Jun. 23, 2006
A pun is the lowest form of humor. At least, that was one of my Dad's pet phrases, especially right after he'd punned.
But perhaps there's a lower form of humor. It comes out of Hollywood, often in the guise of "family films".
It was our anniversary this week (20-something), and dh wanted to do dinner and a movie. I'd go along with that. (*g*) He asked me about movies. I checked the Sunday paper. (Newspapers: a whole 'nother topic.) He went to a popular Christian website with movie reviews and read the reviews for the two G-rated movies I found: Cars and Over the Hedge.
He wasn't all that excited about Cars, from the description in the review. He laughed out loud at the review of Hedge, and so that's the movie we decided to see.
As I recall, it was this same Christian movie review site that gave a glowing review of Princess Diaries. (We took the kids to that one, after all, it was G-rated and got a glowing review on a Christian site. Did the reviewer see the same film that we did? We walked out within the first ten minutes.) Actually, I didn't recall that until Hedge ended.
Granted, there were a few chuckles in the movie. But the overall message of the movie was that Man is evil and Animals are, for the most part, virtuous (except when they've been corrupted by Man - as in the case of the bear and the raccoon characters, by becoming hooked on junk food).
Who was the villain in the piece? A hard-working homeowner, who likely had paid an enormous sum for her beautiful home and was likely working extra hours to make the mortgage and car payments. Certainly I didn't identify with her, much - she was high-powered, talked incessantly on a cell phone, drove a shiny new car and had a shiny new house with a landscaped yard and was evidently a single career woman, very outspoken and pushy. (Don't get me wrong. I know outspoken and pushy homeschool moms too. I'm just not usually outspoken and pushy... though I've become convicted that sometimes I'm rude and pushy when I'm focused on asking a question of a homeschool workshop speaker who is already carrying on a conversation with someone. But that, too, is another story.)
The other villain in the piece was a sadistic exterminator. Pretty sad when the kiddos identify more with thieving, nuisance animals than the working everyman. Okay, so the occasional blue-collar worker or entrepreneur running his own service business might be a sadistic so-and-so. But you'd never know that this was an exception, not The Way of the World, watching this movie. I know, I know. Movies exaggerate things to make humorous points. But...
I remember the struggles our neighbor had with raccoons that kept raiding her backyard pond. (My dh helped her to dig that little pond!) She had beautiful huge goldfish that she'd raised from pet-store feeder fish. She had tree frogs and a big bullfrog that would sing to her at night. Operative word "had". The racoons cleaned her out. I guess that this retired teacher's aide would have been portrayed as the villainess in this movie, for putting electric wire all around her pond in a last, desperate measure to keep the raccoons from eating all of the re-re-stocked fish.
I know what you're thinking. "Lighten up! It's only a movie."
But I heard a comment last week from one of the little ones that got me thinking. "Man is evil," she said. Now theologically, there is something to be said for Original Sin and the Fall and corruption and all that. But she wasn't talking theologically, as I found when I asked her what she meant. She meant that Man, coming into the forest, was Evil and all the animals were Good. She was getting her worldview from "Bambi", you see.
Over the Hedge reinforces that worldview. Sure, it's just a movie. But how many children are taking home the idea that Man is Evil and Animals are Good, the same thing that we're seeing acted out by eco-terrorists and those who think that a worldwide outbreak of Ebola that wiped out nine-tenths of the world's people would be the best thing since sliced bread?
Am I overreacting? Or did the frog just jump out of the pot? The water's getting warmer... (How ironic, that movies with "overt religious themes" - meaning Christianity, of course - are now to be rated PG so that parents can carefully consider whether they want to expose their children to such influences.)
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Jun. 16, 2006
Mothering (Maybe not what you'd think)
"Mother Nature's not cooperating..." blared the radio news. Dh likes to have it on so he can hear it while he's taking his morning shower, and so I can hear it all the way on this side of the house without having to stir.
The reporter was talking about a local balloon festival, grounded because of the forecast for high winds and rain later in the day.
And it struck me... if our children had been awake at the time, there would have been immediate protests and expressions of scorn. "There's no such thing as Mother Nature! They don't know what they're talking about!" (Which reaction I think, on pondering anew, I need to temper with a little mercy. Perhaps we ought to pray together, immediately after the initial outburst dies down, that our Creator will open the reporter's eyes to the Truth.)
Anyhow, a voice from the past swam up into the forepart of my brain just now. "It's not *nice* to fool Mother Nature!" Are you old enough to remember that television commercial, that somehow established residence in the background of my thoughts when I was about the same age as my dc are now?
And I think about how much farther along our dc are, than I was at the same age.
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Jun. 15, 2006
Homeschool planners for Charlotte Mason and Classical styles
...while we're on the topic of planning... (am carrying on conversations--I don't think I've actualy *posted* about planning, but I have commented on it on other blogs)
...and these planners may well work for *other* than Charlotte Mason and Christian Classical Education, it's just that CM/CCE is sort of what we're doing...
Just wanted to let you know about a couple of planners I've used in the past few years. One is from Kunker Hill Publications. I don't have the whole planner, but I've used the school planner ($10.50 for plain white, $12.00 for pretty colors). Probably not too useful for using with students under age 10 (I found the range of subjects rather intimidating with our little ones) but I may use it when they reach age 12 or so.
The other one is the Tanglewood Corebook. I ordered it last year ($10), and liked it enough to want to order it again this year, only to find that they are now offering downloads of the Corebook in a *pdf file with unlimited printing privileges for your family, and only for $5.25! The link below has sample pages and suggestions for using the planner.
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Jun. 12, 2006
Good Monday!
I meant, "Good Morning!" but since I haven't been here in a week, the greeting in the subject line seemed more appropriate.
I am at the library. Two of the dc are volunteers helping with the summer reading program this summer, and one is playing one of the library's educational computer games, and I get to have an hour on the Internet, so I decided to catch up on some blogs as long as I'm here.
I was going to post another hymn but will have to wait until I get home, to look it up. I have it bookmarked in the hymnal, but words (titles, authors) just don't stick well in my head and so I can't look it up in the CyberHymnal while here at the library.
What I'd really love to post, today, would be the words to "How Deep the Father's Love for Us" but I'm sure it's copyrighted. So go and google it; I think you'll be blessed. We sang it on our way to the library this morning, and it was wonderful, filling the car with praise as we fought the morning traffic.
Yesterday we spent the afternoon at Larch Mountain. When it's clear you can see five (I think it's five, anyhow) volcanoes from the summit. All we could see was the bottoms of three volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Adams) with the naked eye, and the bottom of one more (Mt. Ranier) with borrowed binoculars. I WISH WE HAD REMEMBERED THE CAMERA!
We had a picnic atop Larch Mountain. Oh, I need to mention, with kudos to Mrs. S. (our homeschool science teacher) that we delighted, on the 1/4 mile hike from the parking lot to the viewpoint, in identifying many of the plants we saw: wood violets, trillium in full bloom, Oregon grape, sword fern, columbine, various trees, nurse logs and nurse stumps. We looked for oxalis, that delicious wild salad with a snappy sour-lemon flavor, but didn't find it. Since that altitude seemed to be at about the same place our yard was in March (I think it was March, when our trillium bloomed, or maybe late February), we speculated that it was either too early in the season for oxalis, or else perhaps that plant doesn't grow at 4,000 feet. Will have to see if we can find out.
We met a delightful family vacationing here from Florida who told us a few things we didn't know about local places to see. Funny, we do more tourist-type stuff when we go visiting than we do around here. We shared some of our lemonade with them. Another family came up the trail with two big dogs, who proceeded to polish off the lunch plate belonging to one of the dc. Good thing it was a paper plate, and the child was nearly finished eating! Good thing, too, that we had not yet broached the tin of cookies and the lid was still on tight!
Thanks for listening!
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Jun. 5, 2006
A little Light for a Monday Morning
Have been humming this hymn all morning, and finally I looked it up to see what it was. It is in our hymnal, but if you don't know the first line (which is used as the name of the hymn) or the tune, it's pretty hard to find something. I ended up using Google and putting in the few phrases I could remember. ("Holy, holy, holy Lord", "before you", and "adore you". Bless Google for finding it!)
I found this translation of the original German text at a homeschool blog called "The Common Room", a place I don't remember seeing before, (so many blogs, so little time) but have bookmarked to explore further.
Holy God, We Praise Your Name
The Whole earth is full of His glory; Isaiah 6:3
Holy God, we praise your name; Lord of all, we bow before you;
all on earth your scepter claim, all in heav'n above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain, everlasting is your reign.
Hark, the loud celestial hymn angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav'ns with sweet accord: "Holy, holy, holy Lord."
Lo! the apostolic train join your sacred name to hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain, and the white-robed martyrs follow;
and from morn to set of sun, through the church the song goes on.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
...*sigh* That is just what I needed this morning. The message at church last night was all about glorifying God in our everyday life.
And now it's time to post this, sign off, and do our Monday morning "house blessing a la Flylady". But I think I'll leave the midi file going for some uplifting music to work by.
Here are a couple of links with midi files: The first has several repeats in different "instruments" and the second is a simple "piano" arrangement.
Holy God, We Praise Your Name (orchestral)
Holy God, We Praise Your Name (piano)
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May. 23, 2006
*sigh*
I have such hopes for this blog... but I keep getting side-swiped! Spring is such a busy time. Recitals, concerts, end-of-the-school-year programs.
And then comes the nasty stomach bug that has hit this area so hard, especially the elementary schools and the elder-care homes. It starts out like a "normal" 24-hour bug, but it hangs on for days...
Anyhow, still have plans for the blog, things like having theme days -- living literature, handicrafts, outdoor activities, homekeeping (for starters). Whew, that's a lot! The plans are just sort of "on hold" until the calendar empties out a bit.
Hope this finds you well.
In Him,
Jean
