as Medea,” she said in the documentary Passion Callas. “She’d come down those stairs to that chariot. She’d sing: ‘Io Medea!’ That was something! She looked like a giant.”
Eventually, the New York Metropolitan Opera hired Maria to sing Norma. Things did not go well. TIME magazine published an article beforehand that portrayed her as an ungrateful daughter with a temper. Maria pushed these accusations aside, claiming that she respected her parents and that these things should have been kept private. In fact, on a few occasions, Maria had begged Litza to come to her side for support, but her times with her mother did not last long before she grew tired of Litza again. In Mexico City, she swore never to see her mother again.
New York did not hold much for Maria and exaggerated publicity continued to follow her. “A disagreement… over proposed repertory for 1958-59 ended with the diva's well-publicized ‘firing.’ Callas did not return to the Met until 1965, when she sang two Toscas, her final opera performances in the U.S.” (“Lucia di Lammermoor"). In 1958, Callas performed Norma at the Rome Opera House but took sick at the premiere and had to quit after the first act. Meneghini wrote a note of apology for her to read aloud on stage, but she did not read it. The press shouted stories of her diva attitude over a minor cold. Callas commented in her interview with Hy Gardner that she did the first act because she knew she would be criticized if she did not go on, but left when her illness worsened. She said, “I had to make a Callas performance…. Of course, I fight if I have my weapon, my only weapon is my voice – now, if I haven't got my voice, now, it's ridiculous that I fight.”
Maria would not let the critics or the hecklers in the audience ruin her. Jon Vickers recalled one of the performances at La Scala that he sang with her:
[I]t went badly for her. Many in the audience booed. Her next lines were, "Didn't I sacrifice my own mother for you, didn't I sacrifice my own father for you?" And then she turned away from me on the stage, looked straight out into the auditorium, spread open her arms and [sang], "I sacrificed it all, and instead gave everything to you!" You could have heard a pin drop -- the tension was incredible! (qtd. in Whitson)
More conflict was on its way. Once, she refused to do extra performances an opera company added on because she promised a friend she would go to a party. At this party, she met Aristotle Onassis. He wooed her and she gave up everything for him. Maria felt more like a normal person with him and divorced her husband in 1971. Onassis eventually divorced his wife, but not for Maria. He married Jacqueline Kennedy, widow of the late President John F. Kennedy, for political reasons.
After Onassis left, Maria stopped performing on stage and sang just a few concerts. In 1971, she gave a series of successful master classes at the Juilliard School of Music. Lloyd Schwartz attended one of the classes. He later recalled a lesson he found “most riveting.”
Callas was with a young baritone on Rigoletto's aria "Cortigiani, vil razza dannata" ("Courtiers, you cowardly and damned race"). Rigoletto, the Duke of Mantua's court jester, sings it when he discovers that his daughter has been abducted by the very noblemen he's been ridiculing mercilessly. He can barely contain his anger even as he abjectly begs them to take pity on him. Callas tells the student to sing the notes, but to forget about his voice. "Be like an animal when you sing this aria. This would be my version. I think that this should be a real animal that's trying to dominate himself. He's hating being obliged to beg them. Because it's his own daughter, so he's fiercely savage. . . . You're crying, but you hate the idea, eh?" Then she tears into the aria… with an uncanny mixture of ferocity and almost unbearable pathos…. "Who'd have thought the world's greatest Rigoletto would be a woman?" someone remarked.
Maria still had her fans, but her voice had been declining in quality for years, and she held high standards for herself. If she could not keep those standards, she would not perform. Her mother’s pushing, her own ambitions, and her choice in roles all had taken part in damaging her voice. Many of the superhuman things she did with her voice exceeded the ability of the vocal cords to heal. She ruined her voice by forcing it beyond its natural limits. She might have continued singing at a lesser level (less challenging music and a less challenging schedule), but the disappointments of life and the unwillingness to accept her declining ability destroyed her will. Without will and confidence, she lost the energy to meet the physical demands of the job as well as the energy to go on living life. There was nothing left to live for. Onassis was not there for her, she had left her husband, and her voice was gone. She wanted revenge on Onassis, but at the same time wanted him to come to her side again. Maria thought everyone had forgotten her and spent most of her time listening to old recordings of her voice. On September 16, 1977, at age 53, she died in seclusion, longing for the old times when her career was at its highest.
At the end of her life, Maria thought no one remembered her, but after her death, everyone remembered her. Although her talents established her fame, her story and her passions added fuel to the fire. Over one hundred biographies detail her life, along with several documentaries. The way she performed, the effort she put into everything she did, and the story she left behind made her the nonpareil, setting standards and examples for future singers. Maria’s life not only inspired her to sing, it inspired her singing itself as she used her circumstances to her advantage, drawing muse from her own feelings. Music consumed her life as she labored to conquer the opera world. Her loveless life gave her ambitions, and she accomplished them; but as she lost her dreams of love and emotional security, she lost her self. Her life had operatic twists and turns and a tragic ending, but it lives on as a legend.

Works Cited
Edwards, Anne. Maria Callas: an Intimate Biography. New York: St Martin's P, 2001.
Stassinopoulos, Adrianna. Maria Callas: The Woman Behind the Legend. New York: Ballantine Books, 1981.
Tommasini, Anthony. "Maria Callas: a Voice and a Legend That Still Fascinate." Serendipity. 15 Sept. 1997. New York Times. .
Maria Callas: Passion Callas. Dir. GéRald Caillat. DVD. EMI Classic, 1997.
“Lucia di Lammermoor." Opera News 71.7 (2007): 52-52. Academic Search Premier. 19 February 2007. .
Whitson, James C. "The Callas Legacy. (Cover story)." Opera News 70.4 (2005): 18-24. Academic Search Premier. 19 February 2007. .
Schwartz, Lloyd. "Class Act: EMI Releases Rare Set of Maria Callas At Juilliard." The Phoenix. 1995. The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. .
Callas, Maria. Interview with Hy Gardner. EMI Classics. 26 Feb. 1958. .

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

Nancy Drew Movie Review: "Drew" cute but lacks punch

2007-06-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

“Nancy Drew” follows the typical clichés often found in teen movies. Small town girl moves to a big city. Small town girl does not fit in at her new school. Small town girl finally figures out that she loves her best guy friend back home. Small town girl solves mystery. Everyone lives happily ever after.

As boring as this pattern may seem, “Drew” still contains a good story line. The mystery is predictable, but cute.

The house Nancy Drew (Emma Roberts) moves into once belonged to a movie star. Someone murdered this leading lady after she went missing for five months and returned to change her will and to quit acting. Drew must figure out who killed the actress and why.

Meanwhile, Drew has family problems. She promises her dad (Tate Donovan) she will not “sleuth” any more, but continues in her investigation without telling him. Under pressure from her father, she tries to fit in as a normal, teenage girl. She throws a party and hangs out with two other teenage girls (Daniella Monet and Kelly Vitz) completely opposite in personality. The two girls only hang out to make fun of Drew or to get access to the hot and attractive Ned.

Ned (Max Thieriot), the boy from home, shows up for a while, but then leaves. Another character, 12 year old Corky (Josh Flitter) develops a crush on Drew. He follows her around and fights with Ned once or twice.

I have two main problems with this movie:

1. The acting is not believable. Roberts does an alright job as Drew, but she lacks passion and excitement. Her scenes with Donovan as Drew’s father are not deep enough and do not enhance the plot the way they should. The rest of the crew seems pointless. Drew’s friends come and go, but are not essential to the plot. Take Ned, Corky, and the two teenage girls out and you would still have a good Nancy Drew Film. Give them more substantial parts in the plot and you’ve got yourself a much better film. The teenage girls give a small bit of comic relief, but much of that comic relief showed up in the movie trailers. The girls are also meant to help point out the way Drew does not fit in at school, but those bits are limited as well.

2. Drew’s character is not believable. Perfect in almost every way, the faults she does possess do not show very well. If the film makers had her try harder to fit in and learn her lesson from that it would enhance the moral of the film more. On the other hand, her confidence does exemplify the way we should carry ourselves, which takes away from the cliché of the film. Still, Drew’s confidence does not show up very often in real life and sometimes we just need an example of how to deal with our emotions when we go through trials and ultimately learn our lessons. Furthermore, Drew’s relationships with other characters should show up more in the script and the way she sees herself should show up more in the script. You see her outward confidence, but how does she feel inside? Drew should work with her friends in a team effort. She could act as a Kim Possible character while her friends could act as Ron Stoppable characters. As the leader of the group, Drew would do most of the work, but she would depend on her friends in the process.

Despite its flaws, “Drew” still pulls off a cute film. Visual effects and cinematography do not fall short. The film also stays true to the books and maintains a feel for the time the books were written in. Although the movie takes place in current times, Drew owns an old car and during chase and action scenes viewers are reminded of the classic chase scenes in shows like “Scooby Doo.” The score does not include 50’s music, but much of it keeps to an old fashioned feel.

While the moral of the story is not brought to light in the best possible way, a moral does exist. We are taught to stay true to who we are no matter what and to always follow our heart, but to use our mind all the while. Drew chooses to do the right thing and thinks of others above herself.

The best thing about this film is that it is a clean movie. Suited more for children, it still contains a typical teenage plot. Adults are sure to enjoy watching this film, as well. In the world we live in, it is not very often a clean movie comes out and all audience should be able to enjoy clean films just as much as films that are not so clean.

Although I do not recommend seeing it more than once, “Drew” remains a good, clean, family film with good morals that we can learn from.

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

My Favorite Published Movie Reviews

2007-06-23T09:40:00.000-07:00

Movie reviews below include V for Vendetta, End of the Spear, Chronicles of Narnia, Pride and Prejudice, Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. There is also a review of the hit musical Wicked.

Though misguided, 'V' demands thought By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

In "V for Vendetta," the character V is known by no other name. With all the opinions that have been circling the film, I would have to say that one of his names is Controversy.
The story follows V (Hugo Weaving), a man who remembers nothing of his past. Tortured by his present, he decides the only thing left to do is escape his prison and seek revenge and justice.

Living in a world where homosexuals and Muslims are locked in concentration camps, and a curfew and the media are used to control the rest of the people, V dons a mask and plans to blow up Parliament.

His plans change, however, when he rescues Evey (Natalie Portman) and teaches her to become fearless. As Evey becomes an unlikely ally to V, she must help in bringing the plot of justice to its finale so the curtain can drop, ending the tyrannical government that controls England.

I have heard many conservatives say the film promotes terrorism. This is one area in which I am willing to defend the liberals. The movie doesn't promote terrorism — it promotes the overthrow of tyranny. As far as V being a terrorist, it's not like he attacks innocent bystanders in the name of a religion.

Though the original graphic novel was a swipe at 1980s Thatcherian Britain, the movie doesn't try to hide its makers' displeasure with President Bush, conservatives and Christians. The theologies of Hitler and Lenin more closely match those of liberals, but brothers Larry and Andy Wachowski, the screenwriters, didn't let such facts confuse them.

The film makes hard-right conservatives out to be a threat and an enemy to America.

I suppose that is what many non-Christians think we Christians are like. I really would like to know where that impression comes from.

The other day, I tuned in to a new reality TV show, "Unan1mous," on Fox. Contestants locked underground together have to agree on which one person will win $1.5 million. Within 15 minutes, I turned it off. I couldn't stand it.

There was a contestant who called herself a "Christian." She immediately made clear that she believed the Bible is true and that she thought everyone else should believe it is true. She was overly forceful and got into an argument about homosexuality right away.

I didn't even wait to see how the argument ended. I couldn't watch anymore. I can only wonder whether the woman really believed those things or was being egged on by the producers. You can never tell with "reality" shows. At the very least, the producers chose her because of her extreme personality.

I have to ask: Is that really what people think Christians are like? Too many assumptions are made, and there isn't any one single Christian denomination.

Personally, I don't think it's right to stuff your beliefs down other people's throats; there are such things as friendly debate and silent testimony.

The "conservative" dictator in this movie reminded me of church leadership who say one thing and do another. Obviously, the leader in "V" is a hypocrite. Christians — true Christians — aren't like that.

The Bible teaches us to love one another. When the Pharisees wanted to stone a prostitute, Jesus defended her, saying that if one of them was without sin, he should be the first to throw a stone.

What does the Bible say about homosexuality? It's clearly against it. Is it a sin? Yes, but we all sin. You won't see me going around shaking my finger at homosexuals and saying, "Shame, shame." I won't judge homosexuals. I judge their lifestyle, but not them as people.

I won't lie, though. The scenes of homosexuals making out made me gag. Then again, I hate seeing people make out in public in general — heterosexuals included.

In assuming that I am judgmental, people become judgmental themselves. I loved this movie other than the obvious innuendos against Christianity and conservative ideology. It has a good message, and it makes some good points, but it gets so much wrong. With the way we are heading, it will be the Christians who are put in concentration camps, not Muslims and homosexuals.

This film's message of freedom needing to triumph over dictatorship, prejudice and racism is brilliant and true. But

"Bush's America" will not lead to the world of "V for Vendetta." In truth, it is Christians and conservatives whose freedoms are being threatened: the freedom to read the Bible or pray in public schools, to recite the Pledge of Allegiance with "under God" included.

Have you noticed how much Christianity is made fun of in television and movies today?

The principles America was founded on are being taken away. How many people even realize that George Washington was an intensely devout man? If he lived today, he could be criticized for praying in public, for not separating his faith from his politics. What are we coming to?

America's still a lot better than other countries where Christians have to meet secretly or people get the death penalty for converting to Christianity; but who's to say that America won't fall someday?

"V for Vendetta" makes you think. Which way you go with your thinking is up to you. Go which way you must, but the real "vendetta" is Hollywood's vendetta against the right.

Movie Review: 'Spear' drives home its point
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Recent films such as "The Passion of the Christ" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" have had Christian meanings and been popular among audiences. Now, Jim Hanon has added to the list of awing films with the fact-based "End of the Spear."
Five missionaries, among them Jim Eliot (Sean McGowan) and Nate Saint (Chad Allen), have a risky goal: to make contact with the Waodani tribesmen in the jungles of Ecuador and share the Gospel with them.

The Waodani, almost extinct by their own hands, are known for their violence. Every day, Nate sets off in his big yellow plane to look for any signs of the tribe, leaving behind a son, Steve, and his wife.

When he sees a Waodani climbing a tree, he and his fellow missionaries make their way to where the natives live. Though the men have guns, they don't defend themselves when they're attacked and killed by the spear-wielding tribesmen. Once their bodies are discovered, the story really begins.

Nate's son, Steve (also played by Chad Allen), narrates the film, and the audience sees how the widows of the missionaries, along with Nate's sister, Rachel, risk everything and take their children to live with the Waodani to try to bring about peace without meeting the "End of the Spear."

In the process, Steve has to come face to face with one of his father's killers, Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), and learn to show him God's love.

There are twists and turns, as with any movie, and the audience learns details that most people don't know about this true story.

The acting is well-done. There are connections among the characters that add to the emotion of the film.

There is violence. After all, the lives of the Waodani people revolved around revenge and murder. However, the violence in the movie is nothing compared to what really happened.

It may be a Christian story, but that aspect of it is very subtle. It is obvious that the main characters are missionaries, but aside from a remark here and there, not much is said or shown of their work, leaving the focus of the film on emotions and events.

Still, the soul of the film is in the reason the missionaries make contact with the Waodani: to share the Gospel.

The wonder of the film is enhanced by the vast shots of the Ecuadorian jungles and the stunning soundtrack.

The natives speak in their own language, not in English, which helps viewers get a feel for the accuracy of the movie and makes us realize that this is an entirely realistic story of something that happened only 50 years ago.

"End" is an epic story that you won't want to end. It is beautifully done and sure to satisfy.

Movie Review: 'Narnia': 'Passion of the Christ' for the kids
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

"Harry Potter," "Lord of the Rings" and now "Chronicles of Narnia." Hollywood seems to have a habit of making movies based on popular children's fantasy books.
You would think that by now everyone would be sick of these twisted versions, and that these movies would get worse and worse. But actually, they keep getting better and better.

"Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," starts as four children and their mother scramble about to get to their shelter, away from an air raid.

As World War II forces the children of London to the countryside, the mother of Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) sends the children away to the home of Professor Kirke (Jim Broadben), where it seems like there is no fun to be had.

In a game of hide-and-go-seek, Lucy finds a mysterious room containing only one item of furniture: a wardrobe. She hides in the wardrobe, and as she backs up and feels for the wall, she falls into the land of Narnia.

She quickly makes friends with the faun, Mr. Tumnus (James McAvoy), who invites her over for tea. He fills her in on some of Narnia's history.

Winter has covered Narnia for one hundred years, but there is no Christmas. This is all thanks to Jadis, the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), who claims to be queen of Narnia and turns anyone who does not obey her into stone.

According to prophecy, when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve arrive and sit as kings and queens of Narnia, Jadis' reign will end. To avoid threatening Jadis' power, Mr. Tumnus makes Lucy return home.

Soon, Lucy returns to the mysterious Narnia. Edmund follows, but meets the White Witch. Edmund, tempted by Jadis' promises and tasty snacks, agrees to return with all his siblings.

Finally, all four children enter the magical land, and the adventure begins.

Narnia is full of talking animals and mythical creatures. The most magnificent of these is Aslan the lion (voiced by Liam Neeson). Aslan left Narnia for a while, but is now returning to help the children bring peace and freedom to the land.

Aslan, a Messianic figure, teaches the children to embrace their destiny, and even more important, the truth.

The classic clash between good and evil ensues. Sacrifices must be made, lessons learned, and battles fought.

The acting is superb. Moseley plays the part of Peter, an older brother trying to do the right thing and make everyone happy.

Popplewell plays the cautious older sister, Susan. Her disbelief in the land of Narnia is perfectly believable and, along with the cute and imaginative Henley as Lucy, she brings tears to your eyes as you watch her grief. You share in these characters' feelings as if you were one of them.

Keynes plays the selfish younger brother, Edmund. As Edmund betrays his siblings, everyone is sure to despise him. Yet, when he repents, Aslan makes sure no one harps on him for his wrongs. The past is forgotten and the future is at hand.

Neeson is the perfect Aslan. He is just "safe" enough, yet not too "tame."

Every word Swinton speaks as the White Witch, every beautiful costume she wears, every expression, reinforces her interpretation of a wicked Jadis.

The story, sets and characters are done just as well. The film does not fail fans of the book. It stays fairly true to the novel written by C. S. Lewis, who based the story on his own faith as a Christian and dedicated the book to his goddaughter, Lucy.

Christians will not be disappointed, either. Some have called the film a children's version of "The Passion of the Christ."

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" closely parallels the Gospel. Many books have been published regarding what can be learned from C. S. Lewis' allegories.

Because the story conveys lessons of good, evil, love, friendship, family, loyalty, selflessness, responsibility, courage and sacrifice, the movie should trigger much family discussion.

Although the movie is nowhere as dark or intense as "Lord of the Rings" or "Harry Potter," battle scenes and unsightly characters may not be for the younger ones.

Breathtakingly made, the film surpasses expectations and goes beyond the limits of our imaginations.

Let's hope there is a sequel in store, although we know that we "can't return to Narnia in the same way ever again. It will come looking for us, when we are not looking for it."

Movie Review: 'Pride' merely tolerable
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Director Joe Wright's big-screen version of "Pride and Prejudice," based the classic Jane Austen novel, is — as Mr. Darcy might say — tolerable.
Mr. Bennet (Donald Sutherland) is the clever, sarcastic and witty patriarch, while Mrs. Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) is the gossipy, meddlesome and narrow-minded mother whose main goal in life is to marry off her five daughters, preferably to rich men.

Jane (Rosamund Pike), the eldest and sweetest of the daughters, tries to see the good in everyone. Elizabeth (Kiera Knightley) speaks her mind. Kitty (Carey Mulligan) and Lydia (Jena Malone) are the youngest and silliest of the sisters. Finally, Mary (Talulah Riley) is the conservative one of the family.

When a young, rich man, Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), and his best friend, Mr. Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen), move nearby, they are the talk of the town. Every mother, including Mrs. Bennet, cannot help but dream that Bingley will marry one of her daughters.

At first glance, Bingley is an optimistic man of good fortune, but his friend is proud. Mr. Darcy slights Elizabeth, saying that she is "tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me."

Elizabeth swears she will never dance with Mr. Darcy. She is content with the idea of becoming an old maid, and says she will never marry unless she falls deeply in love. The last man on earth she believes she could ever love is Mr. Darcy.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bingley and Jane hit it off and find themselves very much in love.

Before you know it, Mr. Darcy finds himself strangely attracted to Elizabeth. As a twisted plot unfolds, other characters are introduced.

George Wickham (Rupert Friend) arrives with a regiment of handsome soldiers to tempt the ladies.

Mr. Collins (Tom Hollander), a cousin of the Bennet family, comes with the intention of marrying one of the Bennet girls. As Mr. Bennet's heir, Collins will receive the Bennets' home and will have the ability to turn the girls out. He makes up his mind to marry Elizabeth.

Unfortunately, Mr. Collins is not the most desirable partner — he is silly, self-centered and rather ridiculous.

Judi Dench plays Mr. Collins' patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Darcy's arrogant aunt.

As events unfold, and the unexpected happens, an unforgettable love story leads up to a new, creative ending that goes along well with the book.

Director Wright brings the film to life on the big screen with a different kind of "oomph" that has not been present in other adaptations of the story.

The film's fast pace helps fit the main parts of the plot into two hours.

For someone who has never read the book or seen the A&E movie, the story may be hard to follow — even considering that no version will ever top A&E's five-hour miniseries.

Fans of the novel should not hold their breath for the best lines from the book. They never come. Complete scenes and characters are cut out of this film, understandable given the time constraints.

One way the film differs from the book is that it gives Mr. and Mrs. Bennet a friendlier relationship. They are in love with each other. In the book, they constantly bicker.

As far as script, costumes, and setting go, all are authentic. It is the actors who bring the film down to a so-so level.

Knightley just barely shines as Elizabeth. The part was not made for her. She plays it well, yet does not bring it out to its fullest.

MacFadyen plays a flat, unchanging Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy's transition from proud and overbearing to humble and caring should be evident.

More important, there seems little reason to dislike Mr. Darcy for his personality, and he and Elizabeth fail to connect, either when they supposedly hate each other or when they supposedly like each other.

Chemistry between the two characters is not evident until the last scene of the film.

Hollander's Mr. Collins is supposed to provide the comic relief of the film, like an 18th-century nerd, but the film fails to bring out that aspect.

Still, Mr. Bingley is well-acted by Woods, and Pike plays Jane very well. They suit each other perfectly.

What brings everything together and makes the movie believable is the music. The soundtrack is amazingly beautiful.

Another thing that recommends the film to watchful parents and conservative teens is that the movie does not have explicit sex scenes or foul language. It's nice to see this kind of love story for a change.

Still, "Pride and Prejudice" is marred by poorly acted lead roles. To paraphrase Mr. Darcy, it is "tolerable, but not handsome enough" to tempt audiences.

Movie Review: New twists don't suit 'Oliver'
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Roman Polanski's latest film, "Oliver Twist," is strangely twisted.
As the title suggests, the story follows the young boy, Oliver (Barney Clark), as he goes through various trials and meets all sorts of people.

Oliver, an orphan, lives in a workhouse with several other boys.

When he asks for some more gruel, he gets into trouble. As punishment, he is sold to an undertaker.

Soon after, he runs away and heads to London. There, he is taken in by Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and a band of thieves, and introduced to other shady characters such as Nancy (Leanne Rowe) and Billy Sikes (Jamie Foreman).

When fate takes a turn on poor Oliver, he comes into the path of Mr. Brownlow, a rich gentleman.

Mr. Brownlow feels a connection to young Oliver and decides to take him in.

Unfortunately, Oliver is kidnapped by Nancy and Sikes and taken back to Fagin's hideout.

The rest of the story involves betrayal, revenge, murder, and many more twists, leading up to a heart-breaking ending.

From the very beginning of the film, the audience will be disappointed.

The movie is based on the book by Charles Dickens. Every time you try to adapt a book to film, changes must be made. When Polanski tries to include as much as possible from the book, he puts together a film that is very choppy and has little point.

The first half of the film stays true to the book, but then things take a new turn. Some of the most important characters from the book are cut out, such as Rose Maylie and Monks.

If you have seen older versions of the story, watched the musical, or read the book, you at least know that Oliver is supposed to have a hidden, unknown relationship to Mr. Brownlow through his mother, Agnes. The truth about Oliver's mother and her past is usually revealed toward the end of the story. However, Polanski's version completely takes this out, along with several other twists that give purpose to the plot.

One good thing about this is that it gives the film originality and distinguishes it from any other version.

And, even though the film had its negative elements, there are other positives.

By the end of the film, you are emotionally attached to the characters, especially Fagin.

Fagin may seem like an insignificant character when you hear about him, but in this version, he carries the film.

Ben Kingsley has a completely new take on Fagin. He truly seems like a mad man who has lost everything worth living for. Everything is perfect about his interpretation of the role. From the way he staggers about to his careless lisp, he acts the role better than any actor could.

When Fagin is finally taken to jail and is about to meet his death, he goes mad. As you leave the character to meet his fate, a tear might be brought to your eye.

Barney Clark does an exceptional job as Oliver. He is the picture of innocence as Oliver goes through all the trials in the movie.

Leanne Rowe shows all of Nancy's internal and external emotions. However, she does not show Nancy's true love for Sikes. One wonders, if she does not truly love him, why she continues to stay with him.

Sikes' character is so cruel that Jamie Foreman had to act angry. He is ruthless and merciless in his role. He is the perfect Sikes.

Among other things, the film is entirely realistic. It gives the audience a glimpse of what life was like during Dickens' time, and what it is like to live your entire life helpless. It leaves us with a sense of respect for people going through hard times.

Although it may be boring most of the time, and it fails to engage the audience, it is still a good film worth seeing once.

Movie Review: 'Pants' a good fit for any movie fan
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Friendship, love, hardships, change, and life: This is what "Sisterhood Of the Traveling Pants" is all about.
"Sisterhood" is a story that most anyone can relate to. If you have ever felt out of place, ever lost a loved one,ever fallen in love, ever had family trouble, or ever found shelter in a friend, this is a movie for you.

The story follows four lifelong friends — Carmen, Brigit, Lena and Tibby — as summer begins and they are about to leave each other for the first time. While on their journeys, each learns something new.

Before leaving, they go shopping together. Strangely enough, they manage to find one pair of pants that fits all of them perfectly. So, they decide to establish the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

While on their summer trips, the pants travel between the four of them. As each of them goes through trials, they write to one another and send letters with the pants, telling what the "traveling pants" have brought them.

The pants give them a way to connect and give each other courage to face their fears and get through the summer.

Lena, played by Alexis Bledel ("Bride and Prejudice," "Sin City") is in Greece visiting her grandparents. While there, she falls in love with the grandson of her grandfather's sworn enemy.

Bridget (Blake Lively) is in Mexico at an all-girls' soccer camp and develops a crush on one of the men coaches.

Tibby, played by Amber Tamblyn ("The Ring," "Joan of Arcadia"), is left at home while the others go on their adventures. However, one fateful day, she meets Bailey, her young neighbor, who also has leukemia. Bailey, played by Jenna Boyd ("The Missing," "Dickie Roberts: Child Star," and "The Hunted"), annoyingly insists on helping Tibby with her documentary, which, consequently, turns into something entirely unexpected.

Carmen (America Ferrera) is visiting her dad, who left her mom when she was young. Right away, she learns a new truth that will change her life forever: He is getting married to a woman with two children who could not be any more different from her. In this case, opposites do not attract, and the sisterhood is needed more than ever.

In the end, the pants are merely witnesses to changes and lessons in four girls' lives. Such changes and lessons are present in everyday life. The spirit of the traveling pants: the bonds of friendship, joy, and love in all circumstances, and the ability to make good things happen, is in all of us.

The movie shows us that comfort can be found, even during the hardest times.

Based on Ann Brashares' best-selling novel, it teaches us that every person is a member of some sort of sisterhood (or brotherhood). As we play witness to one another's lives, we experience the unthinkable and realize that anything is possible if we put our "pants" to it.

Movie Review: Thumbs up for the 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Based on the book by Douglas Adams, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" poses a question: What if Earth were blown up, leaving only four survivors — one man, one woman, and two mice?
In this case, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) of England is saved by his friend, Ford Prefect (Mos Def), who is from a planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse.

At the last minute, Ford and the others hitch a ride on one of the Vogons' ships.

The Vogons, nasty, gray, slug-like, bureaucratic creatures, destroy Earth to make way for an intergalactic space highway.

Unfortunately for Ford and Arthur, these creatures also hate hitchhikers. Thus, Ford and Arthur are thrown into space (after having been read a selection of Vogon poetry, the third worst poetry ever known).

They are picked up by none other than the president of the galaxy (and semi-cousin of Ford), Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and Trillian (Zooey Deschanel).

Coincidentally, both Trillian and Zaphod have a past with Arthur. What are the probabilities of this happening? There are a lot of improbabilities in this movie.

Zaphod has stolen the famous ship, "Heart of Gold" and is using its Improbability Drive to find the legendary planet Magrathea. As the four are chased by the Vogons, a twisted plot unfolds.

Along on the journey is Marvin, the manically depressed robot, voiced by Alan Rickman, and Slartibartfast (Bill Nighy), a worker on the planet Magrathea.

The film is full of laughs. Separate from that, it makes fun of bureaucracy, politics and basic daily life.

This film is not to be taken as realistically or as seriously as a Star Wars movie. It's more a "Monty Python meets Luke Skywalker" film. Take, for example, the quirky purpose of the adventure: to find the ultimate question of Life, the Universe and Everything. The answer, 42, is already known, but is meaningless without the question, which they never find out anyway.

The guide referred to in the title is an electronic book like no one has ever seen. You can mention various topics to it and it will do a search, informing the reader of whatever entries are made regarding the topic in question. Its entries contain many facts and advice written by people who hitchhike for a living.

The movie stays fairly true to the book, with some elements from the sequels as well as some new, made-up elements. Fans of the book will surely enjoy the movie.

For girls out there who prefer chick flicks, there is even a little bit of a romantic plot involving Arthur and Trillian, as well as Zaphod and the Vice President. The movie does not have the typical elements of a chick flick, but the romance is sweet and heartfelt.

My favorite part of the film was toward the end. As the Vogons are shooting (with terrible aim) at Trillian, Ford, Zaphod and Arthur, Marvin picks up the Point of View gun (which makes the person shot think the way the shooter does for a moment) and shoots the entire fleet of Vogons. Every single Vogon crawls into a ball on the ground and says, "I feel so depressed!"

Another funny element includes the opening sequence, "So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish," in which the dolphins of Earth do back flips and leave by their own means to escape the destruction of the planet.

Although the purpose of the film seems pointless (possibly leaving room for a sequel), and the plot is weak in the middle of the movie, it is definitely worth seeing at least once.

The force is with this movie as it takes the audience on an adventure unlike any other, filled with loads of laughs, a bit of love, and plenty of action.

'Wicked' provides witch's back story
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

"So much more happened before Dorothy dropped in …"
So begins the catch phrase for the hit show "Wicked."

For years, L. Frank Baum's classic "The Wizard of Oz" has captured audiences in the story of Dorothy and her struggle against the Wicked Witch of the West.

Now, in "Wicked," a musical based on the 1995 book by Gregory Maguire, the old story takes an imaginative turn, showing a lively version of what happened before and during the adventure of Dorothy and her little dog, Toto.

It begins with the witch's death, as Glinda the Good looks back and remembers the days she spent with Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

Glinda tells her audience how Elphaba becomes green after her mother takes a potion called "green elixir," and of a father who shuns her because she is different.

When her sister is born paralyzed, Elphaba receives the blame and is given the task of being her sister's caretaker. Therefore, when her sister goes to college, she follows.

Madam Morrible, a teacher, discovers Elphaba's magical talent and takes her to see the wizard. The wizard, however, takes advantage of her, causing her to turn wicked.

In the middle of all this, there is a love conflict. Fiyero, a fellow student, falls in love with both Glinda and Elphaba and has trouble deciding who he really, truly loves. Glinda and Elphaba become close friends, but are separated once Elphaba becomes wicked.

The show answers all questions. You discover how the wicked witch became wicked, how the tin man became tin, how the lion became cowardly, how the scarecrow became a scarecrow, and how Dorothy's house came to land, in a killing blow, on top of the Wicked Witch of the East.

On top of such a satisfying plot, the acting and singing top any Broadway show I have seen.

If you have never gone to a Broadway show before, this is the perfect show to make your first. It only takes listening to one song to get you hooked.

There are a few moments that might offend some people. At one point sexual activity is indicated and at another point there is heavy kissing. There are also a few dark moments that might scare little ones.

With its spectacular special effects and music that will blow you away, "Wicked" is a must-see.

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

Favorite Published Articles

2007-06-23T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorite published articles that are not movie reviews. The first one is about a group of teens who decided to go on a different kind of diet. The next article, "Leaving their mark," is about teen tattoos. "Mall full of nothing to wear" is about the lack of cute clothing available for plus sized teens. "Glitter and Glitz" is about Homecoming floats. "Royal Achievement" follows one teenage girl who made it onto the Sacramento King's cheerleading team. Lastly, "Common Cause" is about a group of teens doing volunteer work.

Soul Music
Students undertake task of listening exclusively to Christian music for 30 days
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Thirty freshmen at Big Valley Christian High School went on a diet last month.
This diet, however, did not involve losing weight, working out or giving up favorite foods.

Instead, the Christian Music Diet required participants to give up secular music and listen to only Christian music for 30 days.

For some, that was even harder than giving up McDonald's and Cold Stone Creamery.

"Doing this Christian Music Diet was not easy," said 14-year-old Nicole Chacon, "but I got through it with the help of God. I prayed to Him when I was struggling. After all, the point of this diet is to become closer to God.

"Now," she said, "I have good days when I used to have bad days. Listening to Christian music is always very uplifting, compared to secular music, which is often depressing."

Nicole said the diet helped her become closer to God.

"Whenever I was struggling, I knew I could look to him, and I did," she said. "To this day, even after the diet, I look to God for comfort, strength and guidance."

The diet was created by Al Menconi Ministries, an evangelical, nondenominational ministry whose goal is to educate and equip Christian parents, leaders and students to communicate biblical values in the home and church.

"I originally started encouraging my students to take a 'diet' in 1972," Menconi said in an interview by e-mail. "It has been refined over the years and is constantly changing. In fact, we made major changes to it last year and now call it The FullTilt Challenge, or Living FullTilt."

Like the Christian Music Diet, the FullTilt Challenge requires participants to listen to only Christian music for 30 days. However, it also involves eliminating all forms of entertainment that go against biblical values.

Like losing weight, Menconi says on his Web site, you cannot accomplish something by giving up only small, select areas and, after a quick diet, going back to old habits; you have to change completely.

Ed Limon, a Bible teacher at Big Valley, adopted the diet about four years ago as an extra-credit opportunity for students.

Now, freshman Bible teachers Steven Neff and Ryan Poling have continued this challenge, while Limon has taken on the expanded version of the diet, FullTilt, and used it to challenge the juniors and seniors.

Involving more than just students, the diet required family participation. Parents had to sign an agreement saying they would not listen to secular music around their kids.

The teachers who assigned the challenge did it along with the students, as well.

"I would never ask anyone to do something I would not be willing to do myself," he said. "This is a biblical concept set forth by Jesus himself, as well as his disciples and the apostle Paul."

Neff, who teaches computers as well as Bible, would not allow the use of iPods or other MP3 and CD players during free time while the diet was going on.

Secular music plays a large role in teens' lives, so giving it up can be quite a challenge.

"It is very difficult to shut out secular music," said Meaghan Kingsley-Teem, 16. "It is everywhere: in stores, at school, even at church!"

Meaghan said curiosity motivated her to try the diet.

"I just wanted to see how much my music really affects me," she added. "I usually listen to music that fits my mood, whatever I feel like, but the Christian Music Diet is a way to take your mind off of this world and focus it on God. Through the diet, I have grown closer to my Lord and experienced joy that does not depend on circumstances."

Even though she sees the Christian Music Diet's effect as positive, Meaghan said she doesn't plan to continue avoiding secular music.

"I do not think I will follow this diet stringently," she said, "but I will definitely change my music selection to a mostly Christian makeup."

Neff said he wishes more students had accepted the challenge. Out of about 65 freshmen, only 30 did.

Dan Grigg, 16, said, "I was raised on the music I listen to, mainly rock, and I am not willing to give it up. I like it. I am not going to give it up just like that."

Besides, he added, "It takes a while for me to find out the other types of music I like."

Joe Colley, 14, also passed on the challenge.

"I did not want to do the Christian Music Diet because I did not need the extra credit and I enjoy the music I listen to," he said. "What I listen to depends on who I am around. I like all kinds of music and can listen to anything that people put in. My family listens to secular and Christian music, but we listen to a lot of radio."

He also said it would have been difficult to maintain the diet at home.

"I am not willing to make my family conform to something they are not willing to do," he said. "I am not going to torture myself by switching my music and giving it up for 30 days for some music I listen to only once in a while."

Robert Lasiler, 15, said he listens to a lot of industrial, punk, techno, grunge and metal music; anything, he said, that has meaning in its words.

"Music does not change a person," he said, "and not listening to music won't change a person, either. The music you like does not describe what kind of person you are. If I listen to lyrics that say, 'God is dead,' it won't change my faith. I am not changed by others' opinions."

Neff said he has heard many Christians say that they aren't affected by listening to secular music.

"My question to them is this: If these things do not have an effect on your life, then why is it so hard to give them up for a measly 30 days and find out for sure? Especially when we, as Christians, believe that Jesus gave up his throne in heaven for a time to suffer humility and an unspeakable death on the cross for us?"

Britteny Vargas, 15, said that since she tried the Christian Music Diet, "in my everyday life, I feel calmer and ready to face my trials. I might try the diet again in the future. It was a difficult challenge, but it helped me a lot. It has given me a more well-rounded feeling for music. I can understand more of what I hear now. It has made me conscious of what I listen to."

Britteny said she enjoys Christian music much more since she tried the Christian Music Diet.

"Sometimes I like to vent through music. With nonsecular music, it seems like you can't do this, but you really can," she said.

"When you have a bad day, you want to get all of your anger out. Listening to hard-core stuff, just loud and crazy music or music in general, seems to get rid of the hurt. Music, both secular and Christian, can give you the feeling that someone else has been through your hurts, too."

Britteny said she likes hard rock by Green Day, Muse and Three Days Grace. But similar sounds can be found with Christian bands like Switchfoot, Hawkinson, Kutless, 12 Stones and Relient K.

"Sometimes, secular music may seem better, but Christian music can sound just as good."

Neff said he has seen changes in the students who tried the Christian Music Diet. "They are more open to seeking godly music," he said, "They are no longer afraid of being looked on as different because of the music they listen to, because they have discovered there is good Christian music in almost any genre they could imagine. My prayer is that they will take this newfound knowledge and apply it to other things in their lives, such as the television and movies they choose."

The theme verse of the diet is Colossians 2:8, which says, "Don't let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men's thoughts and ideas instead of on what Christ has said."

Nicole Chacon could identify with that verse after trying the Christian Music Diet.

"I would encourage people to just try this diet," she continued, "It really does help not only your personal relationship with Christ, but your daily life, too. I do not think I will continue to listen to Christian music 24/7, but I will listen to it more often."

Leaving Their Mark
The popularily of tattoos continues to rise among young people -- but is the pain worth it?

Tattoos aren't just for sailors and bikers anymore.
Today people from all walks of life are getting tattoos, and that's true for teenagers, too.

Maybe it's because young celebrities like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan or popular athletes like Mike Bibby and David Beckham proudly sport their tattoos.

Maybe it's because characters in shows like "The Simpsons," "Friends," and "That '70s Show" have tattoos.

Or maybe it's just that teens are looking for yet another way to express themselves.

Jose Bedolla, owner of Main Street Tattoos and Piercings in Turlock, points to television shows like "Miami Ink" and "Inked" (which air on TLC and A&E, respectively) that he says fuel the trend.

"I think it has a lot to do with the shows on TV," he said.

Whatever the reason, more young people are getting tattoos than ever before. Twenty-eight percent of adults younger than 25 have tattoos, according to a 2003 survey by Scripps Howard News Service.

And, perhaps even more telling, "doctors estimate that more than thirty percent of all tattoo removal is done on teen girls who want the name of an ex-boyfriend taken off," according to a recent issue of Teen Magazine.

What sparked trend?

Like piercings, tattoos have become chic. They're no longer just for the "bad crowd."

And there are many reasons people get tattoos. They may be expressing their individuality or making a political statement. They could be commemorating a lost loved one or showing religious devotion. Or they could be using them as as a source of inspiration.

"I have a tattoo dedicated to two people I knew who have died," said Ryan Merchant, an 18-year-old graduate of Beyer High School. "The names of Jackie Carter and (Camillus Salcedo) are each on a part of a cross tattoo on my left arm."

Tyler Weiland, an 18-year-old Big Valley Christian High graduate now attending Biola University in La Mirada, said he wants to get a tattoo of his favorite Bible verse on his rib cage.

Bedolla said he has gotten a lot more young customers lately. By young, he means 18 or older — California law states that you have to be 18 to get a tattoo. Even parents' permission won't get you an appointment at a tattoo parlor.

Jessica Bowman, a 20-year-old MJC student, said she got a tattoo with her mom when she turned 18.

"I got it of a treble clef because I teach piano," she said.

Will it hurt?

Bowman said getting her tattoo hurt, "but not enough to make me cry. It just felt like an irritating scratch."

Ray Hoot and his son, Steve Hoot, owners of Tattoo You and Piercing in Riverbank, said tattoos have become very popular with everyone, despite the process being painful.

"Tattoos are mainstream now. People do them for fun," Ray Hoot said. "Whatever pain there may be in getting the tattoo, they enjoy it."

Dirk Venn, an 18-year old graduate of Modesto High who will be attending Fresno State this fall, is happy with his tattoo.

"I got it on the middle of my back of a Volcom clothing brand sign," he said.

But not everyone is as pleased with the pain.

Sarah Pieracci, an incoming sophomore at Big Valley Christian High, said her brother just got two tattoos and that they "hurt so much that he regrets getting them."

The process

In short, to make a tattoo, a needle punctures deep into the dermis, the second layer of the skin, and injects enough ink to make one dot in a design. That process is repeated until the dots form an image.

It can take a few minutes or a couple of hours, depending on the size of the tattoo. Price also depends on size. At Main Street Tattoos and Piercings, customers must spend a minimum of $50, which will get them a small tattoo.

"It can range all the way up to $200-300," Bedolla said. "If you want a real big tattoo, I charge one basic price for the outline, and another $100 per hour for the coloring in."

Stay safe

Before you get a tattoo, experts say you should do your research. Check with others who have gotten tattoos to find a reputable shop. Tattoo artists should wear gloves, and needles should be used one-time only.

Even then, there could be health risks.

"The fear of passing on an HIV infection is, of course, a concern, but the odds are very, very low if good hygiene habits are practiced," Parent-Teen.com says.

Medical professionals say that every time you break the skin, you risk bacterial or viral infection. But as long as you go to a proper shop for your tattoo, and if you aren't allergic to the dyes used and don't have overly sensitive skin, they agree that you should be all right.

After care of the tattoo is important, too. You shouldn't immerse the area in water for two weeks, or let it get sunburned. Don't pull the skin off. Wash it with antibacterial soap. Put ice on the area, and rub antibiotic ointment into the tattoo often.

Are you sure?

Teens should think long and hard about whether to get a tattoo.

They are, after all, permanent. The image will stretch and fade over the years. Removal techniques are said to hurt twice as much, cost a lot more, and take a lot longer to get done than the tattoo itself.

It can cost from less than $100 for fading creams, which never make the tattoo go away fully, to tens of thousands of dollars for surgical techniques that remove the tattoo but often leave scars behind.

And while much of the stigma of having a tattoo has waned, there are still issues with prospective employers. Many look down on those who have visible tattoos.

And then there are issues with being stereotyped — by family, friends, co-workers, etc.

"I think a lot of my friends would look down on tattoos," said 15-year-old Kathleen Strojan, an incoming sophomore at Big Valley Christian High. "But I don't think it should matter what a person has on their skin. What matters is who they are as a person."

Lauren Goldeen, a 15-year-old incoming sophomore at Modesto High School, believes people should wait until they're older to make such a permanent decision.

"Getting a tattoo this young is stupid," Lauren said. "When you get older you have more life experience and then you know when and what a tattoo will bring and mean. A tattoo is permanent, so it will be with you forever. Having that kind of responsibility can be difficult."

Whatever the reason — and despite objections some parents may have, as well as the opposition of many religions and employers — the popularity of tattoos among younger people continues to grow.

Sixteen-year-old, Michael Weir, an incoming junior at Big Valley Christian High, said he plans on getting a tattoo of a wolf when he turns 18. He has his own reasons for getting one.

"It would make me feel confident," he said. "and give me self-happiness."

Mall full of nothing to wear
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Think of the hottest places in town to shop for teen clothing. Abercrombie and Fitch or American Eagle likely come to mind. But they — and stores like Hollister and Forever 21 — are not an option for a growing number of "horizontally challenged" teens.
Sixteen percent of American youth ages 6 to 19 are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That is triple the number in 1980. With that rise has come greater demand for fashionable clothing in plus sizes.

So where do overweight teens find trendy clothes? There hasn't been a variety of youthful clothing choices out there for larger sizes, but more options are becoming available.

Online, there is plenty of plus-size clothing, at sites such as www.alloy.com and www.jeenybeans.com. All you have to do is search for "plus size clothing" and you will get loads of sites. But not everyone can or wants to shop on the Internet.

While stores like Gap and Hollister carry up to size 18 or XL at the largest, other stores (though not exactly as name-brand popular) are beginning to offer trendier plus-size clothing.

One such store is Torrid, which offers sizes zero to 4 for women — zero being like a medium or large, and 4 being like a 3X or 4X.

Leslie Wagner, an 18-year-old senior at Oakdale High School, has worked at Torrid in Modesto's Vintage Faire Mall for about six months.

"Before that, I drove all the way to the Torrid in Pleasanton for clothing. Other stores just don't have clothes that fit me right.

"Torrid fits me well. Working at Torrid, I can relate to the women I see and help them find slenderizing clothing."

As far as what she looks for in her own purchases, Wagner said she prefers low-ride pants and long shirts. "I like what is youthful," she said. "I am versatile in what I wear; it depends on my mood."

Torrid meets those needs, Wagner said. "Most other places either don't have my size or only have grandma-like clothing."

Clothes make the girl

Big Valley Christian High School freshman Jessica Espinoza agreed. "I need to have trendy clothes because I want to know that I look good." she said. "Like that saying goes, 'Nice clothes make a girl feel wonderful and powerful.' Plus, I don't want to look like an 80-year-old grandma. I mean, just because we're big in areas doesn't mean we can't look nice.

"It would be nice to have someone say, 'Hey, that's a cute top. Where'd you get it?' But fashion for us bigger girls keeps getting worse. If you're not a size 0 to 5, you're looked down on. …

I can't even go into the name-brand stores in the mall and get stuff because they only sell clothes for small-sized girls."

Some teens are on the borderline in sizes. Seventeen-year-old Christy Wheeler of Oakdale High School said she often shops at places like Gap and Old Navy. But she did notice a big difference in availability. "There are more choices in the smaller sizes than there are for my size," she said of those stores. On the other hand, "stores like Lane Bryant, which used to carry old-lady clothing, are starting to carry more trendy clothes."

Kate Brodie, also 17 and a senior at Oakdale High, said, "What makes stores like Torrid and Lane Bryant nice is that they are for almost all types and all ages."

There are plus-size stores in Modesto, such as Catherines (on Pelandale Avenue) and Avenue (on McHenry), but they do not carry as much youthful clothing as most teen shoppers would like.

The limited selection overall has some shoppers down in the dumps, but there are others who just shrug it off. Bunny Sheldon, 17 and a senior at Manteca High, said, "I can't exactly find what I want to wear," so "I have to deal with what I find."

Paying the price

Manteca High senior Monique Villavicencio, 18, said she would like to go to formal and prom events but never can find dresses in her size. She could spend extra on special orders and have them fitted, but that would be even more expensive than your typical prom dress, which can easily run $200.

Even when tailoring isn't involved, cost can become an issue. Modesto Junior College student Kristen Corbett, 19, said, "I have noticed that if you go into a store, bigger sizes sometimes are more expensive, but you are using more material, so it all works out, I guess."

For example, a particular brown shirt at JC Penney costs $24 in petite sizes but $26 in larger sizes.

What you'll pay for plus-size clothing compared with smaller clothing also "depends on the location," Wheeler said. "Places like Torrid are the same, while department stores cost more."

As for whether she's at the height of fashion, Corbett said she doesn't really care.

"I don't need trendy clothes," she said, "I guess everyone wants to have a sense that they look good, but it really depends on what you mean (by) trendy."

Corbett said she seeks cute and conservative clothing, but not much is available for her style. "Most of what I have seen is tighter clothes," she said.

"It would be nice to have more, but if you saw something cute that wasn't your size, wouldn't you be motivated to lose weight? Not having a lot of options could be a good thing."

Corbett said she shops at Wal-Mart, JC Penney and Target because those stores do carry larger lines of clothing.

The bottom line is that while selection has improved in recent years, most makers of brand-name clothes apparently have yet to realize, or care, that it's not just skinny teens out there. "It makes me angry, mad and hurt," Espinoza said, "to know that in today's world, you can't go to American Eagle or Abercrombie and get clothes that fit."

Glitter and Glitz
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

If you go looking for glitter at a craft store, you won't find any. It's homecoming season.
When high school students get together to build class floats for their homecoming parades, each float — from the simple to the complicated — is all about flash. Not to mention school spirit.

"I like homecoming because it is fun to see students get spirited," said Saira Garcia, 17, who serves as junior class secretary and treasurer at Davis High School.

Davis, Modesto, Beyer, Modesto Christian and Hilmar High are among schools that built floats for competitions at homecoming.

"Judges look for floats that are big and out there," said Jordan Dickson, 15, sophomore class president at Davis.

Davis sophomores worked on their float for about five weeks before putting the final product together.

Their theme was "Life," taken from the board game. Along with a battery-powered spinning wheel, they had students dress up as graduates, a bride and groom, elderly people, a family, and mourners at a funeral, just like the pieces in the game.

The junior class at Davis based its float on a board game, as well.

"Our theme was Clue," said junior class representative Brittany Silva, 16. "We had a wallpaper background with portraits of the characters in the game. A few juniors also dressed as the characters and stood on the float."

While Davis students kept their floats simple, those from Hilmar High took a more elaborate route.

Inside a country barn, they folded paper flowers and stapled them onto the wooden frame, built around a car.

Designs were intricate. One float depicted a battleship shooting confetti toward a second, smaller float representing the opposing football team.

The town of Hilmar makes a big deal out of homecoming. Officials close Lander Avenue each year for the parade, and most of the town comes out to see what the students have created.

The Class of 2005 last year won two national awards for its fall homecoming float. The money went to a fireworks display at graduation.

Hilmar High invites different people, usually from out of town, to judge its float competition.

"We don't even know who the judges are," said Ashley Hackney, 17, senior class representative at Hilmar High.

Because high school students take float competitions so seriously, students won't reveal their designs until they present their floats at the homecoming game.

At Modesto High, which has not yet had its homecoming, senior class adviser Amy Brandt, 17, would say only that each class was given a decade on which to base its float. The freshmen were the 1970s, the sophomores the 1950s, the juniors the 1980s and the seniors the 1960s.

Sarah Bostan, 15, a sophomore and historian commissioner at Modesto High, said homecoming floats help make high school a fun experience for everyone.

"It is largely about raising the level of Panther pride," she said, "and, hopefully, a homecoming spirit boost can stick with students all year long."

At Beyer High, students had to come up with a theme based on the word "roll."

The freshmen came up with the theme "Rock 'n' Roll: School of Rock."

Breann Anderson, 14, freshman class president, said constructing the float was a bit stressful.

"But it was worth it in the end," she said. "We worked together, and the resulting float turned out well."

Things did not go as well for Elizabeth Wood, 16, sophomore class president at Beyer. She feels that she ended up doing the bulk of the work for the sophomore "Tootsie Roll" float on her own.

"Even though it was stressful, and I had to put off my own personal life, I did gain some responsibility and leadership skills," she said. "I know now how I can be more organized and do things better next year."

Disneyland, "The Happiest Place on Earth," was the homecoming theme at Modesto Christian High School.

"It is compared to heaven," said Rachelle Sauser, 14, freshman class president, "because heaven is the happiest place."

Each float was based on a Disney movie and had a Bible verse to go with it.

"It really is a lot of fun," said Aimee Bidlack, 16, junior class president at Modesto Christian. "You get to spend time with people you don't normally spend time with."

Trevor Grimbleby, 15, sophomore class president at Modesto Christian, agreed.

"I really like working on the floats because you can use creativity," he said, "and teamwork really makes it all come together in the end."

Royal Achievement
Beyer grad has her dream job dancing
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Everyone has an ideal job they want to have. Rachel got hers a lot sooner than she expected.
The 19-year-old, a 2004 graduate of Beyer High School, will make her debut as a Sacramento Kings dancer this month.

It's Maloof Brothers Entertainment policy not to give out the Royal Court dancers' last names, but friends and acquaintances will remember this dancer.

It's a dream job for Rachel, a longtime fan of both dancing and the basketball team. She found out about auditions for the dance team on the Kings' Web site, which she checks frequently.

"I've always been a fan," she said.

The dance team, which includes members from throughout the San Joaquin Valley, has already been practicing two times a week from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Before they started practicing, they had to audition to make the team. Rachel, one of hundreds of hopefuls, made it through three rounds of cuts before she was chosen.

Candidates were put in a straight line and called up one by one to say something about themselves, and to dance to whatever music was played.

"The judges looked for confidence in us," Rachel said. "There were some people who did not dance that well but still made it through to the next round because they had confidence and showed it."

Those who made it to the second cut were put into groups of three and taught a routine.

"Then, once I got to the last cut, I had to go in for a personal interview," Rachel said. "They also had me do both a dance I choreographed on my own and a dance they taught me."

Rachel was one of the lucky 16 to make the squad. Six dancers are new, 10 are returning.

Now she practices with the team, learning dances from professional choreographers.

That's nothing new. Growing up, she took lessons at 5678 Dance Studio in Modesto for 10 years, and she had six years of dance before that. She's taken jazz, tap, ballet, modern, point, lyrical and hip-hop classes.

As a high school student, her daily routine consisted of waking up in the morning, going to school, taking dance lessons, doing homework and going to bed.

"It was a tight schedule," she said, "but I love to dance."

She attended San Jose State University, majoring in dance. Now that she is on the team, she attends Sierra College in Rocklin. Eventually she would like to go to UC Davis.

Dancing for the Kings is considered a professional job, so Rachel is paid for what she loves to do. "It is not enough to pay for tuition. Most of the girls on the team have other jobs. But I love dancing, performing and meeting new people. This job puts all three together, which is why I love it so much!"

The team dances at all home games, performing half-time routines and other numbers during breaks in the action. The team also makes public appearances.

Overall, Rachel has landed her ideal job, at least for now.

She offers this advice: "To all the future dancers — have confidence and just try to have fun with what you are doing."

A common cause
By HARMONY WHEELER
TEENS IN THE NEWSROOM

Where can you find farm animals, gardens, homes representing the way people live all over the world, and a group of students working hard to make a difference?
They all could be found Saturday when the Central Valley Youth Chapter of People to People volunteered to help at the Heifer International Ceres Education Center.

The group included about 16 students ages 13-17 representing Modesto, Atwater, Turlock, Stagg (Stockton) and Big Valley Christian high schools and Hart Ransom Middle School.

"The Heifer Project Work Day was held because it is something we all believed in," said Sarah Bostan, a Modesto High freshman who is a member of the chapter. "Knowing that there are kids in other countries who can live because of donations from Heifer, just helping out at one of the many Heifer International Centers was a great privilege."

The Ceres Heifer Educational center gets roughly 4,000 visitors a year from all over the country. The center teaches visitors about Heifers for Relief and other worldwide projects sponsored by Heifer International, an organization dedicated to ending hunger.

Volunteers at the Ceres education center take care of animals and gardens and give tours to visiting children, school groups and donors.

The People to People students began at 9 a.m. with a video and tour. Then they rolled up their sleeves and went to work.

Even with jobs such as repairing animal shelters, putting mud on a mud house, herding animals, cleaning water troughs and raking up manure, they kept a positive attitude.

"The work was hard for me because I have never done it before," said Lauren Goldeen, a 14-year-old Hart Ransom eighth-grader. "But it was fun, and I really enjoyed lending an extra hand to help Heifer and take care of the animals."

For many in the group, a highlight of the day was renewing their acquaintance with Australian resident Peter Renwick, who joined in the day's work while visiting Modesto.

Last summer, a group of local junior high students visited Australia through People to People Student Ambassadors. There, they met Renwick, who had been volunteering at the station they were visiting. He taught them many things about the Australian culture, including how to throw a boomerang and crack a whip.

"A lot of tourists who come through Australia are rude," Peter said. "I realize now they are only a minority, but it did affect my view of Americans before the People to People Student Ambassadors came. The kids were great! They were well-mannered and nice."

This is part of the mission of People to People.

According to Ben Goldeen, a Modesto High junior who is president of the local youth chapter, People to People was founded by President Eisenhower as a way to bring people together, to bring about peaceful relations through interactions

"What we are doing at Heifer," Goldeen said, "is furthering that mission in our community."

In addition to the local chapter, students can travel overseas as student ambassadors to learn about other cultures.

"We try to involve student ambassadors in the chapter," said Ben, "but you do not have to be a student ambassador to join it. We meet monthly and work locally to serve the mission of People to People in the coming together of people."

"There are a lot of people out there who think we are snotty because we are Americans," said Hart Ransom eighth-grader Arielle Earl, another member of the chapter who went on the Australia trip last year. "However, going to other countries and really showing how Americans can be, being an ambassador, means showing how we can be truly be learning about them and how we can truly care."

There are more than 108 chapters in most countries over the globe.

Sara Bostan, the Modesto High freshman, said that after travelingwith People to People, she wanted to stay involved, so she joined the Central Valley Youth Chapter.

"We basically promote peace, understanding, and friendship in our communities," she said. "We know that you do not have to travel abroad to make the world a better place."

Sarah said the local People to People chapter has hosted a dinner for Danish visitors, donated school supplies to needy children in Third World countries and held book wrappings to donate books to local children.

"Mostly," she said, "we want the world to know that we do care."

Robert Jacobsen, a 16-year-old Modesto High junior and vice president of the chapter, said, "The work done by the Central Valley Student Chapter is really a great example of the many works we do in the community. Helping locally for a global effect is why the Central Valley Student Chapter is here and why the chapter is volunteering at Heifer."

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

My Published Works

2007-06-23T09:12:00.000-07:00

I worked for a local newspaper for a while and had many articles published through them. I am no longer living or working there, but the articles should make good reads. I believe you can only view a few before the site makes you join. Membership is free though. I also plan to post a few of my favorites today.

Tattoo Article (Leaving Their marks):

Teen Hall of Fame:

V for Vendetta Movie Review:

Local School's Missions Trip:

Teen Hall of Fame:

Government Day:

Jr. Miss Pageant:

Nanny McPhee Movie Review:

Before Junior Miss Pageant:

Hoodwinked Movie Review:

The End of the Spear Movie Review:

Plus Sized Clothing:

Tristan and Isolde Movie Review:

Teen Hall of Fame:

Cheaper by the Dozen 2 Movie Review:

King kong Movie Review:

Chronicles of Narnia Movie Review:

Pride and Predjudice Movie Review:

Chicken Little Movie Review:

Zathura Movie Review:

Teen Hall of Fame:

Boy Scouts Eagles:

Homecoming Floats:

Wallace and Gromit Movie Review:

Sacramento King's Cheerleader:

Oliver Twist Movie Review:

Corpse Bride Movie Review:

Christian Berets Camp for the Disabled:

Wicked Broadway Tour Review:

Roller King:

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Movie Review:

War of the Worlds Movie Review:

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Movie Review:

Soul Music:

Royal Family:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Movie Review:

School Missions:

A Common Cause:

Funny Typo in Newspaper

2007-06-22T15:55:00.000-07:00

Few English-learners fluent
More than 25% in Stanislaus pass test, but most students still are not ready to move on
http://www.modbee.com/local/v-dp_evening/story/13715635p-14302287c.html

Upon first reading the header for this article I saw nothing wrong with it. My father soon pointed out to me that if you are an English-learner you obviously are not fluent in English. This header is redundant. If my dad decides to write a letter to the paper I'll be sure to post it here. For all you English lovers I thought you'd get a kick out of this.

Copyright © 2007 Harmonious Glow Writings

The Free Iccee Man

2007-06-22T09:50:00.000-07:00

Description:This is somewhat spiritual, considering it's introduction and ending, but if you read the story by itself, it's a short story. I based this one on a dream that I recently had.

The Free Iccee Man

My life is like a bed sheet or blanket. No matter how hard I try to straighten it out, there is always a wrinkle. Sometimes big, sometimes small. Big wrinkles are the worst. They make me feel like God isn't there. I think Satan likes to play with my mind. How do I get rid of Him? How do I resist temptation? Does God still love me even when I do the same wrong thing over and over again? What about when I do it so much I don't even feel guilty any more, I just feel empty? Every time I ask forgiveness, but then I turn around and do it again. I don't want to be a bad person. It's like this:

There once was a young girl. She loved icee cones, but they were never free. Not until this one man came and put on a contest for a free iccee. As it turned out, He was only going to choose a few out of many to get that free iccee. And those few would have to take good care of their iccee. They couldn't spill it, or drop it, lest they should lose the wonderful taste of the iccee. So, the time came for the man to chose the winners. The young girl wanted an iccee so bad. She just had to get that free iccee. She didn't have enough money to buy one from the other vendors, and even if she did, she knew the other icees were not nearly as tasty as the free ones. They were fake and icky tasting. The young girl knew this very well. Her stomach growled. She was hungry for an iccee all right. But how was she going to get it. Not everyone would get chosen. She had little chance. But low and behold her name was the first to be called when it came time to give away the free iccees. She jumped for joy. To think that she had been called, out of everyone in the entire area. And she knew that her iccee would be delicious. She slowly walked up to the man who was giving away the free iccees. "Why are giving me a free iccee?" she asked Him. "Because I love all the children of this playground," he replied, "And I would sacrifice everything to see them all smile. But they had to come to me first. They had to put their name in my box so I would know they sought my free iccees. Then they could win no matter what. You did that. You gave up everything else on that playground and all those other iccee stalls to come and receive my iccees. Now take you iccee and go. Tell the other children about me. But be careful. They may want you to get another vendor's iccees. They may want you to play on the playground when you have not yet finished your iccee. Take care of your iccee. Do as I say until you have eaten all of that iccee and then I will return to give you more when the time comes. That will be your reward." So the little girl went along on her way and sat down on a bench for a bite of her free iccee. It was delicious. She wanted to gobble it down fast, but she knew that would give her a brain freeze. She slowed down a bit. Across the way she saw another child with an iccee from one of the other vendor stalls. The other child called out to her to join him. "Come and try my iccee, it will be better than yours," he said. The girl knew better than to listen to the invitation, but the temptation was strong. A bit of another iccee couldn't harm her. She would still have her own iccee if she needed it. So, she went over to the boy. His iccee was good. The boy could tell she liked it, so he let her have some more. The second bite was even better. In no time the two had devoured the iccee together. The girl still had her free iccee in her hand. She hadn't eaten any more of it since her first bite. It was starting to melt. Another boy came over and said hi. He asked her if she would play with him on the playground. Well, this did sound tempting. The boy was very cute, and the playground looked like fun. So, she forgot she had the free iccee in her hand and she began to walk over to the playground. On her way over she tripped and the free iccee got all dirty when it hit the ground. The girl began to cry. She had forgotten how much she had wanted that free iccee. An iccee was starting to sound good again. She picked up the dirty iccee and began to study it. Slowly, but surely, the dirt disappeared as she picked it off with her fingers. Even still, there were some spots on it in the end. She tried her iccee, but it was even more melted now and the dirt had turned the flavor somewhat bitter. Not knowing that she could have just scraped off the top to find a fresh new layer, she sat on the ground, crying. The two boys from before and a few other kids came over to find out what was wrong. She told them. They tried to comfort her with their smooth voices and funny jokes, but nothing helped. She still felt empty. One child asked her to play on the playground. "It will make you forget your troubles and burdens," the child said, "you can be a beautiful princess and I'll be your prince charming." The young girl smiled. Being beautiful did sound nice. Maybe pretending to be a princess would make her forget how ugly she was. So, she went along with all the other children to play with them on the playground. But when the end of the day came, everyone had left and the young girl was all alone again. The next day came and went with no free iccee. The girl just sat there feeling empty inside. She tried different things in the following days, but none of them made her feel better. Then, one day, she remembered the kind man's words. He said he would come back, and she could have another free iccee. But she couldn't remember where in the park he was located. She searched for days and days until she finally gave up. The children of the playground invited her back. She tried that, but she just knew she would never find happiness in the playground. She had to search again. It was a big park, but she found that kind man and his iccee machine. He told her he had been wondering where she had gone. She confessed everything. To her surprise, he forgave her and gave her another free iccee. She knew she had to take good care of it this time. But temptation came again and she fell. She went back again and again to the kind man asking his forgiveness. One day she finally asked him, "Will the iccees ever taste as good as they did the first time?" "That's up to you," he replied. "I've been so bad," the young girl said, "and for so long. I'm no longer young, but am a young lady now. Can I ever change myself to be good again?" "That's up to you," the man said, "You must learn to have faith in me, and to no longer fall to temptation. You must turn from your sins." "Was I ever saved?" she asked him. "From the very beginning I chose you," he told her, "So, you figure it out for yourself. Remember, though, I am always here with my free iccees. You just have to come to me. Now go, and tell the others about my gift to them."

That's what my life is like. I know the truth and the facts that support the truth in my head, but my heart does not feel saved. I believe in my head but I feel like my heart does not believe. I feel empty. I know I shouldn't rely on my feelings, but what do I do? Even when I search I have trouble finding the Kind Man (God/Jesus). What should I do? Does God forgive me?

Drowned by Memories

2007-06-22T09:48:00.002-07:00

J.M. Barrie once said, “God gave us our memories so that we might have roses in December.” Our childhood memories, particularly, tend to follow us throughout our lives. Whether bad, or good, we cannot help but looking back at times. Every once in a while, memories will bring comfort in times of trouble. Childhood memories tend to be what shape us as we grow older. They make us who we are. Lydia Sigourney said, “In early childhood you may lay the foundation of poverty or riches, industry or idleness, good or evil.” I have several memories that would illustrate this point.
When I was about three years old, my parents signed me up for a parent-child swimming class at the YMCA. My dad gently held onto me in the water. He was careful to hold on tight; he knew that he held a precious life in his hands. All was going well until he accidentally slipped on the floor of the pool, causing him to drop me for only moment so he could gain his balance. Even though it was for such a short time that I remained underwater, and though I was only three years old at the time, I have remembered this childhood incident to this day. It has affected me in every way possible and led to a part of who I am today.
Ever since that “near death” experience, I have hated swimming. It took my parents a while to get me back in the pool again. Once they did, I was older, and still reluctant to swim. I hated holding my breath and going under water. I took a few lessons, but was the lowest in my class. I distinctly remember crying because I was afraid of just putting my face in the water. My swim class teacher picked me up and held me, face towards the water. I had to put my face in and out of the water and kick my feet at the same time as the instructor walked around the pool. I was afraid of being dropped; I was afraid of drowning.
Since then, I have learned to enjoy swimming at a slow pace. Water aerobics can be a good work out. I often go to the gym for that purpose. I also enjoy swimming on my back, backwards. However, I still will not go underwater without goggles on that cover my eyes and nose. I can swim underwater with those, but am still a terrible swimmer.
The childhood incident of almost drowning has followed me for my entire life. Now, I look back on it and laugh, as I do with many other memories. I often remember tough times I spent with my friends and how they shaped me. I went on vacation with my best friend once. It was the worst vacation ever! I was very selfish, and we did not get along at all. Since then, we have become good friends again and have learned to put up with each other. That fateful summer brings chuckles to me every time I think about it.
I cannot wait to pass these memories on to my own children. My parents have told me so many stories of their past. When I was younger, I would look forward to them as bedtime stories. Some day, I hope to bring this joy to my own children. Rosa Parks said, “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” My memories, even bad ones such as almost drowning when I was three years old, have followed me all my life. I have laughed about them, cried about them, and been indifferent about them. It is all the same. I cannot help but reflect on them at times. They have made me who I am. They brought me up. Anne Rice puts it well in saying, “No matter how long we exist, we have our memories. Points in time which time itself cannot erase. Suffering may distort my backward glances, but even to suffering, some memories will yield nothing of their beauty or their splendor. Rather they remain as hard as gems.

Who, What, When, Why, Where

2007-06-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

Why do people thrust around in the world,

Deceiving others of their pride?

Why do people want their obstacles to be hurdled?

Why are they so immature, thinking it's all a ride?

Why do they listen to things they shouldn't?

Why can't they resist evil's temptations?

Why don't they simply say "I couldn't"?

Why can't they just have a bit of patience?

What does the world have that is so interesting?

What is the world like in God's eyes?

What is the difference between right and wrong in different things?

Where is the right and good in telling lies?

Where is the place in which to take refuge?

Where is the wrong in trying to fit in?

Where is the truth in what people believe, is it rude?

Where do we go to save our skin?

Who can we go to get away from sin?

Who should we follow as a role model?

Who is tough as gold, metal, iron, and tin?

Who is the one that in the darkness wallows?

Who can bring joy to all that are sad?

Who can bring salvation and eternal life?

Who is wrong and bad?

Who is the one that carries a knife?

When will the Savior come to all who need him?

When will this madness stop under the world's hand?

When will the world no longer be in light's dim?

When will light cover the land?

The answer only God knows.

We must be ready,

And until the savior comes,

We will keep on goes.

And will always be asking,

Those five little questions,

Who? What? When? Why? Where?

Photos - Who?

2007-06-22T09:47:00.002-07:00

I mourn and cry,

With a feeling quite sly.

What is there left for me.

Now that she I don't see.

Photos are all I have of her,

The sweet, gentle curve,

Her awkward face,

Of a certain race.

I see the photos of her funeral,

Her body just lying there,

Apart my feelings tear as I stare.

Wake up! Wake up! You can't be dead!

I never knew you, not even the shape of your head.

You look as if you are just asleep,

But still there is a silence, not a peep.

Keep in my heart forever,

Pictures and all I that never can sever.

Years ago she died,

And in her grave she still lies.

I can't remember her gentle touch,

Lost forever to my heart.

Only photos of memories,

Of the grandma I never knew,

And of all questions,

I ask who?

The Gift I Have Received

2007-06-22T09:47:00.001-07:00

I sit here upon the ground,

Relaxing to a swift sound.

The sky is bright,

You can see the sun's reflection as a light.

The water moves slowly and touches my feet,

I feel the wind blowing,

And see a leave falling.

I see men fishing,

I close my eyes, my day is healing.

Behind me are fields of livestock,

In front of me a wooden dock.

It is peaceful outside,

And the wind takes me on a ride.

It's time to leave,

I will always remember the gift I have received.

What can I do? I've enjoyed it so much

I do not want to forget its wonderful touch.

I pack my things up,

And maybe with some luck,

I’ll return someday,

With more attention to pay

Family Reunion

2007-06-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

A Family Gathering

From the moment we start to exist, we belong to a family. Small or large, blood-related or adopted, our family influences much of who we are and what we experience in our lifetime. Before December 2004, much of my family didn’t know me. I had only met a few of my relatives when I was younger. The visit of my great grandmother for Christmas that year brought about the opportunity to meet several new family members.
Knowing how much it would mean to my great grandmother (whom I call Grandma Luellen) to see her brother Ernie and sister Ruth, my mom and dad arranged with my great, great aunt to have dinner with them and to let my grandma stay with them for two days. When the time came, it took us about an hour to drive to their home in Oakley, California. The outside area of their small farm home had a good first impression on me, although it was hard to see because rain clouds darkened the evening sky. There were two houses, one in which my great, great aunt and uncle lived, and the other in which their daughter lived with her family. Once inside my uncle’s house, my mom, dad, and I met the family. There was Grandma Luellen’s brother, Ernie, and his wife, Louise; Grandma Luellen’s sister, Ruth; Ernie’s daughter, Sandy, her husband, Rick, and their daughter, Megan.
At any family gathering, you will find that talking and “chit-chat” is a major pastime. With the snap of a finger, we all found ourselves snacking away while we talked about various things. We got a tour of the house, and soon sat down for dinner, accompanied by more discussion. After a meal similar to Christmas dinner, we all sat down to talk some more.
It was very interesting to hear my great grandma, great, great uncle, and two great, great aunts talk about life during the Depression, but after a while, I got bored. Unfortunately for me, when I get tired or bored, it is very noticeable. Rick seemed to recognize this, and, in a kind effort to cheer me up, he offered to take us on a tour of his house. First, we went to his office where he kept his bird, Sunny. He had Sunny shake hands, and, along with a few other tricks, even had him poop on command for us! He also had a salt water aquarium filled with all sorts of marine life. Rick showed us the rest of his house and let us pet his black, curly-haired dog. As it began to rain again, we trotted our way back to the other house where everyone still chatted.
Even with the excitement of the “party,” there always comes a time to say goodbye. We were leaving great grandma behind. I knew I would miss her. Leaving, no matter how badly you want to go, is always a hard thing to do. We discussed many last minute topics such as my great grandma moving to South Dakota, and getting together again. It was late and raining outside; and after a few final farewells, we left.
Even with the hard, pouring rain, we managed to get home safely, and I went to bed thinking about the wonderful time I had had, hoping to do it again soon. It was a significant change for once, to know some more of my family. Still, I was not as close to any of them as I was to Great Grandma Luellen, but more of these family gatherings would surely change that. It had been a gathering to remember.

Friendship

2007-06-22T09:23:00.000-07:00

Although life is full of joys, it can be sad and discouraging as well. It can drag some people to the bottom of a pit, one that seems to have no end. Such is the case with many people, one inparticular. Although Life is not always that bad, this person had not yet learned that, and she did not believe in herself as much as she should have. Thank goodness for best friends.

The girl sat there, she was staring out the window next to her bed. She hated remembering, there were so many painful memories. She knew that there were good memories too, some were even within the bad memories. Much had happened that made her sad, so much that made her feel worthless inside. So she just sat on her bed and stared out the window. She had to remember, no matter how painful it was.

The thing that was caught up in her mind was the conversation that she had had with her mother a few days earlier. They were sitting in the family car and had been talking about the vacation that they were going to go on a few weeks from then.

They planned to drive to Oregon and do things on the way. When in Portland they would stop for a short while to visit her grandma and would then head for Seattle, Washington and do things in that area. After this they would go back to Portland and her mother would judge a pageant there. Once that was over with they would drive along the coast until they would get to their turn off to head home. Her friend, Lynn was going to come along for fun.

In the car her mother and she began to talk of the fun they would have while on vacation. The disturbing conversation that came up was started by this talk of vacation.

“Renee, you are not going to be offended when we are there, are you?” her mother gently asked.

“Why would I be offended?” Renee questioned in reply.

“You won’t get sad when you look back at your memories and remember Sarah,” Melody, her mother answered.

“I suppose not,” Renee replied silently.

There was a moment of silence between them, as her mother continued to drive.
“Have I made you sad, honey? About Sarah?” Melody asked.

“No,” Renee paused, “ I do miss her though,” she said with a downward cast look on her face.

“She does not deserve to have you as a friend, you are too good for her,” her mother told her.

“I saw a picture of her a couple weeks ago. Kelsey showed it to me, Sarah is very pretty, you know,” Renee told her.

“I bet she is, she has always looked nice, even though she is a little buff,” Melody mentioned to her daughter.

“It is hard for me,” Renee started.

“What is hard for you?” her mother asked.

“To know how well she has kept in contact with Kelsey and Karina, but not with me,” she answered.

“Her parents are different, that’s all,” her mother reminded her.

Renee remembered that letter that had come in the mail so long ago, the one that had said that they had spoiled Sarah too much on their last trip to where Sarah lived and that her parents, who wrote this letter, were disappointed that they had spent less time with family while visiting. It was obvious that Sarah’s parents had some disliking for Renee and her mother and father.

“Why does it trouble me so?” Renee asked.

“Don’t let it, I know you will be a little distressed when we go near where she lives and when we go to places that you visited with Sarah,” her mother told her.

“Yes, it is true that I miss her. That letter, it was so awful,” Renee said to herself.

Renee continued to gaze out her window and remember her old friend Sarah. now she went back even further into her memories. She began to think of the last tie she spoke to Sarah.

It had been two years ago, she and her mother were on vacation in Oregon where Sarah lived. They had taken Sarah with them to many places and their vacation was almost over. They were originally planning to go to Oaks Park the next day and bring Sarah along, but that night they had received a call in their hotel room.

“Hello,” Melody said answering the phone, “It is for you Renee, it’s Sarah.”

Renee took the phone from her mother and spoke into it.

“Hello,” she said into the phone.

The words that struck her were painful, but set in a bad way.

“Hi, Renee. I can’t go with you tomorrow, OK. I am sorry, but, well, I just,” the voice told her.

“Sarah, why?” Renee questioned.

“I have stuff to do at my house, and my parents say that I can not go with you because of that,” Sarah told her.

Renee hung up and told her mother what she had been told by Sarah.

Months later they received a letter in the mail from Sarah’s parents. It stated that they believed that Renee and her mother had spoiled Sarah and made her temporarily a little bit selfish and bad tempered. They said that that was the reason for Sarah not being aloud to go with them that last day of vacation.

Renee stood up and looked out the window again.

“I’m bored, I wish Lynn was here,” she said to herself.

She picked up a notebook of hers and flipped through it. She came upon a picture that an old friend, Saido, had drawn when they had first met. She went into the kitchen and picked up the phone, dialing a phone number.

“Hi, Saido, I am sorry that I could not get a hold of you,” she started, she had gotten the answering machine, “I know that we have not seen each other very often lately. We have not been that great of friends and all but, I was just thinking about you and the first time I met you, and I just thought I would call, so.. call me back, OK,” she finished.

Renee hung the phone up and went back into her room to think. She found herself thing about, yet another friend. Melissa, had been a best friend of hers for a short time but she had then found the truth.

“Renee, I can I talk to you?” Melissa asked.

“Yeah, sure,” Renee replied.

“Renee, my parents, they don’t think that we should be friends anymore, they think I should only hang out with people my age,” Melissa told her.

“But I’m only 2 years older than you, what is wrong with your parents? I want to be your friend, how can they be OK with this?” her mind flew wild with questions.

“What if I am OK with it?” Melissa questioned.

“No,” Renee whispered, backing away.

That was it, the most recent bad memory. There was also Karina who had broken up with her a week after her birthday 2 or 3 years before. They had been friend since kindergarten and were now in 9th grade. They had gotten back together eventually, but things never were the same.

There was so much for her to think of, she was not very good looking and had few friends, but there were those who meant everything to her. Lynn was one of those few, along with Charity, Melody (her mother), and Rick (her father). There were friends other than these such as Kelsey, Karina, and Saido. These friends had once been the people whom she would spend time with and talk to all the time, but they had turned into plain acquaintances. Those who were left she trusted with her life, especially Lynn.

Her other best friend was Charity, whom she had met less than a year ago. Renee was home schooling for 9th grade and had become part of a journalism club that was directed by Charity’s mother. The two had soon become great friends and spent much time together, even after Charity moved to Tulare, a two hour trip from the small town that Renee lived in.

When Charity first met Lynn things were a bit awkward. It came about by this: Renee had invited Charity to come with her to church on Monday night youth group meetings.

“Hey, Lynn, this is Charity,” Renee said introducing Charity.

The night went by slowly but was soon over. Renee could tell that there was something between Charity and Lynn that was not quite right, but she could not figure it out.

Thinking of these things, Renee took out a CD titled Essential Baroque, put it in the Stereo that sat on her desk, and pushed play. She laid down and continued to think of all these things that she was remembering. The things that were locked in her memory forever.

“Oh, how I wish Lynn were here,” she repeated to herself.

The music comforted her and helped her to relax, but the thought of what friendship meant to her stayed fresh on her mind.

The thing that came to mind this time was the conversation that she had with Lynn one time. Ever since Lynn had met Charity she had made an effort to spend more time with her, Renee had not noticed this.

The conversation that took place was what made Renee realize why things had been so strange and shy between Lynn and Charity that night. She had made many efforts to get the two friends together, but to no success. After this day she knew things would be different.

The day that it happened Renee had stayed the night at Lynn’s apartment and they went swimming in a pool that was located there. They were all alone, no one else was near. They began to talk and soon went into a conversation.

“Renee, can I trust you with what I say?” Lynn asked.

“Yes, I suppose, what is it?” Renee questioned.

“Well, we are always going to be friends, right?” Lynn asked.

“Of Coarse,” Renee replied, “In fact, you should get to know me more, and Charity..”

“Yes, but what about us?” Lynn interrupted.

“You are my best friend,” Renee told her.

“And I love to hear that, but what about Charity?” Lynn questioned.

“She is my friend, but I have known you longer and have come to know how great of a friend you really, truly are,” Renee told her.

“Can I tell you something?” Lynn asked.

“You already asked that, Lynn and my answer was of coarse,” Renee replied.

The water around them was steady and they floated about the pool until they reached the deep end.

“Renee, when I first saw you at church with Charity I...” she paused.

“Yes, you..” Renee whispered.

“I was kinda, sort of, jealous of her,” she gave a great sigh, “When I saw you with her and how great of friends you were becoming I just, I got jealous. I guess it made me realize that I wanted to be your friend and that I cared about you and wanted to spend more time with you,” Lynn finished.

“Wow, jealous, for me, of her, because of me, this is so strange, yet amazing,” Renee told Lynn.

“I know it is, but still, what I want to know is, I have given you my secrets and I want to know how you feel, can I trust you?” Lynn questioned.

“Lynn, you are my best friend and you have no idea what you have done in my life. I know how much you have gone through, and I have gone through a lot as well, this conversation has made me realize what you realized long ago, you are my best friend and I will be forever grateful to you,” Renee told her.

As this memory was thought about, Renee wished she could have said more that say.

“Renee,” her mother said, entering the room, “I just talked to Lynn’s mom and she says that things are not going too well.”

Lynn’s parents had gotten divorced long ago and her father had always just tried to use her, not love her. At that moment Lynn was in Louisiana with her sister-in-law. She was staying at the base camp for her brother for a month and a half. Things did not go well there. Her sister-in-law’s father was dying of Liver Cancer and was going to die any day.

“Her sister-in-law’s mom invited her dad to visit. So Lynn is distressed because Shannon, her sister-in-law is pushing her to make up with her dad because she knows what it feels like to be losing a father but does not realize how Lynn feels,” Melody finished.

“I should call her,” Renee mentioned to her mother.

Renee picked up the phone and called the number that had been given to her to call when wanting to get a hold of Lynn.

“No one is there,” Renee told her mother.

“Well you can try back later, her mom said that they have been getting back late from the hospital lately, and they are two hours ahead of us, remember that,” her mother told her.

Renee went back to he room and began to think again.

“Poor, Lynn. I wish she was here. I wish there was something that I could do to make her feel better,” she said to herself.

She stood up and sat down at her desk. She took out a pen and piece of stationary paper and began to write.

“Dear Lynn,

I have just heard of what is happening over there and I am so sorry. I have been thinking for so long, remembering and looking back at what you have done for me. I wish there was something that I could do to help, something to make you feel better. You have done so much for me. You are my best friend. Remember that day at the pool? I will always be your friend and you mine. You are the best friend that a girl like me could have. I am afraid that this all I can think of to say. I wish there was more. I wish I could cheer you up. I wish you were here to cheer me up. Everything is so dull without you here, so boring. There is no one to talk to, all I can think of is my friends, old, and new. I even think of Melissa and how she broke up with me but then signed my yearbook signing it, ‘your friend, Melissa” and underlining the word friend. You are my friend, Lynn and I will never forget that. I hope that everything will be all right. Your best friend,
Renee,” she finished writing and put it in and envelope.

“I miss you Lynn,” she whispered quietly to herself.

Renee was up until midnight that night trying to get a hold of Lynn, but she knew that she had to go to sleep eventually and stopped trying.

The next day Renee’s mother would send the letter she had written Lynn in Louisiana.

She continued to lay on her bed and remember. She looked out the window and took in the memories.

“I can’t wait until vacation, Lynn. You have done so much for me, you have made me smile. You are my best friend,” she said, laying her head down to sleep.

Life on a Plantation - A Journal - written for 10th grade English

2007-06-22T09:22:00.001-07:00

Ninth of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

Father gave this journal to me today. He says that it will always be there for me to put my feelings into, on account that often in life I won’t be able to express myself, due to the order and way of things. I would much rather tell people my feelings, than a book, but pa says that in certain times it would be forbidden. Such circumstances would include what happened today. I suppose I must start at the beginning.

Since I was young, I was taken care of by a nanny, one of the house slaves. Her name was Sarah, but I just called her Nanna. She watched over me and made sure I kept to my mother and father’s rules. There were few times when I was not with her. She left to do other chores when I was with mother, who taught me to knit, play the piano, and sing. We were very close, nanna and I.

One day, about a week ago, Nanna came to me and asked, “Miss Anna, if’n I was ever t’ go ‘way, you’s wouldn’t forgets me, would ya?”

I, of course, told her I would never forget her and began to ask questions.

“Just promise me this: if’n I goes, take cares of my Ida. You's and hers is friends. Please’m, be kind t’ her like you is to me,” she said.

I promised, and she changed the subject, but I kept on questioning her and she finally admitted.

“I knows how t’ read and write, Miss Anna. And I thinks they’re mighty suspicious. I been teach’n it too’m. I wishes now I never knowed or teached it.”

I told her there was nothing wrong, but she kept insisting it was “bad of me's to knows it and teach it t’ others.”

Well, today, Nanna didn’t come. I sat and waited until my father came and apologized. He said that there was some business he had to tend to before I could go downstairs.

It was very awkward at breakfast. Mother kept quiet and father stumbled over his words. When the kitchen slave came to serve us, he trembled and shook; his words were stiff and full of fear. Then all of a sudden, father and mother stood up.

“Anna, you are almost thirteen now, and… well, we feel it is time for you to start your tutoring with a governess,” father told me.

“Where is Nanna?” I asked.

“Sarah has been sold, dear,” mother replied. “You will begin your tutoring within the month.”

“What about Ida?” I asked.

“Ida has been sent to work in the fields. You do not need a playmate any more,” mother answered.

“According to this letter,” father said, looking down at a letter he had been reading, “Mrs. Tucker will arrive on the 21st of the month, twelve days from now. Here child, you may read it yourself.” He handed it to me. “Perhaps you will learn a little about your new governess.”

The day continued as any other would. I spent time with my mother learning music, knitting, spelling, and a bit of poetry and history.

Around sunset, father called me to the sitting room. He explained to me that Nanna had been found to have the ability to read and write.

“It is illegal for a slave to know these things,” he told me, “I had to sell her to set an example.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“I know this is hard for you. This is the way things are, however, and they are not meant to be changed. Nanna is a slave, mere property, just like all the rest of those things. She is like a dog that has to be sold or die. They don’t have real feelings. We are superior to them, whether we like it or not. This is the way things are. You can’t change them and someday you will have to learn to accept it.”

It was then that he gave me this journal and dismissed me to go back to my studies or playing. I just don’t understand it. I just don’t.

Love, Anna

Tenth of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

My days are the same here. There is not much to talk about what happens during the day, but at night, there is.

Tonight I snuck out to see Ida. Oh, how I miss her. Carrying a small candle, I found my way to the slave’s quarters, but was attracted to another area, the praise house. I could hear the men shouting and singing and the women saying “praise the Lord!” I peaked through a window and saw that there were slaves gathered, worshiping. After a few minutes, the singing stopped and a man stood up. He began shouting and yelling, lifting up a book in his hand, and saying how it was the answer to everything. He read from the book, which I then realized to be a Bible. The passage he was reading was one I had not heard before, about Moses and how he freed the Israelites. In the corner, I could see Ida, curled up. She did not look very happy, but by the end of the preaching, she had a smile on her face.

I hid in a bush as the slaves left to go back to their huts. I did not manage to find Ida among the crowd but once everyone had left, I went inside to look around. It was a small room, only enough seats to fit about 100. There was a stage in the front of the room, and a table next to it. On the table, I found a Bible. I flipped through its pages. There were a few notes written here and there. It was a rugged, old Bible, dusty, with ripped and folded pages.

A noise came from outside, so I put the Bible down and ran outside and back to the house where I climbed the stairs to my room and sat down to begin to write. I will have to put my candle out soon, before father wakes up and finds me awake. I am curious about such things as I just saw. It seems to me that I can recall father saying that such late night meetings were not allowed, and the preacher had been reading.

Love, Anna

Eleventh of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

A very interesting thing happened today, and I’m afraid to tell father about it.

I was walking about, during my free time. I thought I might go and say hello to Ida. So I went to where the slave huts were and no one was there. I went inside one of the huts, only to discover a horrible thing. There was only one room in the hut and there was no furniture at all except for about seven or eight bunk beds. I can’t imagine it, ten to fourteen people living in one, single, measly, terrible hut. It was dirty, dust was everywhere. The beds were made of hay and had no pillows; only one, small sheet. I left right away and headed towards the fields.

“Miss, you aint suppose’ to be here,” one slave told me, “These is the cotton fields. Goes back to your sweet gardens and comfy house.”

I could not find Ida, so I turned and went back towards the house. On the way, I passed a few slaves who were talking. Father said the slaves weren’t allowed to talk, so I listened. They said something about running away in a day or two. They were making plans and I knew! Now what was I supposed to do?

I think I will tell father tomorrow. I hope he doesn’t send them away like he did nanna, but I know it is the right thing to do. For mother says it is a sin to help slaves, and I would be helping those slaves by not telling father about their planning to run away. I don’t want to sin.

Love, Anna

Twelfth of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

I told father today about the slaves I saw planning an escape, and the meeting I had seen in the praise house. He was furious and this afternoon he called everyone on the plantation to come to the back of the house where he said there would be a demonstration.

I looked at the faces of the slaves and saw Ida: she looked terrified. But there was a man standing there holding her tight. He was one of the two I had seen the day before plotting an escape. When father had me point out the slaves who I had seen in the fields, I almost felt sick, but I did it, and felt bad for it, too, for the man holding Ida turned out to be Ida’s father.

Father took the two slaves I had pointed out and had them stand in front of everyone.

“Let this serve as an example,” he said. “These slaves were planning an escape, as seen by my daughter. For this attempt, I must see to it that they are punished. One of them will be whipped and hung, and the other whipped and sold.” He motioned for one of the slaves to come to him and said, “Fetch us a carriage to take these men to town.”

Ida’s father ended up being hung, and I was dead sorry for it. As I watched the whipping go on, I could not bear the sight, and poor Ida crying. Father noticed my face and said, “This is the way it has to be. You may go.”

The preacher I had seen was also called up, before I left, to be beaten. He was found to be carrying a Bible on him. I stole the Bible from father before he could do anything with it. I keep it under my bed now, and pull it out every once in a while to read, and remember.

Love, Anna

Sunday, Fifteenth of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

Today I went to church with mother and father. I though it would be a great relief. Ever since the whippings of those three men, I cannot help but think of the way slaves are treated. They work all day and get little rest. Once a month they are allowed to have a supervised church gathering, without any reading. Father says that a lot of them are starting to go back to their ancestor’s ways. Their rituals scare mother a lot. She keeps demanding that father put a stop to it, but father won’t. He says he prefers voodoo over Christianity for the slaves. It means we don’t have to feel like we are spiritually equal to them.

As for me, I care about the slaves. Mrs. Corbett, our neighbor, says they have souls too, and therefore should be evangelized. Father says that there has been a growth in black preaching lately. He says that people from all over, blacks and whites, come to see them. Today, the church was allowing for blacks to come sit in the back to watch a black man preach. Father feels ashamed that they are being more lenient to them. He says that the abolitionists in the North are enough trouble as it is. I suppose I enjoyed the sermon. Father would not let any of our slaves come. I wished Ida could have come, but she probably hates me now.

When I got home, I wrote a letter to Mrs. Tucker, my soon to be governess. I told her a bit about myself, and how I was looking forward to her coming. Then I sat down in the drawing room to knit for a little bit.

The rest of the day was boring. It was a normal, relaxing Sunday. Still, when I went to bed, I could not help but pulling out that Bible and giving it one more look before putting the candle out.

Love, Anna

Twenty-First of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

The house was full of energy today. All the house slaves were busy getting ready for the arrival of Mrs. Tucker. Father says she is a good teacher, and that she will have a great influence on me.

Around noon, my new governess arrived. She was an elderly, quiet woman, quite a radical, though. She was one of few working women at the time and believed strongly in it. She seemed to take well to me. I like her. Although she is quite like father in that she believes in slavery, she believes in treating them well.

When mother claimed that one of the house slaves stole her necklace, father ordered that the slave be whipped and gagged to go without food for three days. Mrs. Tucker, however, was quite against such a large punishment and convinced father to let the slave get off with a short whipping and a warning. I do not think mother likes her very much, but she seems pleased with the education I will be getting, so she makes no complaint. Lunch was delightful with Mrs. Tucker, and so was dinner. She brought conversation to our table. I am very excited now and cannot wait to start my first lesson tomorrow.

Love, Anna

Twenty-fifth of September, 1860

Dear Journal,

Mrs. Tucker is wonderful and so are my lessons! No day is boring with her about the house. Today, she took me out on a walk and educated me on the way things are done in both the South and the North. Everything sounds lovely. Then she took me inside and had me read poetry to her. Next, I had a spelling lesson and then math.

I am learning to accept the way things are. I do not think of slaves as property, but consider them lower than me. Still, I cannot help but hope that one day we will be equal. Father says I am beginning to think like a young woman and mother says her influence is rubbing off on me. There is going to be a ball next week. I am excited. It should be lovely and I will get to meet all of mother and father’s friends. It will be my first party with so many people.

I looked out my window this morning and saw the slaves hard at work. There was Ida, picking cotton. I could smell the breakfast being made down in the kitchen. In the slave huts, a few slaves were just leaving. Some of the house slaves were leaving their huts as well. Some of the slaves were in the slave garden where they would grow food that would provide a healthier nutrition. The trees’ leaves swayed in the wind and there was mother, walking in the gardens. It was a mixture of both terrible and wonderful sights. But I knew I had to get on with my life. It is a shame that some of us are forced to wear such masks.

Ida got sick today. Father is forcing her to work. I didn’t complain. I know the facts now. Many women, even pregnant women, are whipped for their disobedience. They are forced to work in the hardest conditions while us, whites, just sit and walk about, as happy as can be. Father says this is the way things are, but he doubts it will last much longer because of more and more abolitionists on the move and Lincoln running for president. He says that the conditions of slaves are kept to keep the slaves below us as they should be. Mrs. Tucker says that slaves who get sick and are forced to work, often die. I am worried.

A few more slaves were caught reading today. They were whipped and sold.

I wonder where Nanna is right now. I often wonder about the way things are, but I guess that they just are.

Love, Anna

The Shepherd's Reply to the Nymph

2007-06-22T09:21:00.000-07:00

Should Truth not be in me
I know that such things would not be
That love would not last till the end
But sad messages we would send

I see not why my things don’t please
My heart and soul you should not tease
If all pleasures should cease to exist
You, love, would still be on my list

Your beauty shines even in dark
On every person, it leaves mark
Such that even in your old age
In jealousy, women would rage

For all the world and love are young
And truth is in this shepherd’s tongue
These pretty pleasures and my love
Are strong to make all move above

I earn thy love by your return
Or by leave, below may I burn
Love is for you not your beauty
My true love shall sing very sweetly

And if this love sing does move thee
Then be my love and live with me

Silence

2007-06-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

Why the sudden silence?

Coming so swift and so fast.

Nothing to warn.

Just a quick entrance,

leaving all behind.

Show me your meaning,

dear sir.

I know not what it is.

This strange moment,

it fills my ears with nothingness

I hear nothing.

I see nothing.

I feel nothing.

I am alone in the world with you.

You who jump from around the corner.

You who bring fright to all,

and at other times peace.

So, why not tell me your meaning?

I am puzzled and befuddled.

God's Presence

2007-06-22T09:19:00.002-07:00

I look up at the stars and see,

A world full of comfort, for me.

When I am near nature,

I feel only one thing,

I feel God's presence,

It is swift with the wind,

And shows me the way.

All the troubles that are on my mind disappear,

And I sing out with praise.

I can’t stop,

The feeling is so sweet.

I feel the wind,

And see God's creations,

They stare back at me,

And send a message,

That God is watching over me no matter what.

God is everywhere,

His light shines into the darkness,

Protecting all those who seek it,

And I know that no matter what I think,

No matter how much I abandon Him,

He is always there.

And so at night,

I look up high,

Seeing God's presence I make a wish,

The wish upon the first star I see.

It is like a prayer to me,

A silent one from me to Him,

A hope that he will hear,

For the only place that I truly feel God's presence,

Is when I am near nature,

And see his creations around me.

I look up at the stars and make my wish,

Knowing that he heard me.

The Woman

2007-06-22T09:19:00.001-07:00

I was driving downtown the other day when I saw something, or rather someone, that quite surprised me. At first, I thought the woman was just an old, unhealthy smoker, talking to a homeless man sitting on a bus stop bench. Soon, however, I figured her to be much more. She didn't quite look like a woman. When I first saw her I thought she was a man. Her hair was short blonde, colored with a bit of gray and black in it. It was tattered and messes as though she had come out of a tornado. The hair was a tornado itself. Her clothes were basic denim pants, a button up shirt, and a vest. The clothes were baggy and dirty. For a moment I thought I saw a ame tag on her. Perhaps she did come from a care home. After what happened next, it seemed highly possible. It became evident that she was a woman, or at least was trying to be one. She thrust about from place to place. Here a thrust, there a thrust. Every once in a while she would pose, and thrust again. It was like she was trying to be picked up by some sick, perverted person, man or woman. Then, like a snake, she stuck her tongue out. But she did it randomly in the open. There was nothing sneaky about her. She was right out in the open. I thought it obscene, but a touch of compassion reached my worn out heart. I couldn't stop, though. The light had turned green and I had to continue driving with the rest of the traffic. I left the crazed woman behind, but she remained on my mind for days to come.

They Were There

2007-06-22T09:18:00.001-07:00

The chill of the morning air brushes on my cheek,

As I remember the good and bad memories of my past.

I remember every time I cried out for love,

Every time I weeped because of loneliness.

I was a star that shone dimly by itself in the sky,

And still I learned things from it,

And the cold air disappears,

When I know that YOU ARE THERE.

My parents that never left my side,

The ones who stretched out a loving hand,

And held me through the night.

What is there in a girl that is different,

That makes gloom seem right for her.

But to stand upright, to be tall inside,

Makes the sky brighten,

And the clouds clear,

Because THEY WERE THERE

The Fuel of Sleep, Dreams, and Visions in Macbeth

2007-06-22T09:17:00.000-07:00

In the play “Macbeth,” sleep, dreams, and visions are popular elements. Sleep represents peace. When you sleep, you dream. If you do not have that peace with yourself, or your soul fills itself with guilt, you are not going to sleep well. You may even have nightmares. Events also drive dreams and sleep. If you feel guilty, odds are you feel guilt because of something you did or something that happened. In Macbeth, the prophesies are what fuel the plot and lead to ultimate, eternal sleep, peaceful sleep, and disturbed sleep.

Sleep has many meanings. In act two, scene one, Macbeth says that half the world is sleeping, as he gets ready to murder Duncan. In this sense, sleep refers to night, and night refers to darkness and evil. The darkness covers the evil deed because it occurs when most people are sleeping. When someone is sleeping, they become tuned out from what is going on around them. It will be unlikely that they will witness the murder or hear the cries of a victim. This is evidenced by Lady Macbeth’s fear of her guests awaking and finding out the truth in act two scene two. She says, “I am afraid they have awakened, and tis not done: th’ attempt and not the deed confounds us.” Once Duncan is murdered, it is implied that he is in an eternal, peaceful sleep. Because he is dead, he will never wake up; he will never stir and thus will be still and peaceful. Because he died unjustly, and he was a good king, he will sleep peacefully. In act three scene two, Macbeth says, “better to be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind to lie in restless ecstasy.” The way that Macbeth manages to get past the guards is by his wife drugging them. When he goes to commit the murder, they are fast asleep. However, when they wake in the morning, Macbeth kills them too.

After the murder is committed, Macbeth talks to his wife. He tells her that he heard someone say, “Macbeth murders sleep.” In this case, sleep symbolizes rest, feeling good, and having something you deserve, something you have earned by being noble. When Macbeth hears someone say that he will not be able to sleep, it furthers his fears. He knows that his guilt will keep him from having true happiness. Lady Macbeth pushes her husband’s worries away. She refers to an eternal sleep of the dead. She says, “The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures.” This is ironic because she soon finds that she herself cannot sleep because of guilt. In act five scene one, she is seen sleepwalking and talking about things that she meant to hide. She is ill, which keeps her from sleeping peacefully. She also commands to keep a light next to her at all time. This shows her fear of darkness; but she cannot escape it. The evil of the darkness is stuck on her by this time, and it manipulates her mind until she makes her own way to eternal sleep, although not so peaceful. Sleep is represented in natural ways as well. These natural ways are relevant to the eternal peace or rest that comes from sleeping. In act three, scene four, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he lacks the season of all natures, sleep. Among other uses of it, sleep symbolizes ignorance. When you are asleep, you know only lies, but when you wake up, you realize the truth. It takes Macbeth so long to see this, that when he does realize it, it is too late to turn back. As foreshadowed in act three scene six, Malcom is the restorer of peaceful sleep. The Lord says, “That by the help of these – with Him above to ratify the work – we may again give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights.”

Dreams are not as evident in “Macbeth” as sleep. There are no actual dreams that occur in the play, but there are references to nightmares and visions. In act two scene one, Macbeth sees a dagger floating before him. It is clean at first, and then covered with blood. Because it is pointing towards Duncan’s room, Macbeth takes it as a sign directing him towards murdering the king. Later, in act three scene four, he hallucinates, and sees the ghost of Banquo. He knows that he hired the murderers to kill Banquo, and thus fears the ghost. He tries to deny his guilt, but it plays on his mind even further until Macbeth appears to be mad. Later, in act five scene seven, Macduff says that if he does not kill Macbeth, his family will haunt him forever. Such fantasy and magical things are very evident in the play. Witches (1.1), prophesies (1.3), and apparitions (4.1) are all present. Separate from that dreams are only present one time in the play. In act three scene two, Macbeth says, “But let the frame of things disjoint, both the world suffer, ere we will eat our meal in fear and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake me nightly.” He has nightmares and does not sleep well because of his guilt.

Guilt and evil are what draw the line between peaceful and disturbed. Macbeth does not exactly regret what he has done, but knows that what he has done is wrong. Because he, and Lady Macbeth, are unable to be at peace, they cannot sleep or go without hallucinating. The visions of the witches are what led to this, causing the events that follow to happen. Sleep, dreams, and visions symbolize the difference between good and bad. They are used in the plot to create an image of actions resulting in consequences. Because these elements give depth to the plot, and even teach a lesson, they make good, popular pieces to add to the puzzle of “Macbeth.”

The Battle Between Light and Dark in Macbeth

2007-06-22T09:16:00.002-07:00

Light and dark are often thought of as symbols of good and evil. Such a concept is used in movies and television. When the climax reaches its peak in a horror film, and after a long chase the bad guy is leaning over the good guy about to finish his evil deed, odds are that darkness will be added to make things seem more intense. In the cartoon movie, “All Dogs Go to Heaven,” heaven is depicted as a bright place where the sun shines. Still, in other films, light might be reflected on someone every time they do something good. This idea of light and dark, night and day, and good and bad is present in Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth.” Shakespeare uses these themes to create an image of the various conflicts, twists, and symbols in the plot. The entire story evolves around the results of such events and the clash between what light and dark symbolize. The imagery of these two opposites brings things together or tare things apart. Because of the way light and dark are represented and used in the play, they are given specific meanings and definitions that help make the play what it is.

Darkness is the more evident of the two throughout the play. Since “Macbeth” is a tragedy, the hero, Macbeth, must be brought down by his own doings. In this case, his ambition and deceitfulness are the elements of darkness that lead to his ruin. The play starts out with three witches, the very embodiment of evil. When the witches make the prediction that Macbeth will become king (1.3), a chain of events is started that will make things grow darker and darker until his death. In act one scene three, Banquo actually refers to the witches as the “instruments of darkness.” There is also a reality of darkness in the scenes with the witches. There is lightning and thunder, evidencing the natural darkness that is there. At first, Macbeth believes that he does not need to do anything to gain the throne, but once King Duncan announces that his older son will succeed him (1.4), he starts to rethink things through. Ambition starts to fill his mind and soul, and he asks for the darkness to hide the evil thoughts that are brewing in his mind. Once his wife, Lady Macbeth, finds out about the witches’ predictions, she too asks for darkness to cover her deeds, and for her womanly attributes to be thrown aside so that she can pursue the crown through evil means (1.5). When they do murder Duncan, they do it during the night (2.1-2). Later, when Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo, the murder of Banquo is also done in the darkness of night (3.3). By this time, Macbeth has become the strong one in charge. Evil and darkness is present all the time. Macbeth does not have to have something to inspire his ambition further, he just keeps going and going until he wares out and morning comes again, but not for him. He leaves his wife out of things. She becomes the more innocent one who wishes she could go back in time to save Duncan’s life. This is the way Macbeth was at first, but when act three, scene two comes, he is not longer depending on Lady Macbeth’s pushiness to spur him on, but on the darkness of his own ambition.

As the play progresses Lady Macbeth finds herself subject to the tricks of her mind. Eventually, in act five, scene one, her guilt preys on her and causes her to become seemingly sick. The doctor knows that he cannot do anything for her. He observes her when she sleepwalks and asks how Lady Macbeth got the light she is carrying. The gentlewoman replies, “Why, it stood by her: she has light by her continually, tis her command.” Lady Macbeth knows she has done something wrong. As a result she does not sleep well and fears the consequences of her actions. Because she fears the darkness that comes from her deeds, she commands to have a light kept by her at all times. She knows that she lives in darkness, and tries to use false light to keep her guilt away. She wants the light to bring truth back into her life again.

Because darkness overtakes most of the play, there is little light to be seen. When you are in the darkness, you need some form of light to see. Before Banquo is killed, he calls to show a light. When daytime does come, it is covered by darkness. Light does not really show until the end of the play when Macbeth’s final fate brings death. Light symbolizes what little good that is present. At the start of the play, King Duncan is the symbol of light. He is the good, noble, natural King who does his job rightfully with just judgment. As soon as he is murdered, darkness truly enters the story. Once darkness takes control, the play becomes all about covering that darkness up or trying to get rid of it.

Shakespeare uses light and dark to enhance these images of good and evil. He is very good at making the two distinct opposites. Macbeth allows darkness to encompass him and take over his ways. As soon as the first murder occurs, light diminishes. It is gone until Duncan and Banquo are brought to justice. Darkness is squeezed between light and is used to intensify the moment and engage the audience. It is represented by the ambition of Macbeth. Macbeth’s ambition fights against the truth and what is god-ordained. Ultimately, light and dark symbolize the classic battle between good and evil.

Supernatural Spark in Macbeth

2007-06-22T09:16:00.001-07:00

At a certain point during Shakespeare’s career, superstitions, and belief in mystic, magical things were popular. Because of this, Shakespeare incorporated such things into his plays. This is present in “Macbeth.” However, this is not the only reason why there are supernatural characters and occurrences in the play. These elements have purpose; they spark the plot and bring things together.
The very first scene opens with the witches talking to each other about what is about to happen. They are going to meet with Macbeth to make some prophesies. However, Macbeth does not know they are going to meet with him. In act one scene three, after winning a battle for his king, Macbeth and Banquo run into the witches. They predict that Macbeth with become Thane of Cawdor and eventually king. They then predict that Banquo will never be king, but someone in his line will become king. The first prediction comes true. Later on, because of Macbeth’s actions, he becomes king, fulfilling the second prophesy. Other supernatural elements are present throughout the play. In act two, scene one, Macbeth is waiting for Lady Macbeth’s signal to go ahead and murder King Duncan. While waiting, he sees a floating dagger in front of him. Once he has killed Duncan, nature goes haywire. Because the natural order of things has been changes, and the ordained king killed, everything else has to turn its ways. Still, later, in act three, scene four he once again hallucinates and sees the ghost of Banquo. The witches return in act three scene five and act four, scene one to make even more predictions about Macbeth. They tell him to fear Macduff, but not to fear until the woods of Birnam come to Dunsinane. They also predict that no man born of a woman can harm him.
When “Macbeth” was written, people believed in a divinely appointed king. Since the play was performed in front of the king of England, and an audience that believed in these things, it was appropriate to put them in to appeal to his spectators. Having such elements in his play tied in reality. Shakespeare also does this when a doctor refers to the king of England, saying that the king has been healing his people.

The added, supernatural elements also complete the play and tie things together. The plot would not seem right with just hallucinations of turns of nature alone. Bizarre and paranormal essentials are what spark the plot. They are the premise of the story and make it complex and complicated. They tie the physical to the supernatural.
The presence of the witches makes Macbeth’s transfer from good to evil smooth. As a tragic hero, the character of Macbeth must bring himself to his own destruction. Because Macbeth is good at the start of the play, it would not be an easy transition to evil without something to spark his ambition. He is loyal to his king in the beginning; he knows that he is not invincible and thinks he is content with his life. The witches’ prophesies are what give him his fuel. Once he knows that he will become king, he realizes that he can get away with murdering Duncan and anyone who gets in his way. When he goes back to the witches in act four, and they make even more predictions, his pride and ambition grow even more. Because he knows that no man born of a woman can harm him, he feels safe. The witches give him a false sense of security and confidence. Without them, he has nothing to turn his ways. With his growing ambition and false shelter, he fulfills the qualities of a tragic hero, and ultimately brings himself to ruin.
Visions, ghosts, healings, mystic happenings, and unusual characters are what make the plot whole. They give the plot a reason to exist. Without the witches, Macbeth would never have had his given potential to be king. If the witches had not made the prediction, there would not have been reason for Macbeth to want to become king. He would not have written to his wife, and she would not have encouraged him to murder Duncan. Historical significance also contributes to the use and role of the supernatural. With the obvious impact of these things, the play is complete so that everything transitions smoothly and makes sense.

Common Ambition in Macbeth

2007-06-22T09:14:00.002-07:00

Throughout Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth frequently change. Their characteristics carry them throughout the play and lead to their eventual ruin. The two characters have many similarities and differences. Their ambition is the key factor that fuels the plot. They share many other qualities such as deception, fear, guilt, and some humanity. However, they are opposites in other ways. Lady Macbeth is controlling, strong in the mind, and persuasive, while Macbeth is weak in some areas, but strong in other areas such as in action. He is powerful and brave but indecisive and gullible.
Their ambition is what gives the plot its story. When Macbeth hears the prophecies made by the witches, he begins to think about the possibilities. In act one, scene three, Macbeth says, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues in the swelling act of the imperial theme.” At first, he thinks that he does not need to do anything to gain the throne. However, when he tells Lady Macbeth of these things, she takes control and insists on murdering the king. They share a desire for power and do what it takes to gain such supremacy. Both of them have doubts at certain points. When Macbeth fights over whether to murder Duncan or not (1.7, 2.1), he shows some humanity. Likewise, Lady Macbeth shows her womanly, human side when she forces Macbeth to do the killing because Duncan looked like her father in his sleep (2.2). As they strive to hide what they have done, they become deceptive. They fear what would happen were the truth revealed. Later in the play, their guilt begins to push this fear further, even to the point that Macbeth hallucinates (3.4). He becomes unsure of the promised happiness, and becomes greedy for more predictions because of his fear of the future. He is forced to go back to the witches to ask for more information (4.1).
Early in the play, Lady Macbeth is in charge of everything. We find that although Macbeth is brave in battle, he is not so brave when he has to murder the king. Thus, Lady Macbeth is the strong one who organizes and plans everything. She wants control; her ambition leads her mind, and she throws away her womanly side to have the courage to do what is necessary to become queen. In Act one, scene five she says, “Come you spirits, that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood!” She persuades her husband to leave everything up to her; she poisons the guard’s drinks in order to make room for Macbeth to do the evil deed. Macbeth performs the deed only under her decisive and precise direction.
Macbeth seems weak in the beginning. He is the honest one who is indecisive and unsure of what to do. His strong point may be his bravery, but he is also smart. His conscience gets a hold of him throughout the play. He is not sure whether killing Duncan would be right. In Act one, scene seven, he argues with Lady Macbeth and says, “He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newsest gloss, not cast aside so soon.” She wants to gain the throne through Macbeth, while the prophecies are all that spur him on. He does not know what to do because he wishes to gain power, please his wife, and enjoy the moment. Once they become queen and king, he had more of a desire for power and actually began to think about what else he needed to do in order to sustain his power and guarantee such power for his offspring. The prophesies also gave Lady Macbeth reason to encourage Macbeth’s ambition. He is gullible, and goes along with his wife’s lead when she calls him a coward and says he is not a man. In act one, scene seven she says, “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?” Once the deed is done, things turn around and begin to change. Lady Macbeth’s ambition lessens, and Macbeth’s desire for ultimate, immortal power becomes greater. Lady Macbeth is shocked when she finds out that Macbeth has killed the two guards on his own without consulting her (2.3). This is when she starts to realize the reality of the situation. He becomes king, and becomes a natural at deceiving people. His guilt grows, but he takes control of the situation. His desire to control the situation without Lady Macbeth's help shows when he hires a murderer to kill Banquo and does not even tell Lady Macbeth (3.1). He becomes the strong, decisive one, and she becomes the stay-at-home wife who covers for her husband.
The characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not too hard to distinguish. Obviously, Macbeth is manlier than his wife is. He is the strong husband who lets his ambition overpower him. She is strong too, however. Although her ambition lightens and his ambition gains weight throughout the plot, this is one thing they seem to have in common. She also has some womanly aspects, as evidenced by her fainting when Macbeth announces he has killed the guards. These qualities grow throughout the play. Their love for each other seems to weaken as they grow apart bit by bit. Their differences, and the way their characteristic go opposite ways, contribute to this. The one thing that keeps them connected is their ambition, which leads to their eventual ruin.

She

2007-06-22T09:14:00.001-07:00

Remembering is so hard to do,

Curse the bad things that had to come true.

Curse what I can remember of her touch.

Curse the fact that she is gone.

Curse all the bad things that she had done.

What was she like? Her smile, her eyes?

Is she in heaven or in hell?

What is the one secret left to tell?

There is a breeze of cold air,

As I sit here in my own little corner.

I feel as if I am alone, no one is there.

The thought of not knowing her makes me a mourner,

Stories are all I have left.

My heart has been stolen,

In a small theft

What is there left for me?

At least I have my parents and my family.

Maybe, perhaps,

I'll see her once again some day,

Way up in the clouds,

Far away.

"If She Were Still Alive"

2007-06-22T09:11:00.000-07:00

I often dream of my Grandma Geri - what she looked like, how she acted. I wonder what her personality would be like if she were still alive today. I wonder if she would be proud of me and the person I am today. You see, I was only about a year old when she died of cancer at the age of 46. I do miss her terribly. The only memories I have of her are pictures and videos that my parents recorded when I was young. My mom has a ring that belonged to her. She says that Grandma Geri wore it all the time when she was alive. She was even wearing it when she died. My mom says that I can have it when I am older.
I know that she was a Christian, and I am very happy to know that. My mom, dad, and I are good Christians, too. She had a sad life, though. She was still an unmarried teenager when she had my mom at age 15. Because she was young and pregnant, people didn't treat her very well at church and so she stopped loving the Lord. But when my mom was older she wrote a letter to Grandma Geri that told her how worried she was about whether she would go to heaven or not. So my Grandma renewed her relationship with God and once again became a Christian.
I am now 12 years old, and about a year ago I did a walk-a-thon in which the money that I paid to walk went to children, men and women that have leukemia. There I heard a man named Mr. Townsend sing a song that he dedicated to his daughter, who had died of leukemia at a young age. When I heard this, I was touched, for I, too, have suffered the loss of a loved one to cancer. I miss her dearly.
I know that my Grandma struggled a lot when she had cancer. The medicine she took made her hair stop growing. Therefore, she was forced to wear a wig. She coughed and sneezed a lot because the cancer had also spread to her lungs. By the time the doctors had found her cancer, it had already spread throughout her body. I imagine that it was like playing tug-o-war for her. She was on the side that had all of the hard and rough rope all by herself, other than the medicine that did not help much, and the cancer was on the side with the smooth and easy to pull rope along with all the other germs in her body.
I know that she loved me because she left me a large amount of cash, which we used to help us buy our home in Modesto. She was always thinking more of others than herself. Before, we had lived in the noisy and rowdy town of San Jose, California. I know that she and I would be very close friends if she were still alive. My mom tells me of when she was little and how my Grandma Geri was strict but loving and gave her many things when she hinted for them, but she was not spoiled by Grandma Geri.
I can just see it now if she were still alive. Every summer my mom and I would go up to Washington and visit her. While we were up there we would go on picnics and go skating in the park. She would not spoil me, but rather, get me a scoop of ice cream. Then we would sit down and tell each other about what has been happening lately in our lives.
I wonder what it was like for her to go through all those rough times. I wonder many things, but I know things, too. I know that I will see her again some day, and then I can ask her my questions and we can go skating down the golden streets of heaven and sit down and talk. For in heaven there will be no more pain and no heartache. I look forward to that day.

Past

2007-06-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Chapter 1

The old woman shown greatly. Although she was not capable of doing what used to come natural to her she still had her young essence in everything else. Her hair was gray, her wrinkles were like prunes that had been in the sun too long, old and ruined. Yet even with these setback looks and baggy, soft blue eyes, she stood with pride, never slumping. As she sat in her familiar corner she remembered, as all who grow old do.
"Joseph," she called out.
Joseph Randolph Weamer had been a close friend to hers for such a long time, they went a ways back. He was part of her memory:

"Friends forever, in a pact, outside a box, inside a box, no way to separate, friends forever," this was their promise.
"Charity Roan Coey!" a voice cried out from over the fields.
They could see her mother in a distance next to the old house where she lived.
"Coming mother!" Charity replied, then turning to Joseph, "Race ya there, you petty, little boy."
"Like you could beat me," he replied.
"Ready," she started, "set, go!" As she said the word go she bolted off, running towards the old house, her long, thick brown hair flowing back in the wind."
"Hey, Cheater!" Joseph cried, running after her.
"It's about time you got here girl! Come on inside and give your poor, old mother a hand in getting ready for dinner," Sarah exaggerated as her daughter arrived.
"Hurry up Joseph!" Charity yelled back, "Sorry mother."
"Look at you, you're filthy..." she paused, "Well come inside
and let us get you cleaned up."
"Good afternoon Mrs. Coey," Joseph said, out of breath and finally arriving.
"Well, I guess that you have nothing better to do than follow my daughter around," Sarah sighed, "all right then, lets get ya all cleaned up for supper, boy, now, don't doodle." She looked at him with her stern, green eyes and he knew right away to start moving along.
"Percy," Sarah called, Percy was the farm servant, "Now go along and let young Joseph's parent know that he will be having dinner at our place."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied and was then off to fulfill his employer's orders.
As they entered the rickety, old house there was a certain smell that filled the air. Mrs. Coey had gone to the store around
10:00 that morning and returned around noon with a handful of groceries including all things necessary to make a cake. She made the best cakes in the county and sold her recipes and cakes to friends, family, and anyone else interested. All day long she had worked hard for dinner.
The meal would consist of turkey and ham along with corn, mashed potatoes and gravy, and fresh vegetables. Cooking was a joy for her and she hoped to pass that happiness to her daughter.
"Would you set these dishes on the table, Chary?" Sarah asked her daughter.
"Mother, these are the good dishes," Charity said as she took the dishes from her mother and headed for the older, more casual table that was in the corner of the kitchen.
"No, no, darling, we're eating in the dining room tonight. We mustn't forget the special event which shall be happening tonight."
"Yes, mother."
"Is everything ready, Mrs. Coey?" Joseph asked as he entered the kitchen.
"Yes, Joseph, all is ready. Now go and sit down and I'll be in there in a moment," Sarah told him.
"Surprise!" everyone yelled out as he entered the dining room.
"Happy Birthday, Joseph!" Charity cried out.
The table was covered with delicious food that made him drool, and in front of the only chair not occupied was a two-layered cake covered with frosting and topped with 16 candles. The guests included his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Weamer, Percy, the farm boy and house
servant, and, of coarse, Charity and her mother.
"Make a wish boy," his mother said.
"All right," Joseph replied, taking in a deep breath and blowing the candles out.

After they had all eaten, the adults began to talk and Charity and Joseph went out into the fields to talk.
"It looks like rain," Charity said, "I can feel the mist in the air."
"Come on!" Joseph said, beginning to run.
"So, what did you wish for?" she questioned.
"Look at the moon, Chary, what do you see?" he asked.
"A simple light that never stops," she replied.
"Like you," he remarked, "here, stop running, relax, and know what the moon is."
Joseph sat down and laid back, "Now," he said, "feel the rain."
At that moment small drops of water came down, and to Joseph it was all in slow motion.
He closed his eyes and imagined all things, past and present, perhaps even future.
"Shouldn't we go back home, they'll be worried," Charity suggested, "I'm a bit worried myself."
"Chary, will I ever be good enough to be your Peter Pan?" Joseph asked hesitating.
"What do you mean?" she replied.
"You know what I mean," he answered.
"No..." she started.
"You mean?" Joseph sighed.
"No, I don't know what you mean. Now, you had best be goin' home, or should I dare call you a man?" She stood up as she said this, although she knew well what he meant. "He lives in my dreams, Joseph, no one can be my Peter Pan," she told him.
"But why?" Joseph pleaded.
"I know you, Joseph, we are friends and no more than friends, you have already grown up and I, I..." she paused, "I fear that, as I grow old, I will never be able to let go of that dream, of him that lives in my head. And who are you to be, my Peter Pan, he is just a fantasy character whom I imagine to be mine, he is not real, and I know this! If I ever were to fall in love, I tell you Joseph, it would not be with you!"
"I would die if we can't be together forever," he cried out as she started to walk away.
"We are together forever, as friends," Charity said turning
around, "goodness, Joseph, we're only 16."
"And such a good age that is to fall in love!" he yelled.
"I'm me, Joseph, my love is my childhood, we are joined together, it and I, I shall never forget it. Go home, Joseph, we'll always be friends, but I don't have any belief in love at this point, I want always to be young and have fun. I doubt I will ever leave my past behind me," she finished.
"Wait!" Joseph cried out as she started to walk away.
"Joseph," she said, "what did you wish for?"
"You...I mean your happiness," he answered as he caught up with her, "Please!" he grabbed her hands and stopped her.
"Happy Birthday, Joseph," she managed to murmur and then ran away.
"I love you, I always will!" he yelled.
Charity didn't stop, and she did not hear his pleas. She just kept running until she reached home, stumbling and falling on her way.
"Charity, are you all right?" Sarah asked as Charity came bursting through the door.
"She's hurt!" cried Percy, who had been playing a game of chess with Sarah.
"Boy, Percy, you had best go get Nina," Sarah told him.
Nina was the house maid, she was more of a cleaner and errand servant compared to Percy, who did the heavier, harder jobs, mostly outside in the barnyard.
"Yes, ma'am," Nina said as she came in.
"Do you not see that my daughter is hurt and not well? Come here and tell me what is needed. And Charity, do sit down," Mrs. Coey finished.
Charity sat down and Nina took a look at her wounds. It was determined that she had a few large scratches on her legs and that her foot had a minor fracture.
"Nina, go get the doctor and tell him what has happened," Sarah commanded.
"Yes, ma'am," Nina answered, putting on her coat and grabbing an umbrella, then leaving to do what she had been told.
"Now, Percy, would you help my daughter into her bedroom, she can't stay out here you know. And I will go and write to her father of this," Sarah said.
"My father! He does not care about me, all he cares about are his precious groups of people who come to hear his sermon in China. Why would he leave for me?" Charity questioned.
"Because you are his one and only daughter and he loves you, he even came to visit you once when you were out playing in the fields with your friends," Sarah replied.
"You never told me of this before...am I still to trust you if I ever needed to hear the truth and it is not given to me?" she angrily questioned.
"He had also written to us, not too long ago, he has told me that he will be near by as a guest speaker next weekend. However, I wrote back to him and told him not to bother coming and to continue to write his nice letters to us; but now that this has happened I feel
compelled to tell him the opposite," she finished.
"When did you last hear from him on this subject?" Charity asked.
"Just last Saturday afternoon, I received a letter from him telling me of this matter. But there is another matter.." Sarah said.
"What is that matter? Why have you been keeping this from me all this time?" Charity questioned anxiously, she did not know what to believe.
"A long while back he wrote to me asking to take you with him, he wanted to take you away from me to places that I would never be able to reach you and other places where you would be in danger, I couldn't let him take you away from me! I love you, Chary!" She finished.
"I love you too, mother, but now that I know this how am I to trust you when trust is the thing that is needed most to be let out?" Charity asked.
"I'm sorry, Chary, really, I am, I was just so afraid that I would never see my baby again if he came here and swept you..." she paused.
"Mother, what do you mean?" Charity asked.
"You don't know your father like I do, and if you did," she paused and sighed, "he would sweep you off your feet and off to that Neverland place that you wish for so much." Mrs. Coey answered.
"Ma'am," Percy said, interrupting the conversation, "the doctor is here."
"Oh, I guess we got caught up in ourselves for a time there, very well, help Chary into her room while I great the guest. Don't be discouraged, Chary, everything will be fine. I will write to your father," she finished.
"This way Doctor Hill," Mrs. Coey said, motioning to show the way through the hallway to Charity's room.
The doctor told them that Charity would have to stay in bed for about a month, which would include Christmas, but at the end of that period of time she would be able walk a little and he suggested that she save that time for Christmas Day. He also gave her some medicine
to take for the pain and also to help with the wounds on her leg.
Their guess had been wrong, Charity had only sprained her ankle but her other wounds needed to be treated and made her very week, which gave due to the length of time she had to stay off her feet. Overall, however, she was just fine.
When Joseph found news of this a day or two later he was not sure what to say. He merely made a comment on the fact that it was all his fault and knew that he had to visit her.
"If only I had not been so stupid, we're only 16," he said to himself, "We are friends, that is all. No one can be her Peter Pan."

Chapter 2

Weeks passed and as the doctor had said, slowly, Charity began to gain back her strength back, but her thoughts remained with that night.
Christmas came and the house smelled of all winter wonders. The house was decorated, inside and out, the Christmas tree was covered with lights and ornaments with presents underneath, cookies had been baked, and the best ham in the state was cooking in the oven, along with all the other delicious foods waiting to be eaten.
As the day would go on event would happen, visitors would come, food would be served, and Charity would be greatly influenced by all of these.
The mistletoe was hung and the decorations were all around the small country home, the spirit of Christmas was in the air.
"Mother, may I help you bake the Birthday cake?" Charity asked.
"'Yes, but later, Chary, right now we must get ready for presents, your grandmother and grandfather will arriving soon, and I'm sure that they will have plenty of presents, and we mustn't forget, Percy, Joseph, and Joseph's parents, they all are going to be spending Christmas day with us," she reminded.
Neighbors and family of Charity and her mother had always known each other well and through the process of time had come to think of tradition as one of the most important things to be started and kept. They began to get together every Christmas at Sarah's home and every guest was always anxious to take a bite of her delicious cake which was also part of tradition in celebrating the birth of Jesus. Each family would bring something to eat, like a pot luck, but of coarse, Sarah was always the one to bring and bake the ham. Carols would be sung around the tree and the traditional kiss under the mistletoe would be performed. To the Coeys and their guests each minute counted.
"Chary, would you water the tree and make sure it looks nice?" Mrs. Coey asked.
"Yes, mother," she answered.
"Is everything ready? The guests should be here soon," Sarah said.
"Percy," Charity called, "would you help me get the ham started?"
"Yes, Charity, what is needed?" Percy replied.
"The ham, of coarse, and a pan to put it in," she answered.
Percy started for the kitchen but stopped after his first couple of steps and turned around towards Mrs. Coey.
"Mrs. Coey," he said, "You are partial to tradition, aren't you?"
"Yes," was her simple reply.
"Would you be partial to a new tradition?" he asked.
"It depends," she answered.
"Well, you ask each person to bring something to eat. I have come up with a great recipe for a sauce that can be put on the ham and it will make your ham taste twice as good as it ever tasted before. Please, I'm sure this recipe will make your taste buds drool," he finished.
"Percy, how did you come upon this recipe?" she paused, "I suppose that new traditions are always good but not if they interrupt my personal preferences to tradition..."
"I helped him with it, mother!" Charity interrupted, knowing that if something interrupted her mothers person it was not good.
"Then..." Sarah paused, "I am partial. Go and make this sauce of yours, Percy. We shall see how mouth watering it is."
"Come on, Percy, lets go make our traditional sauce," Charity said.
She took his hand and walked into the kitchen.
"So, what do we do first?" she asked.
"Why did you do that?" Percy questioned.
"I know my mother, Percy, she would have never given into your recipe, especially since you are just a servant that she pays to do the work in the barnyard. I can tell you right now that she never liked the fact that your clothing is always dirty and that you barely ever wash them." she finished.
"Thank you," he said.
Percy took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. Charity looked at it with curious eyes and slowly read what was written on it. The title is what caught her eye.
"Peter Leece's Sauce Recipe"
"Why is the title of another person's name on this paper?" Charity asked.
"That is my full name, Percy is just what your mother decided to call me when I started to work for her when I was 10," he replied.
"Peter, I have always known you as, Percy, the good servant boy who is my age and has worked for my mother since childhood," she said.
"I know. By the way, thank you again, if she likes this recipe I may be accepted more in the traditions of your family," he said.
"Peter, would you be my partner for the mistletoe tradition today?" Charity asked.
"I guess that would be nice, I've never participated in that tradition before." he answered.
"Charity," Sarah called from the other room, "the guests are arriving, come and help me greet them."
"Yes, mother," Charity called back, "Peter, would you get the ham started?"
"Yes, Charity, oh, and please call me Percy in front of your mother," he asked.
"all right, Percy," she replied.

Charity went to the door to greet the guests with her mother and as they came in she shook hands and told them how wonderful it was to see them. Her grandparents were the first to arrive.
"Ah, there is my beautiful granddaughter," her grandma said.
"Right this way grandma, the tree is in its usual corner decorated and all," she directed her grandparents.
"Mother, how wonderful to see you again," Sarah said as the three came into the living room were she was setting a few new presents under the tree.
"You look as pretty as ever, Sarah. Let us sit down and have a talk, I would like to get caught up on a few things while Chary and her grandpa go and catch up on a few things as well," Grandma Perry suggested.
"This way grandpa," Charity said, showing him to the kitchen.
"She has grown since last Christmas, hasn't she?" Grandma Perry commented.
"Yes, I'm rather proud of her," Sarah replied.
"As you should be. She also seems to be a little bit less childish than last year. Would you have anything to do with that?" she asked.
"She is almost 17, you know. Time for her to let go of her childhood. Ever since she was a 2 year old she has thought of Peter Pan as her little friend that she wants to be with forever. That is not what a normal 16 year old should be thinking, she still thinks he is real!" she finished.
"What is so wrong with having a want to be loved, you had that need when you were her age and I eventually gave into it. Wait and see, this may be a good thing," grandma replied.
"Never the less, I will continue to push her, not in a hard way, but still, she needs to grow up," Mrs. Coey told her.
"All right then. But I think that this may lead into something that will be far more serious than you think. Meanwhile she has her grandfather to help her continue in belief," Grandma Perry said.
"Tell me what has been happening with you and dad lately?" Sarah asked.
"He had a heart failure a while back, but is doing much better now. How is Richard, your husband?" she stated.
"Away again. He visited for a little while when Charity was hurt a month ago, but I suspect that he is off in China again," Sarah answered.
"Mother," Charity interrupted, she had been listening the entire time, "I didn't know that he visited me."
"You were asleep and he did not want to wake you up, dear," her mother replied.
"Oh," Charity sighed.
"Charity, I think I heard the doorbell ring, it is probably the other guests. Dad, would you get that? Charity, why don't you go check on the ham?" Sarah suggested.
"Yes, mother," Charity replied, "Grandpa, I think I'll go out to the fields after I check on the ham, would you come with me?" she asked.
"Charity, we have guests arriving that we must keep entertained. Why don't you come sit down for presents after you check the ham?" Mrs. Coey implied.
"All right," she replied.
Grandpa went and greeted the guests while Charity saw to the ham and once all this was done everyone met at the Christmas tree to open presents.
"Percy, why don't you go first?" Charity questioned.
"Let Joseph go," he replied.
"Here, Charity, this is for you," Joseph said, handing a gift wrapped in fairy tale wrapping to her.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Open it, you'll see," he replied.
Charity did open the gift, only to find a porcelain figurine of Peter Pan, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. It was very shiny, covered with sparkles and on top of a box. Inside the box was a small necklace. What hung on the necklace was a container with sparkles in it and a picture of a fairy on the outside of it. It was beautiful.
"What's this?" she asked.
"My present to you," he answered.
"Thank you," she mentioned before taking out another gift from the pile and handing it to Percy.
"Well, open it," she told Percy.
"I'm not sure if I can accept it. You open my gift first," he said, handing her a small, light box that was not wrapped.
"It's so small," Sarah mentioned, interrupting the moment.
"But it's just perfect," Charity said aloud.
She slowly untied the ribbon that held it together and lifted the top of the box off of it. Inside was a small ring which was gold plated and had an image of Peter Pan on it. There was a small jewel on the hat of Peter.
"Percy, its darling. Why don't you help me put it on?" she commented.
Mrs. Coey had a strange, stern look on her face as she saw him place it on her left pinkie.
"Now, it is my turn," she said, stopping the moment.
"Here is my gift for you mother," Charity said.
"Why don't we all exchange gifts now," Grandma Perry suggested, and they all grabbed different gifts from under the tree giving them to whoever they had gotten them for.
After the gift exchange was finished they decided to do the first mistletoe kiss of the day. This honor belonged to grandma and grandpa. It was a joy to see how their love had lasted so long and they hardly ever argued.

Darling's Garden

2007-06-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

Although dreams only last seconds, to the mind they last forever, and those that are remembered when we wake also last forever. Even once lost they are still there. They sit in an unknown place until they are found again. So is the cycle of dreams.
There is not just one realm for these dreams, but many. Sometimes they can be reached even though the dreams in them are lost or once were lost. Some of the dreams, inside and outside of these realms, change us and our reality. These realms may be such as the island called Neverland and the inhabitants of it such as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. It is children who create these dreams, thoughts and realms. The dreams that we talk of are lost when the children grow up, but you see, not all lost dreams are really lost. It is the children's children who recreate the dreams and add something of their own onto them. Only the children can see these realms and dreams as reality and bring them to life. So it is sad when a child misses this calling. However, not many miss these things and they know them to be true.

Angela Darling knew all this well, except she knew not how to make it reality. Her realm was a garden filled with beautiful flowers, vegetables, fruit trees, waterfalls, ponds, and life. Her garden was her comfort, surrounded by a gate that protected her from the outside dangers. Her friends were the animals, they loved her so, she cared for them, as well as the garden. Each day the garden grew larger, which was good, for it meant that he imagination and the dream it self was growing as well.
She loved the dream very much, so it was a shame when it ended each morning. However, the thought of sleeping and dreaming once again kept her going.
So her story began one morning, when her quest would begin and her dream would soon become reality. Her dream's reality, however, would also meet up with another person's dream and its reality that is contained in the same realm as Angela's dream.

~~~~II~~~~~~II~~~~

Angela combed her tangled hair. She saw her reflection in the mirror, her brown eyes staring back at her. They seemed to be telling her that her dreams had no use and would never be real. Yet Her heart told her something different, that she should never give up hope.
It was the year 1860, being proper and clean mattered greatly. 13 year old, Angela knew this, she was growing fast. Now considered a young lady, she would soon be old enough to marry, and it was her duty, for the family's sake to marry into a wealthy family. These thing mattered to the average household, even the servants wished it, and richer masters meant better pay, although many were slaves and not paid at all.
Angela, however, had no care for the matters, although cleanliness was still important to her. This was why she sat, every morning, brushing the tangles pout of her hair.
Still she did what she was told and was sure to act proper, kind, and respectful. She loved her parents with all of her heart, her mother especially. Her mother was the one who had introduced the concept of gardening to her. It was her main hobby. Although it was a dirty one, it helped her to have patience and taught her many values.
Her father did not think it much of a great thing, but he enjoyed the beauty and results of what his wife and daughter did, as well as their gardening skills.
"I married your mother because I love her, but I fell in love with her extraordinary gifts and strength," he would say, "She is different than the other ladies, your mother is. I suppose that is why I love her so much, no matter how much I dislike gardening, I support and respect it in all ways because of your mother."
Every morning such words and similar ones ran through her mind as she sat combing her hair, making sure to look her best.

"Good morning, Angela, dear. You look very nice this morning," her mother told her as she entered the dining room to eat breakfast.
"Morning, mother," Angela replied.
The room was medium sized. The red, maroon colored walls were plain with frames circling the brown ceiling. Paintings of scenery and ancestors hung on the walls as well. A few small tables were about the room, some with drawers, others of them were there just for decoration. In the middle sat a large, beautiful, hand-crafted table mad of the most excellent and finest wood available. On it sat a fine table cloth. On top of that sat a silver fruit bowl in the center of the table and plates and silverware were also set perfectly about the table, the amount of them matching with how many chairs were at the table, which sat about 8 people.
"We changed your piano lesson to 11 am today. I expect you do not mind," her mother said with a gesture for her to sit down.
"Yes, I suppose that is fine, mother," she replied, "I had that dream again last night."
"The one about the garden?" her mother asked, Angela had told her mother about her dream several times before.
"Yes, it has not changed much. Strangely nothing ever happens in it. Although I find it very content and comforting, it does seem to be getting boring," Angela remarked.
"But it is peaceful, is it not? You have already admitted that," questioned her mother.
"Yes, it certainly is better than real life," Angela said.
"All good dreams are better than real life. Unfortunately we all lose hope of our dreams becoming reality when we grow up," she sighed and gave a pleasant look at her daughter, "that is why you are so lucky to still be young," she laughed, "I envy you, my daughter, how silly am I?"
"You are silly my dear," Angela's father, entering the room.
"I hardly envy you, my husband," Angela's mother said, flipping her hair back.
Catherine Darling was a dear soul, and a loving mother. Her blue eyes shown bright and peered into your heart. Her light, brown hair was long and thick, always clean, always perfect. This day she wore her hair down, curled, with a clip to hold back a bit of it. She was not like other ladies, she did not have the hobbies other woman had, she wore her hair differently, and she cared nothing of what others thought of her. This was why she was loved so much.
The Darlings were good people, so although they lived in the south of the US, and had slaves, they treated them kindly and never referred to them as slaves. They paid their slaves and considered them equal with the other hired help. They also gave them quarters to live in that were clean and nice, not dirty and scarce of furniture like it was with other slaves at other homes. They were good masters, well looked upon by others.
"They are having another discussion today on slavery," her father announced.
Her mother gave a slight chuckle, "sounds more like a debate to me," she commented.
He gave his wife a stern look and continued on, "I will be leaving home early today to go into town for that."
"Honestly, you would think we are going into a war here," Catherine said, laughing a loud chuckle to herself.
"Breakfast is ready," Mary, the cool and Kitchen servant announced.
Mary left the room for a moment and came back in with a tray and many large plates. She took the top off of the larger platter, revealing such foods as eggs, bacon, sausage, and ham. The food smelled of wondrous things, making their mouths water. Their cool was very good at what she did.
"Some do wish to start a war, dear. They claim that it is more than an issue of slavery, and this I do believe is true," Thomas, her father, told them as Mary put food on their plates.
"Father, what if a war does begin? which side would we be on? With Abraham Lincoln as president, will it not stir the debates on these issues even more?" Angela questioned.
"Forgive me child," he said, putting his silverware down from eating, "we should not be discussing such things in front of you. You need not get involved."
"Actually, I find it interesting," she told him.
"It is not a girls place, none the less a child's place to have place in such things, even your mother…"
"Nonsense, Thomas," Catherine interrupted, "I am a girl and I have place in such things!"
"As you should not…" he began.
"Yet you let me!" she said with a spark to her voice.
"Your boldness is what I fell in love with, my dear, but this is our daughter. Must we concern her with such talk at her age?" he finished.
Angela was laughing at this the entire time. Her parents often did this and it was always her job to end it. It was all fun to listen to the political conversations and arguments over her future. However, it never mattered to her parents and most of the time the silly conversation would come to an end of its own.
"Listen to us, babbling about such thing. Aren't we silly? Angela, are we not?" Catherine asked her daughter.
"Yes, my mother, we are always silly," Angela replied.

The Raven Analysis

2007-06-22T09:08:00.002-07:00

In Edgar Allen Poe’s poem “The Raven,” he uses setting, imagery, diction, figurative language, sound effects, rhyme, repetition, and rhythm to bring out the mood and overall feeling of the poem. The story itself brings out a gloomy, scary, and haunting feeling to it. It is a late December midnight and the weather is “dreary,” and a man, the narrator (it is first person written) is napping in his chamber, dreaming of his passed away love, Lenore. While napping, he hears a gentle “rapping,” and, thinking it is someone at the door, opens the chamber door only to find nothing. Once again, he hears the rapping sound and goes to the window and opens it; in through the window flies a raven. The man goes through a series of questions about who the raven is, where it is from, and why it taunts him, but it only replies “Nevermore,” driving him insane with its possible meanings.

In “The Raven,” there is internal rhyme in every other line, except for the last line of each stanza, which also rhymes. Poe uses repetition to bring out the reader’s curiosity, repeating words such as “Nothing More” and “Nevermore,” and the line: “’Prophet!’ said I, ‘thing of evil! – prophet still, if bird or devil!’” to show the thoughts of the narrator and what the raven could possibly symbolize. Poe uses words such as: “bleak,” describing December; “rare” and “radiant” describing Lenore’s beauty; “silken,” “sad,” and “darkness” bringing out the gloomy mood; and “stately,” “ghastly,” “grim,” “ancient,” “fiery eyes,” “ungainly,” “gaunt,” and “ominous,” describing the raven; as well as “rapping,” “tapping,” and “rustling” describing the sounds in the poem. All these words bring out the atmosphere, feeling, and image in the reader’s mind of what the man in the story experiences. Poe is a talented writer, who, in his poem “The Raven,” uses the elements of writing to give the audience a feeling of fear and creepiness, and to bring out the basic plot and meaning of the poem: do not dwell on your past, letting it haunt you through the smallest things.

Friends

2007-06-22T09:08:00.001-07:00

A friend is someone you can rely on

Someone you can trust with all your secrets

Trust them that your secrets will be safe and from other's view gone

So that you won't get caught in a net

But instead they will give you advice

A friend will never leave you alone, too

To a friend your friendship has no price

Other than everlasting friendship ant together life

Life together forever

The friendship is never broken

You leave eachother never

So tat you are always there for each other

Never love, never hate

Never to bother

Never the same

But to always be there

As if you were always

One big happy family

Feelings

2007-06-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

When a person hurts you

You can hurt him back too

But do you want him to have that feeling?

The feeling that feels like you are peeling

Peeling inside where the feelings hurt

But then someone cheers you up by saying a mere "hello"

And that cushions the peeling with a large giant pillow

And then you go out

Go and give that feeling away so that no one will ever pout

And that makes you feel better

So you'll never feel bad again

Crickets on the Grass

2007-06-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

As I sit here outside

I watch the stars

The constellations so wide

I can hear the rushing cars

And in the grass nearby

I hear the cricket's peaceful cheep

So peaceful, I get on the ground and lye

And that beautiful sound is one I'll want to keep

Keep in my heart forever

So I can relax always

When I am troubled I pull that lever

The lever triggers all the different waves

The waves of sound that go away never

But this is not a night to be troubled

It is a night to listen

To the sounds being doubled

And I fall asleep

Only to learn a new nature lesson

In my dreams

A Mother Daughter Thing

2007-06-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

Her brow sweat, it was the last inning and Miranda was tied with her opponent in their game of baseball. The score was 19 to 19, there was an easy chance of winning for her, she was up to bat and all she had to do was hit the ball far enough that it would give her time to run all four bases and make her final, triumphant score.

Miranda pulled back her thick, brown hair into a scrungy while stepping up to base. Picking up the bat she leaned forward into position, ready for anything. The Pitcher through the ball, it came at her like a giant tornado, spinning constantly. In a moment the ball was there for her to hit. She swung at it with all the might that she had left in her. The small crowd was silent as the girl hit the ball right across the street.

Miranda's mom ran after it but was too late. When she returned to the front yard her daughter had already reached home, making it a home run!

"Great game honey, I really thought we were gonna win, but you proved me wrong." Rick, Miranda's father congratulated her on her victory.

"It was tough, but I got through it. I wouldn't have if you hadn't showed me the correct position for batting, but if you really want to give me all the credit for my win then go right ahead." She replied.

"No that's aright, go ahead and give me some credit."

"Well, you see I would if it weren't for the fact that you already gave me all the glory"

"Oh, Really."

"Yes, you see I won and you didn't so you're just jealous that you weren't on the winning team."

"Of course, I guess I'll just have to join your team next time playing against you poor mother..."

"Yep."

"And not to mention that you would share half of your credit with me."

"No, that's O.K."

"Excuse me…" Melody, Miranda's mother, interrupted, "But how about we stop joking about your poor mother and come inside for a victory dinner."

"Food!" They both yelled and ran off into the house.

"What about my little old kiss…" Melody mentioned "And who's going to pick up this mess? Not me, no dinner till the mess is cleaned up."

" You'll still help won't you?" Miranda asked.

"Dinner won't fix itself, I think the corn is getting cold." Her mother replied.

" I'll bring something in, but you brought the stuff out and forced us to play so you put it away." Rick told her as he picked up the baseball bat and ball.

" But I'm spoiled." They all laughed at Miranda's comment and walked inside for dinner.

Inside Miranda put away the sport equipment while her mom put their food into separated bowls and on different plates for them to eat.

"Be sure to wash your hands." Her father reminded the family, as he usually did.

Miranda's family wasn't exactly normal but had a special relationship that kept them going. They had a schedule that was loose but kept well. Every day Miranda went to school and her parents off to work. Her dad woke up early every morning around 3:00 to get ready for work and catch a vanpool to where he worked in San Francisco and her mom worked at the church next to her school in the Music Department. After school she would meet her mom in her office at the church and from there Melody would take her daughter home. Her dad would get back in town around 4 in the afternoon and then would normally head to the gym. They had a family membership there and so Miranda would go every once in a while. Her dad would get home around 7:30 and then they would have dinner which was basically getting your food and watching t.v or going on the computer while eating. Then after doing whatever they felt like they would go to bed.

Miranda's favorite time of the day was in the car on the way to school or on the way home. Her mother and she would always talk about what was going on in their lives at this time or whatever was recent in the news. But most of all it was the love of her mother that she enjoyed. Miranda's best friend was her mother, the first person she ever looked to for help, the loving mother that was always there for her. There was a love that existed between them that they knew could never fade away, and that was her reason for being with her mother all the time.

Earlier she had gone shopping for groceries with her mom. They needed food for dinner and it was Saturday, Melody had to buy some snacks for the choir at church. Miranda remembered it perfectly, for it was just that afternoon.

They had walked around the nearest Save Mart and gotten all of what they needed. As they stood in line Melody put her scarf on because it was cold outside. She flipped her light brown hair with small gray streaks back and gave a last thought to whether she had everything she needed or not. As she looked around she saw the Woman's Day magazine in a nearby rack. Melody quickly grabbed it and then moved forward in line.

When they got home they brought their groceries in and Melody laid her magazine on the counter.

"What magazine is that mom?" Miranda asked.

"Women's Day honey, you can look at it if you want. There are some good diet ideas in there, why don't you give it a look." Melody finished as she walked out the door to go unload more groceries.

Miranda picked the magazine up and walked into the living room where she plopped herself down on the couch and turned the TV on. As she looked through the magazine she noticed a small article that seemed worth reading. It read: My daughter and I didn't connect with each other very well for a long time. One day I came up with an idea that I hoped would improve our relationship and help us along as a family. I picked out a special journal book that had a nice cover and back on it along with a lock. The next morning I laid it on her pillow with a note asking her to respond to what I had written inside and also to write down a few of her own concerns or problems. I told her that this is one I can bond with her in our spare time. That night, when I went to bed there it was on my pillow with a note of X's and O's attached to it. Inside she had written out her feeling and given me something to think about. We are now bonding with each other more and progressing towards spending more time together.

Miranda had read the small article many times that day before and after playing baseball with her family. Miranda had many thoughts cooped up in her mind that she wanted to tell her parents about, including how she felt about her relationship with her mom and dad, she knew this might be a way to help them along.

After eating she read the article again and considered showing it to her mother, but was afraid of what she might reveal if they decide to do it. Finally she set the magazine down and went to get ready for bed.

"So, are there any good diets in there for us?" Melody asked her daughter while Miranda passed her.

"Mom, you know I don't like talking about my weight. Besides, I didn't finish looking through it, I was mainly looking at the pictures." Miranda replied, raising her voice while she said it.

"Goodness me, it wasn't a very long magazine, and you were reading it all day. And please don't raise your voice at me." Melody calmly mentioned.

"Does it really matter?" Miranda yelled.

"Of course our weight matters, Miranda, you know that. That is what is holding us back from doing more active things."

"Stop It!" She screamed and then ran to her room where she jumped onto her bed, looked out her window, and cried.

"You know you really should learn how to choose your fights." Melody said gently as she opened the door to Miranda's room.

"I'm sorry momma, it's just that…well…I want to try but…" She stuttered.

"Shh Shh, you need to rest, lay down your head." Melody motioned for her daughter to lay her head on Melody's lap.

"Mom?" Miranda softly murmured.

"Yes."

"Can I show you something?"

"Yes, anything." Melody replied.

Miranda slowly got up and showed her mother to where she had put the magazine down earlier.

"You can read it now." She said as she opened it up to the page that had the small article that she had read so many times on it. "Read it." She told Melody.

Melody quickly read it and gave Miranda a big hug full of love.

"Can we do it?" Miranda asked.

"It is a great idea honey."

"When can we start it?" Miranda said with excitement.

"Well we can't do it until we get a journal to write in, and that will be a few days."

"Why the wait, can't we start now?" Miranda had a disappointed tone. "You don't seem very enthusiastic about it."

"I'm sorry, but right now it is time for bed, no matter how early it is, you need rest."

"Mom, I'm hungry." Miranda quietly said.

"Your fit must be over then. That is what I always say when I am done crying." They both laughed. "Very well then, I'll fix you a sandwich. Then off to bed with you."

The day was over for them and even though Melody was not too excited about the journal she knew somehow that some good would come of it, and so did Miranda.

The Elephant Man

2007-06-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

Joseph Carey Merrick (or John Merrick) was born in Leicester, at 50 Lee Street in 1862. He began growing disfiguring tumors before the age of two and his condition rapidly worsened as bulbous, cauliflower-like growths grew from his head and body, and his right hand and forearm became a useless club.
His parents were Mary Jane and Joseph Merrick. Joseph lived with his Mother, younger brother Arthur, and sister Marion. His appearance did not prevent him from attending the nearby Syston Street Board School from where he gained a short but valuable education. His mother was loving and compassionate. However, when she died in 1873, Joseph was left with an uncaring Father who did not really want him around. His father remarried, and his new stepmother left his father with a choice: “Joseph or me.”

Thrown out into the streets, Joseph was forced to work selling shoe-black on the streets, a chore that left him an open target to scores of children who taunted him for amusement. , Joseph Merrick was admitted to the Leicester Union Workhouse on December 29 1879. He may have been ugly, but he could write and speak eloquently and he could also read, a rarity amongst the poorer classes of the 19th century. Still, people looked at the outside rather than the inside.

In 1884, Joseph became a side-show-freak. He was desperate to take any job that would earn him a living. There, he was dubbed "the Elephant Man" because of a tusk-like growth on his face. One promoter dreamed up the story that Merrick's mother had been trampled by an elephant while pregnant, resulting in her son's hideous deformities.

The show led him to a shop front across from the Royal London Hospital, at 123 Whitechapel Road, London. There, he caught the eye of Dr. Frederick Treves, a surgeon at the hospital, who paid Joseph to stroll across the street to be studied by students.

Still, he continued as the “freak,” and was able to save a bit of money, only to be stolen from him by the curator of the show. Joseph managed to get enough money for a train trip back to London. Upon his arrival at Liverpool Street Station, he collapsed in exhaustion. Treves' business card was found among his meager possessions, and a call was made to the Hospital. Merrick was claimed by Treves, who offered him a home within the Royal London Hospital grounds, where he would live out the rest of his life. Treves and Merrick enjoyed a friendship; it was Treves that took it upon himself to start referring to Joseph as "John" in his memoirs.

In 1979, a much more rare disease was identified as causing overgrowth of bone and other tissue. This disorder, named Proteus Syndrome, has been recorded in fewer than 100 cases, ever. Proteus syndrome or "Elephant Man's Disease,” causes abnormal, unchecked growth of bones, skin, and other systems. Fewer than 100 cases of Proteus have been recorded. No condition has ever produced a degree of deformity equivalent to Merrick's.

Merrick's died on April 11, 1890 at the age of 27. Here is a quote direct from Treves’ diary: "He was found dead in his bed... He was lying on his back as if asleep, and had evidently died suddenly and without struggle. The method of his death was peculiar. So large and heavy was his head that he could not sleep lying down. The attitude he was compelled to assume when he slept was very strange. He sat up in bed with his back supported by pillows, his knees were drawn up, and his arms clasped round his legs, while his head rested on the points of his bent knees.

He often said to me that he wished he could lie down to sleep 'like other people'. I think on this last night he must, with some determination, have made the experiment. The pillow was soft, and the head, when placed on it, must have fallen backwards and caused a dislocation of the neck. Thus it came about that his death was due to the desire that had dominated his life - to be 'like other people.'”

The official Cause of Death was Asphyxia and Suffocation. A funeral was held in the Chapel of the Hospital. After the autopsy by Dr. Treves, it was decided that his skeleton should be set up in the Hospital Museum. He supervised the taking of plaster casts of the head and limbs and the preservation of skin samples. To the frustration of future researchers, the skin samples were lost during the Second World War. The jars containing them dried out in the absence of staff that had been evacuated. Merrick's assembled skeleton still resides within the walls of the hospital museum.

Bibliography
http://www.victorianweb.org/books/suicide/06b.html

http://www.leicesterandleicestershire.com/The_Elephant_Man.htm

http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/m/John%20Merrick%20(The%20Elephant%20Man)/john_carey_merrick.htm
http://www.phreeque.com/joseph_merrick.html

The Sound of Nature

2007-06-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Birds twitter in the sunlight

As some young girl plays the flute

Together they give you a sight

I see in the sky

A cloud like a boat

And other shapes of things

I can see butterflies flutter away

And Peter Pan in Never Land

The birds still sing peacefully

And I hear the waves of the ocean

These are few sounds of nature

The sounds of nature that are so familiar to me

Some are real sounds

Heard just to the senses

But the true sound

Echoes everywhere filled with happiness and beauty

And when I get home

I lie on my bed

And I fall asleep

Remembering the sounds of the bay

The Art of Expression - extremely cheesy essay I wrote in 8th grade

2007-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Just think of what it would be like if you did not know how to express yourself. What would it be like? Imagine a young girl named Renee. Renee is a shy girl that is unwilling and strange to others. All she wants is a friend, or someone that will understand her. If only she was not so shy. As she sits in a corner of her room, she remembers her gentle mother's advice, "You need to find a way to show yourself to others that will make them understand from your point of view." If only she could. If only she were not so shy. She is now crying - crying out for a friend, not knowing what to do.

There are many ways to express yourself. Renee just did not know how to do it. She needed a way to lay her feelings down, not so much as to express herself, but just to make her feel better. Art is one way to express yourself. Actually, it has many ways to help you express yourself. There is painting a picture, writing a story or poem, and writing music. These are all under the topic of art - all with their own beauty that can bring out the inner you.

One great way to express yourself is painting. People should allow themselves to be more open to famous painters. "Those painters that paint such strange pictures" you say to yourself. No, those who have painted in their own way, expressing themselves through the art of painting. A person may express their feelings through the way that he paints. One may use their own technique to express their inner self. There are many ways to paint, and there is always room for more. One may also express himself in what he paints. Pictures and photographs are of reality, and the same is true with painting. You express yourself, showing what you think of certain details in your painting, making a glow of light shine through. Once you are done with your painting you are proud. Your painting will be something to look back on in the future, reminding you of how you felt has changed.

Another way to show who you truly are and what your feelings are is through writing stories, poetry and music. Writing stories can be very similar to poetry. Poetry does not have to rhyme, and can be a lot like a story. Writers can write not just about it their feelings and opinions on something, but they also write about subjects that interest them, such as history, science, and love. Writing can be interesting if you think about it. You can show yourself through the thought. Just thinking about what you can write that would express yourself can show you more of yourself that you don't know about. Also in writing you can express yourself by writing about matters and concern you about the way you feel. When you write about a certain character, you can use your perspective of a subject as their view of it. In writing music, the lyrics can express yourself and the way you feel. It is a way to set your inner self straight down. The tune to your lyrics can express yourself as well, in your personality, whether a soft, gentle and smooth, kind person, or an upbeat, always energized type of person.

Art is not just there for you to express yourself. It also has its advantages and beauty. Painting can be beautiful in its own way, even in those strange paintings. There is a beauty in the colors you use. Not just the right colors that fit the painting, but the colors that fit you. There is a gentle curve to what you paint, showing yourself in certain ways. There is a light to your painting like the sun rising and the flowers blooming, giving you peace and joy. It is your own creation of beauty. Everyone else in the world cannot like your creation, but it is still there, just for you because you made it, and it means the world to you. There is a beauty to writing, too. The beauty of expression and the way you develop the story and its characters. The way you get the reader interested. Music is always beautiful, especially classical music. It makes you relax and feel things you never felt before, and it gives you peace and good dreams. Guess that you can just say that music is beautiful in its own ways, filled with all you need for a good nights sleep.

Now, after using these solutions, Renee is happy. Renee now has many friends who love her paintings and are always asking her to write stories for them. Renee is so happy that her mother has run out of advice except "Paint, paint, write - do something fun - keep expressing yourself." The sun has risen and the flowers bloom and she has peace and joy inside. Renee has used the arts in a way to express herself, showing all around her who she truly is. The arts of painting a beautiful picture filled with meaning, writing wonderful stories and poems for fun, and creating your own personal music, are all great ways to get you thinking about who you are and what the word "life" means to you, all with their own beauty in the art of expression.

Frankenstein and Prometheus

2007-06-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

“The Modern Prometheus”

The subtitle of the novel, “Frankenstein,” is “The Modern Prometheus,” which refers to two Greek myths. The myth of Prometheus tells of how Prometheus tried to trick Zeus with a false sacrifice. Prometheus also stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the primitive mortals on the earth. He was punished and tied to a rock where his liver would be eaten every day and would grow back during the night. The novel’s subtitle also refers to the story of Prometheus plasticator, who was said to have created and animated humankind out of clay.

Victor Frankenstein is known as the modern Prometheus because he defies the gods by creating life himself. Victor is the creator, rather than the created; He takes God's place. Just like Prometheus, Victor tries to do something unnatural. As a result, he succeeds, but not in a good way. He is punished for his deeds, just like Prometheus. His creation is the punisher, while Prometheus was punished by the god who he stole from.

Unitarianism Rebuttal Letter / Essay

2007-06-22T09:00:00.002-07:00

Reverend Mark Edmiston-Lange wrote in “Purpose and Principles and Inherent Dangers of Belief” (September 14, 2003), about the “non-sectarian sect” of Unitarian Universalism. His sermon states the beliefs of the Unitarian church that contradict Christian beliefs, including the use of reason to the exclusion of faith, rejection of the Triune Godhead, and a belief that Jesus’ deity was no different from ours. These beliefs contradict themselves or have developed from misinterpretation of the Bible.

To a Unitarian, “Reason is the most reliable guide to understanding faith, understanding the Bible, and understanding moral responsibilities.” In truth, reason is not a source of information; it is only a tool for interpreting information. “Channing and his fellow liberals insisted that there was a single standard, reason, by which all matters of faith could be examined, understood, and accepted or rejected…. Channing felt that reason was a divine gift… and was thus itself a reliable guide.” By restricting themselves to “reason,” Unitarians force themselves to accept either all human sources of revelation (that is, all religions) or their experiences as their source of information. The result: without realizing it, they accept something other than reason as their standard. Ironically, they make a leap of faith by placing their faith in reason.

Unitarians contradict themselves in their use of reason. They state, “We believe that religious wisdom is ever-changing. Human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final.” Yet they refuse to believe in things because those things are not reasonable – that is, within human comprehension at the current time. If our comprehension is always changing, how can you not believe in something because it is not within comprehension now?

Unitarians argue that because the Trinity cannot be understood, it cannot be; but just because it is beyond their comprehension does not mean that it cannot be. It seemed irrational to Channing and his colleagues to, “elevate a failed explanation of God to the status of creed, the central creed at that.” Their problem is not with a failed explanation of God, but with their own failed understanding of the explanation of God. Something has to make sense to them to be reasonable. However, what does not make sense today may make good sense tomorrow. For example, when you were in Algebra 1 and someone tried to explain a technique to you, it seemed “non-sensical” at first, but once fully explained in Algebra 2, it made perfect sense.

In explaining the development of Unitarianism, Lange wrote, “Instead of the Trinitarian faith, three Gods in one; they proclaimed the Unitarian faith – one God.” The Trinitarian faith teaches one God as three Persons, not “three Gods in one.” In searching the Bible, the word “trinity” will not be found but, in the Bible, the concept certainly is found.. In Matthew 28:19 it says, “Go therefore and make disciple of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In 2 Corinthians 13:14 it says, “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” Furthermore, in the original Hebrew, the Bible uses the word Elohim, meaning gods, over 25,000 times. In Genesis 1:1 it would read, “In the beginning, Elohim created the heavens and the earth.” In Deuteronomy 6:4 and Mark 12:29 it would read, “Jehovah our Elohim is one [Echad] Jehovah.” To show the concept of one God as three persons, we can look at Exodus 3:14. At the burning bush, Elohim spoke to Moses. Yet Elohim did not say, “We are that we are,” but, “I AM THAT I AM.” The word Elohim is not the only way in which God presents His plurality. For example, Ecclesiastes 12:1 says, "Remember now thy creator [literally, "creators"]"; and Isaiah 54:5: "For thy Maker is thine husband [lit."makers, husbands"]"

Unitarianism has no explanation for this consistent presentation of God's plurality all through the Old Testament. Even in reality, there are examples of the trinity. The cosmos divides into three: space, matter and time. Space is composed of three dimensions: length, breadth, and width. These three are separate and distinct, yet all compose one space. Time is also a trinity: past, present, and future. Each is separate and distinct, yet each is whole. Man himself is triune: spirit, soul, and body. Another example is ice, water, and steam; each by itself different and distinct, but all have one common substance. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are each separate distinct persons, but each is God. Other verses in the Bible that show the concept of the trinity include Matthew 11:27, John 1:18, Galatians 4:6, John 14:7, John 14:9, Mark 13:11, Luke 1:15, John 14:26, 1 John 5:7.

Unitarians deny the deity of Christ. “Jesus’ humanity is routinely emphasized,” they say. They believe that God is in everything and everyone and that it was the same with Jesus; but He just was more exemplary. Jesus’ humanity is taught because God condescended to identify with and to experience the life of man as part of the plan of salvation. John 1:14 says, in reference to Jesus, “And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth.” This does not lessen His deity. Jesus’ divine nature is not the same as they suppose we all have. John 1:3 says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that is made.” Colossians 1:16 says, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible… All things were created through Him and for Him.” How can Jesus and all other humans have equal deity when Jesus had part in creation and literally is the creator? To say that we are equal is to say that human are capable of creation, created with God, and can do everything else God has done. Finally, Ephesians 2:1-5 says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” God is not in everyone. If everything is God, to be God has lost all meaning and so nothing is God.

In his sermon, Lange states the basics of Unitarianism. As one reads his sermon, she cannot help but ask questions and want to know more. By what process do Unitarians use reason to reach their conclusions? And why do they contradict themselves in so many ways? Unitarianism contradicts and misinterprets the teachings of the Bible. Their “non-sectarian sect” is most unreasonable.

History of the Christmas Tree

2007-06-22T09:00:00.001-07:00

The Christmas tree and its leaves have been traditional for many years, even dating back to the ancient Egyptians. There are many stories of how it was started, also explaining our traditional Christmas colors: red and green.

The ancient Egyptians are said to have brought evergreen leaves on the night of December 21st to the sun god. It was the shortest day of the year which brought less sunshine, so they would bring the leaves to their sun god hoping to make him well. They believed that the evergreen had small powers that would help in certain situations, they would even hang the leaves on their doors thinking that it would keep demons and other spirits away from their home.

In Germany it was started in the mid 700's. At that time the Evergreen trees represented life, preferably the life of Jesus Christ. This helped in the naming of the tree. The tree was first known as the "Christ Tree", that name transferred into Christmas tree and from that the holiday itself was called Christmas.

It was also in Germany that a middle aged monk named Martin Luther, in the year of 1510, was walking in a forests on his way home when he stopped to look up and see the stars twinkling through the branches of a Fir tree. Amazed by what he saw Martin cut down a small Fir tree and set it up in a room at his house. He then fixed some candles to the branches and lit them to show his family what he had seen in the forest. It is said that he used the triangular shape of the Fir tree to represent the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The Christmas tree was introduced in England around 1841 when Queen Victoria married Prince Albert who was a German. After this many Germans moved to England and with them carried the decorating tradition of Christmas. The English became influenced by this and slowly began to celebrate it themselves. Prince Albert also set up a Christmas tree to remind him of his homeland. That was the first time a Christmas tree was recorded in England.

The colors of Christmas are a very different story, however. In the fourteenth century on December 24th plays would be put on at churches all over about Adam and Eve. Unfortunately, there was a problem for every director that existed. It was very hard to find a green tree that was growing during the winter. The problem was solved when they decided to start using Fir trees and tie red apples to them, the colors of the tree being red (the apples) and green (the leaves of the tree). Thus this is where we get our traditional Christmas colors from.

Another tradition, one that is over a thousand years old, is the tradition of "Bringing the Yule Log in". When you or another family bring home a Christmas tree from a lot you are following this tradition. The tradition that started in Great Britain and, after spreading throughout Europe, reached North America. On the Eve of Christmas the entire family would pull in a large central trunk of a tree into the house. There it was burned for the 12 days of Christmas. As the Yule log spread it developed many names and customs. In Ireland, it was called "bloc na Nodleg", or Christmas block. In Spain children ran around and followed it as it was being carried into the village, beating it with sticks to drive out the evil spirits. In the Balkan areas of Europe, women decorated the log with red silk, gold wire, needles, and flowers before putting it in the fire.

Candles or electric lights are used to decorate our trees today, they are also an ancient symbol. They represent the light of spring triumphing over the darkness of winter. There are many more Christmas traditions, families of all kinds come up with new ones every year; and so our traditions continue on and are remembered. Some are known and others unknown, but still remembered as a Christmas tradition.

Today June 22

2007-06-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Today I will be posting the last of my old works, pretty much. Tomorrow I hope to have some more recent writings or to start blogging for real. I also plan on posting links to all my published works tomorrow (I used to work for a newspaper as a teen). Enjoy.

Frankenstein vs. Cloning - Man: Created or Creator

2007-06-21T12:40:00.001-07:00

The novel” and the concept of cloning have a lot in common. In reading the novel “Frankenstein,” and taking a look at cloning, one can see how much the two topics have in common. Several controversial issues come up. What is life? What defines a person? Does the idea of being your own creator literally appeal to cloning and Frankenstein’s monster. Cloning does bring up a lot of questions. On a site titled Frankenstein for Cloning Tech. it says, “This is controversial because many see this as a wrong in the human society. Much like Victor saw his creation as a devastative plague on the people of his time.” ("Frankenstein for Cloning Tech." 25 Oct. 2005 .). In general, cloning is the modern Frankenstein, just like Frankenstein is the modern Prometheus. Prometheus stole fire from the gods. He took something that did not belong to the humans and gave it to them. He was punished. In the same way, Frankenstein let his ambition overpower him. He took from God what was not his and created a monster.

Cloning also creates something that was not given to humanity. The possibility of human cloning was raised when Scottish scientists at Roslin Institute created a sheep, "Dolly," in 1997. There are different types of cloning technologies including recombinant DNA technology or DNA cloning, reproductive cloning, and therapeutic cloning. “In the not too distant future it is envisaged that we will be able to replicate a person's body, mind and memories.” (Edmiston, John. "Has Science Gone Too Far With Cloning?" 25 Oct. 2005 .). According to dictionary.com, the definition of a clone or cloning is to make multiple identical copies of (a DNA sequence); to create or propagate (an organism) from a clone cell; to reproduce or propagate asexually. The process of cloning uses “one cell and the ovum of another creature of the same species to produce an ‘embryo’. This is then implanted into the womb of a mother resulting in a ‘clone,’ or an exact replica.” ("Frankenstein for Cloning Tech." 25 Oct. 2005 .). The most common method of cloning is Reproductive Cloning. “Reproductive cloning is a technology used to generate an animal that has the same nuclear DNA as another currently or previously existing animal…. In a process called ‘somatic cell nuclear transfer,’ scientists transfer genetic material from the nucleus of a donor adult cell to an egg whose nucleus, and thus its genetic material, has been removed. The reconstructed egg containing the DNA from a donor cell must be treated with chemicals or electric current in order to stimulate cell division. Once the cloned embryo reaches a suitable stage, it is transferred to the uterus of a female host where it continues to develop until birth.” ("Cloning Fact Sheet ." Human Genome Project Information. 25 Oct. 2005 .).
Because cloning involves the creation of man by man, it is especially controversial in the church. What exactly does the Bible say about cloning? Before this question can be answered, we must look at the idea of creation and how it is used in cloning and the in the story of Frankenstein. Frankenstein strives to do what no one has ever done before; he thirsts for knowledge and finds his comfort in books and scientific theories. (Shelley, Chapter 2, Paragraph 11). As he becomes more knowledgeable, he learns how to control life. He learns the intricacies of the human body, and begins to assemble a new being. (Shelley, Chapter 4, Paragraphs 2-3, 9). Once assembled, the being, or rather monster, is brought to life. (Shelley, Chapter 5, Paragraphs 1-3). Frankenstein, himself, becomes the creator, thus denying God, but leaves the creature to live on its own without family, friends, or loved ones. (Shelley, Chapter 5, Paragraphs 3-4, Chapter 15, Paragraph 9). The parallel between this and cloning is evident. Modern Scientists continue to advance in knowledge. They strive to discover the secrets of the universe. By doing this, they wish to become all-knowing and thus take the place of God. Even so, there is no originality in cloning. Scientists just use their knowledge of what already is to recreate and imitate. Why do most Christians believe this is wrong? First off, God is the creator, not us. We cannot take His place. Cloning gives man the ability to create as a god, when he really is the created. Biblically, this can be compared to when sin first entered the world (Genesis 3:1-7). God said not to eat of the fruit of the one tree set out as forbidden. The serpent tempted Eve and told her that it would make her as great as God, so she disobeyed. However, no one can be as great as God. Adam and Eve were punished for their sins. They desired to be God, but there is only on God. “It seems that we shall be like God on the day we head (the) direction (of cloning). It appears that it will make us wise and be good for us. But this is an illusion born of strong temptation. In fact it will leave us naked and desolate and under the judgment of God” (Edmiston, John. "Has Science Gone Too Far With Cloning?" 25 Oct. 2005 .). Another case in the Bible this can be compared to is the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). Just like science has a desire for self-exaltation and a want to go above the limits that have been set out for us, cloning sets itself high and wishes to rise above God.

Yes, man may be creating and trying to take God’s place, but what exactly gives creation its definition? When something is created by man, what does it mean for the creation? Dictionary.com defines create as to cause to exist; bring into being, give rise to, and produce through artistic or imaginative effort. If God created everything out of nothing in the beginning (Genesis 1:1), He must have been pretty imaginative. What is so creative about cloning? Cloning only imitates something or creates something out of something. He invented everything we know and strive to know. He knew what we were going to be like before we were even born. He gave us life. Life is the property or quality that distinguishes living organisms from dead organisms and inanimate matter, manifested in functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, and response to stimuli or adaptation to the environment originating from within the organism. We know this. If someone pointed out someone lying on the ground, covered in blood, you would be able to tell whether the person is alive or dead. Except, what do we define a person as? How are people different from any other living thing? God gave us souls; He created us in his image; He calls us His children (1 John 3:2). This is what distinguishes humans from anything else that is living. Do clones have souls? The Bible talks about babies forming in mother’s womb. Does a person have to be formed naturally in a mother’s womb to have a soul? God has a perfect plan. He planned you and knew you before you were even born. But what if the scientist, or Frankenstein, clone or create their own creation or imitation? In most cases, clones still grow in womb, but in an unnatural way. What about recreation? Clones imitate original? Are imitations as good as the originals? The Bible does not say animals have souls, although we may believe that they go to heaven. Does this have anything to do with cloning? Are clones like animals because they did not come about in a natural way? The clone would still be human, with all human parts, just developed in a slightly different way. Does this make a difference when it comes to having a soul and having the ability to gain salvation? “The clone would also be a unique person in the eyes of God. He would have an independent soul and could come to God as any other individual. He is just as capable of attaining salvation from the Lord as is his progenitor, even if the donor rejects the gospel. God would allot him the same value as a member of the human race, and all the admonitions we read in how to treat others would apply here, also.” ("The Christian Position on Cloning." Convincing Christianity. 2005. Come Reason Ministries. 25 Oct. 2005 http://www.comereason.org/sci_bible/sci020.asp.).

Frankenstein’s monster had all parts and feelings of being human, but was not born out of a woman’s womb and was not sexually produced. He was created not in God’s image, but in Victor’s image. He was not accepted because of his appearance. God accepts everyone, no matter what they look like, but is this what happens always with things God considers unacceptable? Cloning has a lot to do with the desires of man. Frankenstein desired to create life in a new being. Desires, otherwise known as temptations in these cases, bring us down. By taking the place of God, desiring to build their own Tower of Babel, and making their own definition of a “person,” Prometheus, Frankenstein, and the creators of cloning are defying God and going against the Bible’s moral standards. In defining life, souls, people, cloning, and creating we get a deep look into how Frankenstein and cloning compare. They are very alike in many ways. These things teach us that life and the universe are unknowable, and are not meant to be completely known. We are not meant to become all-knowing creators. Rather, we are the created – created by God.

Bibliography

("Cloning Fact Sheet ." Human Genome Project Information. 25 Oct. 2005 .).

("The Christian Position on Cloning." Convincing Christianity. 2005. Come Reason Ministries. 25 Oct. 2005 .).

(Edmiston, John. "Has Science Gone Too Far With Cloning?" 25 Oct. 2005 .).

("Frankenstein for Cloning Tech." 25 Oct. 2005 .

Kindness

2007-06-21T12:38:00.002-07:00

Kindness is a love that we show to one another every day. We have a choice on whether to use or not. Some choose to love one another; others decide they will do what seems best fit for the moment. I am here to tell a story about this. It is a short one. One that may not even seem to have much importance or great interest to you, but I believe that, when thought about, we can all learn something from it. For kindness can be something hard to share with others, but when shown, it can be a great honor to your heart; it is what we all know to be right, deep down inside of us. So let me tell you this story and we will just see what you partake of it.

There are many times in my life in which I have had to learn to be kind to a person who has hurt me; I have been hurt many times in my life, but when hurt greater things always seem to come.

I will start with my younger years. When I was but eleven years old, I competed in my first real pageant and surprisingly, won. From then on, I entered in other pageants here and there, never really winning anything because I was not as pretty as a person might think, nor am I even close to being as cute and as beautiful as the other girls; But I am beautiful in my own way and I know that now.

I continued in these efforts, having fun and making friends while I was at it. Some pageants were disappointing and made me cry. I did not feel pretty or like anyone considered some one my size to be beauty pageant material. I did continue, however, with my mother at my side and my father encouraging me all the way. I won a few things here and there, but there were a few experiences that stood out the most to me.

I do not consider myself“Ms. Congeniality”, but I did win the award once in Colorado. That was my favorite pageant ever and I had the most fun there. Other experiences are noteworthy and I would tell you of them, if it were not for the reason of this story being written in the first place.

The year was 1999, and I was off to Florida for two weeks. I was going to spend nine days at the pageant in Orlando at the Marriot Hotel, and another two days at another quaint hotel while visiting Disney World. The pageant: National Preteen. My title: Ms. California. I had a good time overall. I cannot say that I made the best of friends. In fact, I never kept in contact with any of my friends from pageants, unfortunately. The pool at the Marriot was very nice, half inside, half outside and everything inside and out was “fancy”. I must say that after all those years of pageants I do not think I will ever be able to go back to staying at Motel 6 and Days Inn.

At this pageant there were “queens” and princesses”, I was a queen for California. There were girls from every state and one girl in particular from Puerto Rico. I cannot recall her name, only that she is very important to this story.

The pageant went on; I cannot remember much of what happened. I seem to remember that I was disappointed a few times with things, but got over them.

When we went to one event, interview, we were able to vote for a Ms. Congeniality. Now, I have not told you that during this pageant I had no one in particular who I wanted to vote for and in no way was I going to vote for the girl from Puerto Rico, for I had taken a disliking t her. She seemed to my eyes, to be a rude and arrogant girl. Therefore, I voted for someone else and went on with the pageant.

Towards the end of the pageant, all participants began talking about the different awards. I did my speech, gowns, casual wear, talent (which was very hard for me, but I will save that for another story). Back stage there was many girls talking and enjoying themselves in between these events. Some time, for some reason, I took it into my head to do something I did not think I would do. Since the other girls like the girl from Puerto Rico so much, and I thought she was a shoe-in for wining Ms. Congeniality, I thought I would give her a chance. With this in my mind, I went up to her, and although she spoke very little English, said hello. I began to say a few nice things, of which our story is all about, kindness, and began to take her in. I told her how nice she was and how I was sure she was going to win Ms. Congeniality and in this, actually began to like her. All she could say in return was thank you and I could not help but like her then.

Soon it was time for awards. I was sure I would win something. However, when our little show off dance was over, and they began to announce the awards, I knew I could not have won anything. My only chance was for the title. Ms. Congeniality was awarded to some other girl and I was quite surprised too. It was then that they brought an award on stage, they were giving out, that I had not expected. It was called the Pageantry Magazine Spirit Award. The prize was being to someone who was kind, and showed love to others, and someone who the judges and pageant directors thought deserved something like it. To my surprise, the name that was called out was my own and I was awarded The Spirit Award (I later got my picture put in the magazine).

As it turned out, the judges had seen me being kind to the other girls and had decided that I was the one who should get the Spirit award. I would go on, but the rest of what happened matters little in this story.

Now, do not go away thinking that being Kind is something you should do just to get a “Spirit Award”. Being kind is something that comes from the heart and has its own reward in turn. I learned that the girl from Puerto Rico was actually a very nice girl and got a very warm feeling inside because I knew that I had done the right thing. Kindness, love, compassion, forgiveness, God gives us all these things, and has taught me over the years to use them. I think you should use them too. Be the person who stretches herself to do the right thing. God loves you, and so you should show his love to others. May he bless you with this story.

Life

2007-06-21T12:38:00.001-07:00

What is Life?

I asked myself this

As I thought about stabbing myself with a knife

Life is like a kiss

A kiss of friendship

And of love

It can be as tough as a steamship

And as gentle as a dove

But what if you lost it

All that is valuable

There is no life-aid kit

And you are unable

Unable to care

And unable to be kind and nice

Because people tear

They tear apart your feelings and take your lucky dice

Nothing is left

Except for you to die

But then I remember

There is someone out there

There is God who loves you forever

He loves me

And I know that I am cared for

And drop all those grudges of hatred and hurt feelings