Of Continuity Errors (Real, or Imagined.)

Tags

completely random posts, confusing nonsense, disney, history, military, pixar, rambling musings, small rants, the age old debate

Poor Mr. Lasseter.

It can’t be easy to keep all the facts in line–especially when faced with such a fanatic history buff as my brother.

But I digress.

This is about Planes, the new Disney/Pixar movie. It’s enjoyable. It’s disorienting. It’s everything a good movie should be…

Except, sadly, for having exact historically accuracy.

Warning: Spoilers. Proceed no farther unless wearing correct protective equipment.

While we were watching it (spoiler alert!!!) I ran upstairs to ask Sprite if the Corsair had originally been intended for something other than dogfighting. He said, no, it was specifically designed to combat the Japanese Zeros.

“Snap! goes our third thread, leaving us exactly where we started.” –Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles

Well, I kicked back. And then learned that the Corsair did not fight at Guadacanal. It had not been built until after the US gained air supremacy in the Pacific, two years later! And, since the Corsair had been specifically designed to combat the Zero, it is hardly likely that only one plane would be left, out of an entire sixteen-plane squadron. Granted, though, in the flashback, they were coming through some pretty nasty flack out there, and there were battleships in the mix as well. They were outnumbered, clearly.

Not to criticize the movie. It was fun to watch (though admittedly, I have not seen the whole thing yet, thanks to Raya’s loving attentions.) It was entirely what you’d expect from Disney/Pixar.

My good friend Iris tells me I have a tendency to over-think things, to look too critically at the details.

She’s probably right

Oh well.

Comes a Time

Tags

battlefield of the soul, c.s. lewis, completed stories, completely random posts, confusing nonsense, contrast, g.k. chesterton, insanity, j.r.r. tolkein, long rants, military, nanowrimo 2013, national novel writing month, poetry, politics, rambling musings, shifting tides series, short stories, small rants, story dynamics, the age old debate, the hero's dream

Yes! Erin is back at last from her long jaunt into Nanowrimo Nation. Did you miss me? 😉 Late happy Thanksgiving, everyone. 🙂

I have some news for all my beloved readers in this post. I have finished a concept drawing for The Hero’s Dream and other stories in the Shifting Tides series, as well as parts of the next installment of the series, Battlefield of the Soul. The concept drawing will be posted once I scan it into the computer (unfortunately, it’s black and white… sigh… Does anyone know how to use the program to color it in? *hint hint wink wink*), and the story will be posted as soon as I can type it up.

Also, I have a bunch of original short stories to post–I worked on them during Nano, sort of to fill up the gaps. 😉 I hope you all enjoy them!

Then, on Nano, I did not win… didn’t even make my wordcount goal. I do have two valid excuses, though: Jewel’s Birthday (Friday), and taking out the trash. Surprisingly, Thanksgiving wasn’t that much of a problem. Anyway, so I spent Jewel’s birthday with her, and the next day (the last day of Nano!) I was taking out the trash, and the garbage barrel lid came down and bopped me a good one across the back of the head, and my glasses fell off and landed in the trash can, and when I reached for them I cut myself on some broken glass, in the soft skin between my first and second fingers, at the knuckle. Ouch. So then I was bleeding like no one’s business, and it just hurt too freakin’ much to hold a pencil, much less type.

Soooo, here I am, 12k short, and still completely happy. Frankly, I’m not sure how this is even possible…

And I now have a cold. Figures…

And now, for the real juicy bit. Warning: Intense Christian doctrine and evangelization ahead! If some of you don’t like overtly Christian and/or Catholic writings, it might be best for you to simply avoid the rest of this post. However, if you are a lover of philosophy or C.S. Lewis or a fan of G.K. Chesterton (or simply just plain stubborn), you might just enjoy this (though of course my lowly work simply can not compare to either Lewis or Chesterton… or Tolkien for that matter.) That much said, enjoy or avoid at will! 😉

Comes a Time

                Arinna pulled the kettle off the stove, pouring the boiling water into a chipped, earth-toned ceramic carafe and tossing some tea leaves in on top. “What do you mean?” she asked, frowning slightly to herself.

“You’re going to die in this holy war and it isn’t even yours.” Lexi said. “How is that not…” She paused. Arinna sighed and put down the earthenware carafe.

“Do you mean to say that I’m going to die for a cause that is, in your opinion, both worthless, and already doomed to failure?” she asked bluntly. Lexi turned away, probably unused to such blunt, brash, plain honesty. It took her a moment—a very long moment—to regain her composure.

“Yes. I do.” she said at last.

“Well, let me ask you a question then,” Arinna said softly. “What do you believe in?” Startled again, especially since Arinna had broken the social rules twice in as many paragraphs, Lexi took a moment before she replied.

“I’m a Christian, too, just like you, you know that!” she protested.

“That means nothing,” Arinna said. “There are too many denominations nowadays for us to know for certain that we hold any common ground whatsoever. Besides, many people who say they believe in Christ don’t really love Him. If they did, then they would act like it. What do you believe in? What are you willing to fight and die for? If not Christ, then what?”

“I don’t know!” Lexi burst out, frustrated. “You keep asking questions without any answers!” she fumed.

“Oh, they have answers,” Arinna assured her. “You’re just afraid of the answers. So am I. So is everyone else, for that matter.” Arinna picked up the pitcher of hot tea and poured it out into two mugs. She handed one to Lexi and sipped slowly out of the other, looking at her friend over the rim. “I’m your friend. It’s my business to ask the hard questions, Lexi. I only do it because I care.” Slowly, she lowered her mug. “Do you want to go on?” she asked softly. Lexi shrugged.

“Yes. I guess. If you want to.” Arinna nodded slowly as she went on with her apology.

“All of us have something we’re willing to fight to the death for, Lexi. Something we believe in—something we believe is worth believing in. It’s part of what makes us human. Someday, Lexi, you will live, and fight, and die for something—and you’ll do it willingly, too. I can promise you that. It’s your destiny—it’s inevitable. You can’t change it, but you can decide what it is you will believe in. Put God out of your life, and you will find yourself trying to fill that void in your heart—you’ll catch yourself filling it with less desirable things. The catch, is to ask yourself what you’re willing to die for. Power? Money? Pleasure? Goods? Your home? Your possessions? Your friends? Your family? If any of that comes first—before God does—in your life, you’re no better than a pagan. You’re an idolater if you put any of those… material things before God.” Arinna looked down at her mug; for the first time her voice sounded unsure. “You may not like to hear this, Lexi, but I only say it because I care. I can’t soften this for you, without losing the message. It’s uncompromising, as hard as nails. You have to choose what you will fight for. He who will fight for nothing is no pacifist, but a coward indeed. You must choose—now—whom you will serve. No one can do it for you.” She took a deep breath. “That’s why I am here—in this camp—in this army—today, Lexi. I said to myself, ‘No more hesitation! I am going to commit—today!’ We both know that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions—if you even believe in Hell.” The evangelist’s voice was tinged with heavy bitterness. “I am willing to die for my Heavenly King. I decided that He was worth fighting for. I regret all the lives lost in this war, but there comes a time when one can no longer stand idly by. There comes a time when one must make a stand. I decided Whom I am going to serve. So what if I’m not perfect? Perfection isn’t possible for any human being. It doesn’t come until Heaven. It’s the times I worked—hard—that matter. I know my cause is worth dying for. Is yours?” Arinna looked up at Lexi with pleading eyes. The other woman was silent. She knew would have to think about it; Arinna knew it too. And while Lexi thought, Arinna would pray.

“I’ll think about it, ‘Rin. I… I promise.” Lexi said. Then, she left the tent, as evening fell over the Crusaders’ camp.

Evangelist

Let the past lie where it’s buried

By the gravestone, on the hill,

Wind wanders wild across the wastelands,

They say the spirit moves at will.

Each sad tear-fall lies there buried

In the garden, by the rill,

Every laughter a rose has planted,

They say the roses bloom there still.

Where one rose blights, sad and mournful

One by one, the petals fall,

In the garden by the rill-side

Back to the womb whence it was called.

Hold tight to what you’re given.

Hold tight to those you love.

These little blessings that we seek

Are our anchors, from above.

Ask again what you now live for

Question your heart’s desire

Many things we are attached to

Pass, straw-like, in the fire.

With the light, morning arises

A new dawn casts the night away

Each day builds on the one before it,

The future’s fragments are at play.

Congratulations go to those who actually made it to the end of this post! Oh, and please tell me… did you like the poem? 😉 It’s originally from my April/July Nanowrimo project Angels’ Reflections. Which, incidentally, I have new ideas for now. Cheers!

As always, thanks for reading and may God bless you and keep you in all your days!

“It’s a faith worth fighting for.” –Anonymous (okay, maybe not ANONYMOUS, but I still can’t remember who I’m quoting. X-P)

A Public Outcry

Tags

church teaching, homosexuality, insanity, long rants, percy jackson, politics, rick riordan, roman catholic, small rants, stories in progress, story dynamics, the age old debate

Dear friends, I have heard the unthinkable.

My dear friend Iris has just had one of her fandoms cruelly destroyed. But before you decry Hollywood, my brothers and sisters in the writing and critiquing world, let me tell you… this is worse. Far worse.

Her fandom was destroyed by none other than the author who began it.

But let me explain.

Iris is a longtime fan of the Percy Jackson novels, which, as a side note, I myself have never read. So you can consider this blog post my response on a friend’s behalf. 😉 She started young, I believe. She’s been following the author’s work for years now. And then, she has it ripped out from under her feet.

What am I talking about? Why, the decision to make one character homosexual!

Now, just so that you know, I am a faithful, practicing Roman Catholic. I subscribe to all Church teachings. And as such, I believe that homosexuality is wrong. Do not give me arguments in the comments, please. You will not change my mind. (I’m like my namesake. I would die for what I believe in, and I plan on living for it as well.) And if you do start to try to change my mind, I will do worse than just delete your comment.

I. WILL. PRAY. FOR. YOU. *evil laughter*

Yes, I’m an evil creature of darkness, damned forever to death and destruction and whatnot. X-P You probably knew it all along. ;-P

But, let that aside, I think that this choice of Rick Riordan’s is a terrible mistake, and let me tell you why.

1. This is a children’s book. Please leave the kids out of politics, darling. And don’t indoctrinate them, either. And I don’t care what you may say, this is, in my opinion, indoctrination of the most insidious kind. According to C.S. Lewis, “If a man writes a book about Buddhism, we will not be swayed to his beliefs. It is the Buddhist assumptions in all the other books that will make us change our minds.” The same applies to homosexuality in children’s literature.
2. I would classify homosexuality, lesbianism, gay rights, what have you as an adult theme. This bumps up the rating from PG to R. Please, let the adults squabble over this; let the children maintain their precious innocence for just a little longer! Do it for the little ones’ sake! Kids do have rights, according to the United Nations. So please, respect those rights.
   (On a side note, I doubt that they would agree with me as to the status of those rights; I think they would probably cheer for this blatant indoctrination, but I’m convinced that the best way to snark is to use someone else’s words against them. Capiche?)
3. Readers don’t like a plot error. Seriously. It’s true. They won’t read a book when it turns to putrid… disgustingness in their hands. Look how many people have jumped off the bandwagon already! And I believe this does classify as a plot error. Seriously. It’s like a deus ex machina— Rick Riordan has been building this character up for one destiny and then suddenly switches it. *head keyboard* I mean, HONESTLY?! This makes me sick.

So, that’s my little rant of the day. I hope you liked it, ’cause if you didn’t, then why did you read all the way to the end?! ;-P See #3.

Post questions, arguments, extra reasons why this is a BIG mistake, and other memorandi in the comments. Thanks for reading, have a great day, and may God Bless You and keep you in all your paths. 😀