"Eighth" is kind of a difficult word to spell.
It has been so long since my last blog and so much has happened. Please keep in mind that this list is not chronological... nor in order of importance.
1. And this is number one solely based on relevance. I am sitting in the Teacher's Work Room at the school in order to use the Internet. Whatever family I was stealing the Internet from at my apartment has finally gotten wise and secured it, making it impossible for me to access the Internet at home. The school at which I work is close enough that I can walk and so becomes the next "most convenient" place. Unfortunately this cuts down considerably the amount of time I can spend on the Internet. Sigh.
2. Mom came and visited me! We spent a day at SeaWorld (which is wonderful) and watched dolphins, killer whales (SHAMU) and seals/sea lions dance around and put on fantastic shows. We fed dolphins and watched their odd mating habits (exciting day in that area of SeaWorld), touched /fed sting rays (they're slimy), got lost on International Dr. and had an overall magnificent day.
The next day we spent at Cocoa Beach. There we floated in the ocean and it was amazing. The water temperature was perfect considering how hot it was on the beach. I spent a great deal of time just laying out in the sun, listening to the lifeguards talk. It was enlightening. Apparently that area of the beach was "not producing ANYTHING" that day. One guard, who became less and less attractive as the conversation wore on, had been trying to pick up girls that (not from the US) by explaining United States' system of Secondary Education. And he wonders why they walked away without leaving a phone number. Besides, I seriously doubt he had the mental capacity to explain it clearly and thoroughly. The same guard then regaled anyone in hearing distance of the time he was invited to a girl's hotel but never got farther (further) than making out in the hot tub before the girl's father interrupted them. According to him it was an utter waste of time.
During this conversation I found myself experiencing a plethora of different emotion. One, I was almost insulted that he found me not worthy of his attention. Two, I was disgusted with myself for number one and decided to be insulted that he was talking this way at all. Three, how could anyone think a description of the United States' school system was an appropriate way to pick up women? Educational, perhaps, but hardly romantic. Four, while this guard was first actively pursuing said women, then talking about his pursuits with another guard, who was watching the multitude of people gathered at the beach? Five, whatever they are earning, the lifeguards are overpaid. Their lack of attention concerns me. Six, apparently they watched too many Baywatch reruns. Can you say inappropriate behaviour?
The beach, however, was a wonderful experience. While we were there a space shuttled launched into... you guessed it... space. Throughout the afternoon more and more people congregated on the beach and at 5:02 everyone, man, woman, child and ridiculous life guards alike, turned away from the beach and watched the launch. It was incredible, both the launch itself and the effect that it had on the people watching. They watched in silence and awe until the shuttle was no more than a speck of light. Then there were several random bits of applause and the people in the tent next to us burst into "God Bless America" or "America the Beautiful" or something equally patriotic. It was a truly memorable experience.
3. Bet you forgot this was a list, huh? I read and then watched The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. (WARNING: if you have not read the book or seen the movie, and if you do not like spoilers, this review is probably not the place for you!) I had forgotten much of the book. It has been many years since I read the series. In fact I don't know if I have ever read them myself, or if I remember them from Story Time, when Mom read them to all of us kids. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Magician's Nephew and The Horse and His Boy are the ones I remember very well. Prince Caspian went the way of The Silver Chair. I hardly remembered it at all. But it is a wonderful story. The first story is a beautiful allegory of the Gospel and this is a beautiful allegory of the rest of life. Here we are, thousands of years after the Gospel story took place and we are looking for salvation, proof. Many have forgotten (the "stupid," "wild," beasts), many are bitter and angry (the dwarfs), many are trying to cover up the truth (the Telmarines), but there are those that remember (the Old Narnians, talking Beasts and creatures of the woods). The allegory goes on and on.
The story itself is charming. I have always been "Peter" girl, with Edmund a close second. None of the other characters really captured me like they did. I like Peter's strength and humility. He never admits to knowing it all and when he makes a mistake or falls short in some way he is always quick with an apology. He is the High King and I love him. Edmund is, admittedly, much more entertaining than Peter. He has a quicker wit and he has made bigger mistakes, but he learned from them and is stronger because of them. Susan is irritating and a bit dull in the book. Lewis seems to be setting her up for a fall (see the last book in the series) and Lucy is as hopeful and wholesome as ever. Of the new characters, Reepicheep is by far my favorite. He won my heart from the beginning.
The movie falls considerably short. The book was lacking in actual action. The battles were talked about, but only one was written about in detail. That said, there really was a lot for the movie to work with. It was a great start, I like where the movie started, but Susan's horn was blown much to early in the writer's haste to get the kids into Narnia. Apparently the story needed more drama (a prince on the run, a treacherous royal and a rebellion were not enough), and what better way to add drama than to give Peter a little teen angst. Aslan was introduced too late in the story and all of the delightful allusions to Christian life that Lewis included in his book were taken out of context and turned in doubts or mistakes.
One of my favorite parts of the book is when Peter and Edmund are sent ahead of Aslan to meet with Caspian and deal with issue of the upcoming battle. Questions are raised about Aslan and his actions and Peter explains, that he will act in his own time, but until then it is up to them to take action. Peter has full trust in Aslan and his timing, but recognizes that they can wait idle in the meantime. In the movie Peter says that he thinks "it's up to them now," portraying a distrust in Aslan. I hate it, almost as much as I hate the time when Peter asks Lucy why Aslan hasn't given them any proof and Lucy says perhaps it is because they have to prove themselves first.
There are other parts of the movie that I had problems with, but I could explain them away by looking at them from a screen-writer's point of view. Messing with the story is not quite as inexcusable as messing with the characters. Leave the characters alone, they are wonderful and do not need any contemporary "fixing" in order to be loved by audiences. Turning Peter into a brat and creating a love story between Susan and Caspian made the movie cliched and contrived.
That said, the last thirty minutes or so almost make up for the rest of the movie. The fight between Peter and Miraz (I was desperately afraid they were going to replace Peter with Caspian) and the treachery of Miraz's "allies" was wonderful, as was the appearance of the (dryad? naiad? I don't remember) that lived in the river and his destruction of the bridge.
As I said before, the book does not have a lot of action, that is not where the story lies. I can forgive the writers' of the movie for many of their mistakes. Perhaps with Voyage of the Dawn Treader they will be able to keep more to the story. There's more than enough action and adventure in that book, they won't have to contrive anything to make it doable on screen.
The End.
