If You Really Wanna Know…

Nov10

This morning I was all set to do a review of Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia, and then my heart and soul was convicted instead to write about the COV vaccines. The following is for those who want to know. If you think the vaccines are fine, helpful, and that COV is totally worse than Ebola, this blog post will not be for you. If you, however, have started to question the current narrative and have been alarmed that this is all starting to sound a little bit like The Matrix, V for Vendetta, 1984, and Revelation combined (and The Hunger Games, and Animal Farm, and…okay, you get the idea), I’m hoping to have some helpful information for you. Please note: I am firmly anti-vaccine and proud of it. I talk a little bit about that later on.

What are all these weird medical things going on? Why are so many people dropping dead or having heart attacks in the middle of sporting events? Why are they adding elements to the COV vaccine for kids to make sure they don’t have a heart problem? Why is it an order to get vaccinated, not a choice?

First of all: Do Not Fear. Maybe you’ve started to find news that the powers that be don’t want you to have and are starting to get scared. Don’t. This universe and this world has a Creator God. If you’re a Christian you know Him well, and even if you’re not, He loves you, knows you, and ultimately wants you to turn to Him for salvation. Because He wants all people to be saved, sometimes He allows us to deal with the consequences of our actions. He brings us to a point where we learn to trust Him, not the world, not the government, not even our families. Understand God’s ultimate goal in creating everything was this story of salvation, and if you want to know more about, just start reading the Bible. If you’re not a Christian, understand as many have, that at this point in history, it may become vital to your survival to align with Christians. The people behind all of this are working with true evil. They do not care about you, your body, or your soul. Sadly, many Christians don’t understand what’s going on, either, and I’m sure the reasons for that varies person by person. Just understand that there are no perfect people, much less Christians, except for the Son of God and Son of Man, our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the reason I can say, Do Not Fear. It’s not because of myself, or the church, which, honestly, is tragically MIA in all of this.

That brings me to the second thing: Trusting in God doesn’t mean doing nothing. For example, at this time, many people are losing their jobs or giving them up. They now have great opportunities to find a way, whatever way they can to get out from under the thumb of the evil men. Maybe that means living with less or making less. Maybe it means starting a business that can’t be shut down or canceled so easily. Maybe it just means witnessing one’s faith. It can mean a lot of things. For me, I can tell you, I’m praying a lot for everyone. It’s on my mind. For Christians, prayer is the best tool that we have. God answers our prayers; He hears us when our Congressional representatives won’t and don’t. Will all this end up in a great, physical war? I don’t know, but it’s best to be prepared, both spiritually and mentally, for that possibility.

Third thing: As far as physically doing something apart from prayer. Do not comply. As far as you can do not comply with the faux laws and rules of COV. These laws are both ungodly and unjust and have one aim in mind, which is to enslave all of humanity. Along with that, talk with like-minded people, if you can find them, and witness to those who have questions, and who are starting to wonder. We who are Christians and awake to what’s going on can give so, so much comfort at this time. And neither COV or vaccines necessarily has to be mentioned.

So, onto the really wanna know part. It’s not really the steak of this post, as I said everything is found in God, in Christ. The knowledge of our salvation is really all we need, but for survival in this world in 2021, soon to be 2022, there are a few more things that may be helpful.

Information. Maybe you’re starting to realize your news sources are not giving you the whole truth, or they are only covering certain things, or seem to have a certain agenda. Perhaps you’ve not quite concluded yet that they are lying to you. Perhaps you or someone you know has had a very bad experience after getting vaccinated and perhaps you’re starting to wonder why both the government and the pharmaceutical companies aren’t really that transparent with their information. Happily, there are places online on can go to, and smart people one can follow who have the information being denied you. Amazingly, many are scientist, doctors, and the like. They do not agree with Fauci, they do not agree with the CDC, the WHO, etc. The “science,” if it is that, is not settled by any means. Well, perhaps it is, but one must then conclude that the people continuing to push the vaccines are then evil. And they are. Whether they know it themselves or not they are evil and doing evil.

Here are some helpful places to find hidden news and more information: gab.com, Amazing Polly, The Highwire, The Conservative Treehouse, The Stew Peters show, and well, so, so many people to follow on Gab. Gab is basically like a Twitter/Facebook site and if you haven’t heard about it, it’s because the people on it generally are not the suited politician types, or Fox News, or Breitbart types. It is now well known among many of us who follow alternative news that much of the mainstream Republicans and conservatives are compromised. Many are simply grifters, just looking for donations and they find people a bit hostile to that on Gab. Many are really not what they say they are, and some are paid to keep you watching them and getting angry, but then not doing anything about what’s going on. By that I mean, referencing above, they are taking away your time from prayers and meaningful connections with people who need you desperately in their lives. These people are why many don’t follow politics, because this kind of following is largely a waste of time. Indeed, even following actual, true news, too much, is a waste of our God-given time. I’m promoting Gab because they can’t be canceled or shut down at this time. They have taken great steps and risks in order to do this, and the owner, Andrew Torba, is a Christian, and he is on a mission to help at least have a place where people can speak the truth freely. That does means the site isn’t suited and sanitary. There’s a lot of junk to wade through, but Gab certainly isn’t unique in that. That’s just social media.

People. Here’s a few of the people I follow on Gab. Some post often, some nary at all. This list is just the people who talk about vaccines and the actual facts behind them: Amazing Polly, Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, Dr. Mercola, Dr. Zev Zelenko, Stew Peters, The Highwire with Del Bigtree, Dr. Simone Gold, Steve Kirsch, Dr. Stella Emmanuel, Cory Lynn of Corey’s Digs , Dr. Robert Malone who helped infect the mRNA technology, independent journalist Sheryl Attkisson, Project Veritas. I can tell you that what they say is very, very different from what your government, the CDC, and companies like Pfizer are telling you. Sometimes it’s that the people and sites I follow share pertinent info from articles they found. Vox Day is great for this–he is a great writer and entrepreneur, as is The Conservative Treehouse. TCT had this great link to reporter Emerald Robinson’s substack. Yes, it sounds like science-fiction and Revelation stuff, but maybe that’s where we are. These things that are not actually vaccines, are evil.

There are a plethora of people, alternative news sites and the like to follow. The more one navigates these waters, the easier it is to find the people who do their research and who prove their reliability. A lot of these people honed their skills by following so-called conspiracy theories and even movements like Q, which proved to be a useful research starting point, but sadly, not much else. I followed the Q posts, or Q-anon posts, and on the one hand you can say I was really gullible. On the other hand, I found a lot of great people who do awesome research, and that a lot of the actual info shared by Q was true! Also, we still don’t really know who or what Q actually was. Some still think maybe Q’s plan to save the world could come true. If that happens, great, but our faith should be in God, and His salvation of the world is way better. Be aware also, that a lot of online accounts are just trolls and bots. Trolls are less worrisome than bots, bots are there to support the narrative of someone and often to gaslight people. Trolls are annoying and just like to get you upset as their entertainment. If all this is sounding a bit like wading through a battle, it is, it absolutely is. We are in a huge information war, the likes of which we’ve never seen before, because unlike in the past, we can still find the info that the powers that be don’t want us to have. By the grace of God.

The best place for vaccine news is definitely The Highwire. Vaccine news is what they’re all about and they have a weekly show every Thursday afternoon. It is well worth watching.

Critical Thinking. Don’t want to wade the waters of alternative media? Just follow the mainstream media and government websites like the CDC with a critical eye. You will quickly many agendas on display that are not for your own good and you’ll find journalists bending over backwards not to say the truth of things, but using a double speak that would make Orwell proud. Sometimes just questioning, just using critical thinking is enough of a start. The rest will follow.

Help. Horrified that you took a COV shot and want to detox from it? Many of the people and doctors mentioned above are great resources for ways you can detox. I’m not sure if you can completely reset your body from this, but, again, God always helps us find a way and, I think, often thwarts the plans of the wicked. These doctors and scientists have great advice in general on good health. Other doctors I recommend following are Dr. Ken Berry and Dr. Jason Fung, who are both on Youtube.

Parallel Economies. One way to get out of this authoritarian nightmare taking over can be to break away from the system as much as possible, to create parallel economies that can help tide people over if or when everything collapses and until a better system can be built. Gab has a lot of resources for this and promotes small businesses who are trying to make it outside the system. Even Youtube is still helpful in this area: There’s Dave Ramsey for getting out of debt, the doctors I mention above, and loads of prepper and do-i-it-yourself types of videos on there. But keep in mind, it’s valuable to focus on the newer, freedom minded sites like Gab TV, Bitchute, Rumble, etc. They aren’t perfect, but no site or business is.

More about me. I used to schedule people for these vaccines up until quite recently. I thought, maybe I am naive and that maybe the conspiracy people are wrong, but over time, God convicted my heart to stop. To stop participating in the lies and the harm I was doing to people. It was not an easy decision to make, but I was glad once I did it. Since the whole gaslighting that was the fake toilet paper shortage in March of 2020, I’ve known that COV wasn’t whatever the powers that be say it is. It has been frustrating, to say the least, to watch Americans cave so easily to both fear and stupidity, and to so easily give up their freedoms. But then, God woke me up early to the dangers of vaccines. I am not vaccine skeptic, I am anti-vaccine and proud of it. There is zero liability on these things from either the manufacturers or really the government. Zero. They are not safe, which is the first thing, and their effectiveness has been in question from the beginning. That this is not just the COV vaccines, that this is ALL vaccines, is a conclusion that many, so many now, are on the verge of making. It’s there, we’re so, so close to understanding, sorrowfully, just how much misplaced trust we have in sinful human beings. This is what I mean when I say sometimes God has us deal with the consequences of our actions. We have been weak for awhile now, letting good times stop us from being watchful and alert.

Questioning. Do I question myself on all this? Yes! I would be happy to find out that all the sources and info above are wrong and that my loved ones who took the vaccines are safe. However, that’s just not where the facts are going. I’m so, so glad that a few years ago I questioned my own trust in vaccines and the medical and scientific establishment. So, so glad. Maybe it’s time for you, too, if you’ve been confident in “science” and the “government” (I put them it quotes, because both elements of society have fallen away from their purpose), maybe it’s time for you to question your beliefs and sources at this critical time. It could save your life and the lives of your children. Even God, the creator of everything, asks us to question Him, to test the Scriptures to see if they are true. If the powers that be demand not to be questioned, that is a huge, red light to question them even more. If you really wanna know the truth, it’s out there, God will help you find it. It’s not always easy to believe or to sort through everything: Sometimes good people come to the wrong conclusions, or they don’t have enough data, and so on; but I think, I hope, it’s fast becoming clear to a majority around the world that whatever this COV mess is, it isn’t about health, and if it’s about good intentions, it’s paving the way straight to hell, if not the actual Hell, then at the very least hell on earth for all of us.

Lastly, Do Not Fear. If God is for us, who can be against us? And He is certainly for us and wants us to be in heaven with Him. Yes, you’ve been lied to. You’ve had the truth hidden from you. Both for nefarious purposes. None of us can fathom in the coming months the level of anger and betrayal people will feel. God will help us make it right. He will help us move forward when everything else is telling us to despair. We have a hope that is beyond this fallen world. Do Not Fear.

The Chronicles of Narnia, Book Three, The Horse and His Boy

Nov4

In reading this book, I realized that, no, I’ve never actually read the whole thing before. For many, this is their favorite of the Chronicles of Narnia series. It was an enjoyable read, and pretty funny in parts, although I though the latter part dragged a bit, but then I always tend to think that about many stories.

The story largely takes place in Calormen, a neighboring country to Narnia with a strip of a country called Archenland between them. If Narnia represents English/Western culture, Calormen represent Arabia or Middle Eastern culture. As Narnia is our hero country, its culture is of course portrayed as superior to Calormen’s. This essentially connects to C.S. Lewis’s allegory that runs throughout the series that the lion Aslan who created Narnia is a stand in for Jesus. Because Calormen doesn’t follow Aslan, their culture is thus inferior. As a Christian, I can agree with then. Generally, cultures rooted in Christianity have more regard for human life, for example. Sadly, my own county and culture has been in hot pursuit of ungodly things for a long time.

The whole clash of countries and cultures really stood out to me in this book, as we have both our hero, Shasta, and his friend, Aravis, trying to espcape the country and culture they grew up in, desiring the peace and freedom that Narnia offers. We eventually find that Shasta is from Archenland by birth, and is royalty to boot. Although Archenland isn’t Narnia, their culture is closer to Narnia than Calormen’s and Aslan walks there. Calormen revolves around tyrants and slaves, forcing people to do things, etc., so it’s not surprising that those enslaved or forced to do things against their will would want to escape. Also, got a kick out of the Calormen’s referring to Narnian King Edmund as the “White Barbarian King,” and the ridiculous way Edmund and Susan talk.

The names in this book are spot on, especially Shasta–kept thinking of the soft drink–and the villain Rabadash. I had sympathy for the latter, the handsome, young prince, who for once couldn’t get his way. Aravis was great as well, smart and athletic, and of course she becomes BFFs with Lucy. Yes, that is the really cool part of The Horse and His Boy – we get to see Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy in their time as the reigning kings and queens of Narnia. It’s great to see them as young adults and to think eventually they will go back to England and become children again. It’s great also to see Aslan show up at the end and see how defiant Rabadash is to the end, even against the great lion. He is to be pitied.

The talking horses Bree and Hwin were great and, for me, a lot more interesting than some of the talking animals in Narnia thus far. Their interactions and statements were often hilarious. And how clever to frame the story with the title The Horse and His Boy, rather than the Boy and His Horse. Gives us great insight into the talking horses and how they view themselves.

The desert trek was great, as was the mixup with Shasta and Corin, as was the whole thing with Queen Susan being wooed by Rabadash. She must have been so disappointed to find he wasn’t someone she could marry and only wanted to get control of Narnia. I suppose that’s a major drawback of being royalty, you’re not wanted for yourself much of the time. The whole journey through Archenland was where I kind of lost interest, and I didn’t quite get the purpose of the Hermit. Perhaps I will have to read it again sometime and start in the middle and keep my focus going. Again, the ending was great with Rabadash and Aslan and I love how Shasta and Aravis quarrel so much they end up getting married. Some couples really find enjoyment in arguing with each other.

All in all, I can see why for some this is their favorite Chronicles of Narnia book. It has a lot of adventure involved and we get to see many familiar faces. It’s also full of humor that both kids and adults can grasp and enjoy, and the allegory isn’t too overbearing.

Horrible Prosperity

Nov2

It is said that good times make men weak. The original quote is much longer from author G. Michael Hopf in his 2017 book, Those Who Remain. The entire quote is truth gold, but it is the first concept, the fact that prosperity ultimately makes men weak, that has many pondering today, including me. Never has the idea seemed more true or applicable than this year.

Without a doubt in my mind we are at a crossroads in the world, including my beloved country, the United States of America. It is a time when a large section of the world’s power is now firmly in the hands of criminals and tyrants. In the past, the world went through times like these as well, but technology plays a far larger role today, solidifying power in ways never before seen.

In a sinful world, there is something truly horrible about prosperity. This horribleness is, I think, what Jesus was referring to in the book of Mark when he said it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Prosperous people fall prey to the sin of pride, thinking they did everything on their own and forgetting that all they have, including their very selves, come from God. They, too, forget about their sinfulness and start thinking that somehow they can earn their way to heaven. The truth is a sinful human being can never earn his or way into heaven. It is only by the holy life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that any of us can enter heaven. But how easy in good times it is to forget this!

Salvation aside, good times are dangerous in this world for other reasons as well. They do indeed make men (and their women) weak. How easy it is to spend far too much of one’s time consuming instead of building, of devouring stories instead of creating them. In America, we are now having to remember that our freedoms are not free: they are kept only by our watchfulness and diligence, our sweat, blood, and tears. The criminals in power in this country are in power for one reason: We, as a people, were and are weak. We decided we didn’t have time to be involved in local politics and our school boards. We figured our checks and balances in governance would simply take care of themselves. Not so. We must hold our leaders’ feet to the fire. It is our duty, and I think would be so whether one lives under a king or a representative republic. But in this age of online cancelation culture, it is increasingly difficult to bring the criminals to account. Civilization itself is actually on the precipice. The criminals pushing for a one world government do not understand how far even they will fall should things continue. But maybe they do understand and maybe they are just evil enough not to care. Perhaps destroying everything is their joy. Oh, how, we have failed in keeping their power in check!

We who believe in freedom, truth, and God’s goodness, who find joy in the Lord, are now having to find new ways of getting the truth out, about what’s going on, about the dangers of vaccines, about, well, everything. We haven’t yet reached a point in which the Gospel is banned, but that won’t be far off if things continue. We don’t have to fear this, for we have God and he is certainly for us, and we know that his goal is to bring everyone to faith and salvation in him. How I long to have everything better again, everything good again. But then, then we would all become weak again. It is simply human nature. So now I pray for better times, but not too good of times that we lose sight of what’s really important. God is teaching us so many important lessons through all of this.

It is embarrassing just how weak we have been and still are. Evil only got this far because of us. God allowed it to take advantage of our weakness. But God’s goal is the same as always: Love. He wishes for us to turn to him and remember how much he loves us and how much we need him. He wishes for all men to be strong again, finding their strength in him alone. For those not afraid to face what’s coming, they are already changing, becoming stronger men and women. They are finding ways to get the truth out and the courage to speak it. They are finding that a job is less important than the truth and being able to make one’s own decisions in life. They are finding that being healthy is more important than being wealthy. They are learning not to trust the evil powers that be, but to trust in the Creator God. They are building new businesses and social platforms outside of the mainstream, parallel economies, and new, better ways of life. They are becoming “good” again. And so, if enough men do this, perhaps we shall have good times again. But, as good times make weak men and weak men make bad times, I, again, hope and pray our success and prosperity only goes so far. I pray we may have enough trouble and adversity to keep us sober minded and alert. I pray we keep that incentive to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the forefront of our hearts and minds until we breathe our last breaths. It’s strange to be thinking this way, to be praying this way, but if 2020 brought out the clarity of lies to many people, so 2021 is now the year to act on that. To pray in alliance with God’s will and God’s purposes, not our own any longer.

Even in these crazy times of 2021, with so much rampant stealing of public funds, of lying to the public about sickness and health, even with so many being forced out of great jobs, the majority of us may still have it too good to wake up to the truth of what’s happening around us. How many still think that the events around them won’t eventually touch them and affect their lives? How many still foolishly trust that the Godless authorities still have our good in mind? We are still, so, so weak, and God wants us to be strong, to be strong especially in him. And that’s not going to happen unless we face the consequences of our weakness. Weak men make bad times, often very bad times, and we may have to face truly bad times all around in the very near future. I don’t say this to scare you, and I don’t say this because I’m scared. I say this so we can prepare our minds and hearts for what’s to come. It is only faith and trust in God that will help us walk through the fire. He is our light when “all other lights go out.” Indeed, even if civilization falls, we can have some comfort in the fact that it is a civilization that has forsaken God that will fall. If we turn to and rely on him, God will bless us, will help us find a way, perhaps even to thrive, but hopefully not too well and not for too long, for it is harsh times, bad times, that spark men into becoming good and strong again. And we desperately need our men, and their women, to become strong again and to stay strong to spread that precious Word of Christ. Yet, as Christians, we do know that even in our weakness, maybe especially in our weakness, God uses us to show that he is the true power and joy of the universe.

So, although I welcome prosperity in my life and all our lives at some point, I also find it rather horrible, too.

Updates: Crazy week ahead

Oct23

As I’ve picked up some seasonal hours this week and am working every single day, I won’t likely have energy to post this coming week. I still am enjoying both Yumi’s Cells (also plan to read the webtoon), and Kairos, and also the webtoon CinnamonRoll. Elantris is a good read so far, but a little slow, and The Possessed is just all of the usual Dostoevsky weirdness. “See” you again after Reformation, aka Halloween. –Pixie

The Chronicles of Narnia, Book Two, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Oct19

Like Agatha Christie, C.S. Lewis is great at describing the character of people, more than their appearance. Especially for new writers, it’s easy to get overly anxious about describing what the characters and people look like, rather than focusing on who they are and how they act. How someone looks is important, but how someone acts is more important, especially in a good story.

But that’s all just an aside. Today I will be reviewing The Chronicles of Narnia, book two, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, or LWW, because my typing fingers are tired today. The beginning of this book is a classic in fantasy. Is there any better beginning than Lucy hiding in the wardrobe and finding Narnia? It’s almost a cliche reference at this point, so engrained is it in western society. In the fairly recent movie remake of this by Disney this scene and also when Lucy meets Mr. Tumnus, the faun, they did almost perfectly. Whoever cast James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus should be congratulated, as he is one of the best actors out there. Also, remember LWW was the first book written and published in the series, and an awesome beginning. I don’t think if The Magician’s Nephew had been published first the series would have been quite so popular. LWW has more action and thankfully lacks the creepy uncle.

Despite liking this book very much, there’s so much of the story that as a kid I found tedious and boring and as an adult as well. Always at the point when the kids reach the Beavers’ house everything slows down and I have to take a break from the book. Something about animals in stories, even talking ones bores me to tears. Although I like animals, I wouldn’t describe myself as an animal lover and have never owned a pet, so perhaps that is the heart of the problem.

More striking in the book and the series as a whole: Lewis does not shrink from blood, fighting, battle, none of it. And sometime’s it’s almost shocking to think this is in a “kids” book, but I like that it is, and it’s good that it is. It’s also refreshing to have the boys doing the big fighting here. The girls also do not insist on fighting to prove something for all women. Men are generally better and more interested in physical fighting than women are. That’s okay. We understand from Susan’s and Lucy’s characters that they are capable and willing to fight if necessary. Susan with her bow and arrows, Lucy with her faith and persistence. Lewis’s complete embrace of fantasy is also refreshing. It’s okay for fauns, satyrs, nyphms, etc., to exist, even in a “Christian” work.

Speaking of Christianity, although Aslan isn’t a perfect stand in for Jesus Christ, the lion is a great symbol of our Savior and his sacrifice for all mankind. Because we have such a strong sense of justice built into us, it is often hard to reconcile someone dying to save others. The “others” feel unworthy. That’s okay, we are unworthy, but our feelings of that should quickly just be gratitude. We can’t earn salvation and we’re not going to earn salvation and faith helps us make peace with those feelings. Edmund is saved and forgiven and becomes a stronger young man, one who easily thereafter steps into being a king of Narnia. I also like the picture of a lion to reference Christ because we all too often think of Jesus being harmless and really, he is the Son of God, the most powerful being in the universe, and although he is loving, he is also the most dangerous person in same universe.

Reading this book reminded me that I still haven’t ever tried Turkish Delight. I have always wondered what this wonderful dessert is that Edmund eats. Maybe it was common in England back when this story was written, but today in America it’s just not something really around. Perhaps it goes under a different name here. I don’t really know. Anyway, it’s on my bucket list of things to try. Now, if it was Tiramisu, I would instantly understand the addiction.

I still really like the idea of the White Witch and how she’s controlled Narnia for long, as I do the parts seeing when her power fails and things are beginning to melt, but Jadis just isn’t really as interesting a villain to me as she was in The Magician’s Nephew. Probably because I already know she’s going to fail and will only be a footnote in Narnia history thereafter. As a side note, the casting for the White Which in the Disney movie was so off, despite Tilda Swinton being a very good actress.

All in all, I enjoyed the LWW, but was really looking forward to book five, the Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The ending, however, is truly marvelous. The four siblings stay in Narnia and become kings and queens in it. They live there for years upon years–who know how many year–and then one day rediscover the lamppost stuck in the ground and then the back of the wardrobe that leads back to our world. Upon arriving, they are kids again, and it’s only a few seconds or minutes since they left! They quickly revert back to being kids again, but their adult lives in Narnia are sort of always with them, maybe like our courage and strength in our daydreams are always with us, too. I sorta like the ridiculous way they talk as adults in Narnia. I mean, if one is going to be a king or queen in a fantasyland, one has to do it right and completely.

How Bad Is It?

Oct17

I continue sharing these things in the hope of keeping people informed. Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Government are all bent on hiding information from we, the people, about the safety and efficacy of not only this new vaccines, but all vaccines. Dr. Peter McCullough: Therapeutic Nihilism and Untested Novel Therapies. Presented to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons on October 2nd, 2021. They know this harmful and they know what they are doing. Plan accordingly for your families and God be with you always.

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Oct15

This is a great video showing exactly how bad it is for anyone to have too much power. Conspiracies are not theories, but reality on a staggering scale. At the end of the day, I feel bad for these people. They have literally gained the whole world, but lost everything, especially salvation and eternal life in the world to come in heaven. They are as foolish, perhaps more so, than those who built the Tower of Babel so long ago. Christians ultimately have little to fear from these people, but we can do what we can to resist and stop them from harming our fellow human beings. The first and best weapon we have is prayer and I pray daily that God would thwart the plans of the wicked. Monopoly, Who Owns the World?

The Chronicles of Narnia, Book One, The Magician’s Nephew

Oct14

In my rereading of The Chronicles of Narnia, I just finished book six and am onto book seven, so might as well begin my reviews. C.S. Lewis doesn’t disappoint. He has such great ways of describing things and was also such a thinker of his time, but also a forward, big picture, thinker. Both are reflected in his writing.

The Magician’s Nephew

Copyrighted 1955. This is actually the second book Lewis wrote in The Chronicles of Narnia, but in order of the series timeline, the first. It is the creation story of Narnia. This one has always been in my top three of the Narnia books and even now, I’m still not sure if I like this or The Silver Chair better. This is the story of how Digory and his neighbor Polly run into Digory’s wicked uncle and end up in fantasyland.

Although there’s something about this story that always feels unformed to me, I think it works in the series as a whole, for on the one hand the plot is merely a precursor to the the next book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. On the other hand, in it’s own right The Magician’s Nephew deals very well with sin and evil. As the series is a Christian allegory, the sins of Digory, Uncle Andrew, and the rest are fully on display here, echoing the fall of humanity into sin in the Garden of Eden. It’s a good foreshadowing of more mistakes, temptations, and evil to come with the rest of the series, but also the promise that Aslan, a stand-in for God, or more specifically, for Jesus Christ, will reconcile everything and make it good again.

The magic green and yellow rings always fascinated me in this book, as did the long row of houses and how Polly and Digory move from one to the other in the attics and accidentally find Uncle Andrew’s office. Speaking of him, Uncle Andrew is seriously creepy! It’s an entirely different experience looking at him from an adult perspective rather than the child and young adult I was when I first read the series. He’s a gamma if there ever was one, even later thinking that the witch, Jadis, would fall in love with him. What a riot! Even to the end, he calls her a “dem fine woman.” Today he would totally be a male feminist. Uncle Andrew’s also so proud to be a super special secret magician, not once considering that just because one can do something, doesn’t mean that should do something. He perfectly embodies the mad scientists of today with their gain of function research and other monstrous experiments. Ironically, Uncle Andrew is important. Without him, the rest of the series wouldn’t have happened. Just as if Adam and Even hadn’t fallen, our great awesome salvation story wouldn’t have happened? Well, it’s interesting to think about, anyway.

The dying world Jadis comes from is interesting in its emptiness and of course Digory just has to ring that bell. I would be the same. It would be too tempting. As for the new world just beginning, I love the way Lewis describes Aslan and the creation of Narnia here. It’s a cool way to picture what the creation of our own world might have looked like.

Jadis is a haughty, evil diva. She is a more worthy opponent than evil guys like Uncle Andrew. She is through and through a villain. So is Andrew, but he’s so pitiful, one would rather just avoid him. Okay, now I can’t decide which kind of evil is worse, the one one you know you should confront right away, or the one that is awful, but doesn’t seem worth fighting, at least at first. Both have their place and both have been used throughout the world’s history.

I also like how Lewis embraces fantasy–really embraces it with all the weird creatures, not thinking them bad or wrong, but they could possibly exist. God could/could have create/d the and that would be just fine. Great, even. He can embrace it, because he has a good root, a sure faith in the real world and truth. I also like how humble people like cabbies can become kings. And what an awesome origin story for the lamppost!

As for the overly religious part: I like how Lewis deals a bit with the Tree of Life and how later Aslan tells Digory that if he had given some to his mother both would have regretted it. We don’t often really seriously think about what would have happened if Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Life after Eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Imagine the constantly degrading world, constantly decaying, one’s body decaying and giving out and then not even being able to die. A whole different ball of wax than what we have now. In The Magician’s Nephew, Digory ultimately resists the temptation. This is a test from Aslan, a way to right Digory’s wrong of bringing Jadis to this world. I am happy he passes the test. I wish we could all pass the tests given to us, but it takes great faith, courage, and humbleness. The sacrifice of God necessary to truly atone for sin, Lewis leaves, or rather, wrote first in the second book that introduces us to the future kings and queens of Narnia: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy.

And, cooly, Lewis slips in that Digory is The Professor in the next book and how the wood from Narnia was made into the magical wardrobe from The Lion, the Witch, and the….

On Writing Stories

Oct12

The magic of writing or telling stories is that one doesn’t always know how the stories are going to end up. A drama could suddenly become a thriller, a western could morph in sci-fi, a procedural could be entwined with a romance. Characters are also unpredictable. Many have lives of their own and just sort of take off. Some authors I supposed wrangle them into fitting into a neat and orderly outline or a textbook journey of the hero, but for me it’s fun to see where they take me. Sometimes I do make outlines, but more often than not completely forget about them. That is probably a horrible way to write that one would never teach in creative writing, but I enjoy it. I enjoy keeping what outline there may be simply in my head and imagination, replaying possibilities over and over in my head until they finally turn out on paper.

A big tragedy for me is coming up with an excellent title. Often I have a title first and then think of the story later. Once I wrote what was going to be sprawling epic fantasy and hadn’t ironed out the title first. Because I couldn’t come up with a good enough title, I just wasn’t truly into finishing the story after awhile, no matter how awesome it–maybe–was. Likewise, my heart almost breaks when I can’t think of a story to go along with a great title.

Some writers can write all day, or at least every day from nine to five. Not me. I find I write best in sprints of 500-1,000 words and after that mark is hit it’s as if my writing spirit is exhausted. Continual practice helps, but I practice writing in odd times, often if I’m almost too busy, and then often when I finally have a good break to think and meditate. A truly jam-packed schedule is a definite deterrent, but so is too many empty hours of free time. It’s horrible how stories call to me at the most inopportune times and yet I love it. I love how the characters and scenes crowd into my head and I really start to envision them as if, yes, this is something I could actually write down.

Right now I am working on Trolls for Dust, Season Three and also an intriguing short story, the plot of which is a bit tricky, but interesting. With NaNoWriMo coming soon, it’s a good time to push myself with writing and really see if I can produce more. Cold weather is helpful for being productive. It also makes me want to hibernate, but that’s entirely due to the amazing invention of indoor heating, of hot drinks that go so well with sugar, and binge-worthy stories that my fellow wonderful writers continually create. The coziness equals couch hibernation.

Speaking of binge-worthy stories: I am enjoying Elantris by Brandon Sanderson, and also the kdramas Yumi’s Cells and Kairos. And, who is looking forward to Dune coming out soon? Me, me, me!

Kdrama partial Review: Yumi’s Cells

Oct5

What is really going on in people’s heads, especially men and women, and especially when it comes to romance? Kdrama Yumi’s Cells takes this literally, showing in animation the feelings and thoughts the main characters are experiencing. It is quite entertaining, to say the least, but the drama is only six episodes in, so I’m a little worried the writers won’t be able to sustain the awesome momentum they have going on.

Fortunately, Yumi’s Cells is based on a webtoon, so has a solid source to play off of and use. Starring drama It Girl, Kim Go-Eun (Goblin, Eternal Monarch) and handsome Ahn Bo-Hyun (Kairos), the story follows a slightly boring and depressed Kim Yu-Mi as she searches for love once again. Despite her depression and fear, Yumi is really not afraid to keep trying, and that hope is ultimately great to see. Kim nails her acting as usual. Ahn’s acting is a bit expressionless at times, but he plays his character well, a smart dude who needs a push from a friend to jump into dating. After that he’s all for it, and although I think I’ve grown past the Shaggy, Scooby-Doo look since college, his long hair has grown on me over the episodes. The chemistry between the two is great and both know how to kiss onscreen, always a plus.

The X factor with this show are the cells, computer animations of what Yumi and other characters are thinking and feeling. At first they just seemed like annoying decoration, but over the story I’ve come to really like them and they are super funny. Important note: These are not cartoons for kids. The show isn’t super smutty or anything–at least not presently–but it is clearly a drama and animation for adults, not children. One will either love or hate the cells, and if you find yourself hating them, this show will not be for you. It’s certainly not a new concept, but probably something that hasn’t been done in an entire TV show before.

The humor in the show is pretty spot on as it deals largely with romance and the different approaches men and women have, as well as the misunderstandings. These are things most of us can relate to, especially the embarrassing parts, and makes for an addictive watch. So far the minor characters aren’t really standouts to me, any passible actor could play them, but I like the soundtrack, the writing, and the flip-flopping between the drama and the animation. The fact that Yumi and her love are kinda boring on the outside actually works great with the fireworks going on in their insides. Wonderful contrast, and, again, relatable for a lot of people, especially us emotion-filled women. Looking forward to seeing where it’s going and hoping the show can keep up the good momentum. Only on viki.com.