A Good Movie
We watched The Great Raid a couple of nights ago, and I really enjoyed it. It's not fabulous, but a good war movie. Joseph Fiennes stars in it. It's about a little-known rescue of POWs who were being held by the Japanese in the Philippines during WWII. Some of the violence is a little brutal, but they don't show much close up. I liked how it showed the importance of the tactical planning that goes into successful military battles. I recommend it.

Stupid Church Signs
Well, today was the big victory parade for the Steelers. There was a lot of talk around town about whether or not to pull kids out of school for it. One school district even cancelled school for the day. Brother. It is just a football team. My son says everyone in his class was there, so way to go Brentwood. I heard one person on the radio say, "Well, I pulled my daughter out of school because this is just as important a day in history as she would study about at school." (sigh) If we as a society really honored the people who invent medicines and preach the Gospel and do important things, I suppose I wouldn't be feeling a little rankled today.

That's all bad enough. But as I've been driving around the past couple of days, I've noticed several church signs that make comments about the Steelers. And at this point, I must say, PUH-LEEEAZE!!!

The first one was: "God bless our Steelers!" When I drove by that with my ten-year-old, he said (not with my prompting, mind you): "Oh brother--you think Jesus cares about a football game??"

Another one: "Thy will be done--Go Steelers!" To which I say: do you think Jesus cares about a football game?

The next one: "Steelers fans, pray here first." Okay, now this could mean, let's pray and then go have fun at the game. It could also mean let's pray for the Steelers to win. To which I say: do you think Jesus cares about a football game???

I like this as a possibility: "Haul your sorry butt into church and pray for forgiveness!"

I don't normally rant and rave, but this is just getting a little much. I have no problem with church members enjoying a football game, but do these churches have nothing better to put on their signs? Apparently not.

Steelers WIN!!
That game was a nail-biter, but it was great for our city that the Steelers pulled it off. After the clock ran down, we banged on pots and pans on the front porch, which scared the dog and cats half to death. Then, even an hour or so after the game was over, we could still hear screaming and honking. So, we went up to our main street to check it out. People were thankfully just happy and celebrating in the street as cars went by and not turning over cars and burning them. I saw people this morning with super bowl Steelers shirts already and asked where they got them. The one woman I talked to said she got hers at Dick's last night at 10:30 or so, where there were at least a couple of hundred people buying Steeler gear. Anyway, it's crazy, but we're happy for the city.

Star Trek Quiz - Which one are you?
This was hilarious. Thanks to Cyberbrethren for this funny link.

My results:
You are Uhura

Uhura 85% Beverly Crusher 60% An Expendable Character (Redshirt) 50% Jean-Luc Picard 50% Deanna Troi 50% Geordi LaForge 45% Will Riker 45% Chekov 40% Data 36% James T. Kirk (Captain) 35% Spock 32% Mr. Sulu 20% Leonard McCoy (Bones) 20% Mr. Scott 15% Worf 10%

You are a good communicator with a pleasant soft-spoken voice. Also a talented singer.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Who Knew, Part 2 - A History of Rhyme
I just finished How the Irish Saved Civilization (intriguing book, by the way), and discovered that rhyme was really not used in Greek and Latin poetry. Augustine liked rhyming words, like bona dona ("good gifts"). But check this out:

Rhyme appeared only occasionally in classical Greek and Latin poetry; it was used more extensively later, in songs of the medieval Roman Catholic church. Rhyme was not established as a technique in English poetry until the 14th century.
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Cool, eh?

Who Knew?
Every once in a while I take a look at names of groups of animals. You know, a pride of lions, a pack of wolves, that sort of thing. Well, yesterday, I came across these fun websites that give all the names of every congregation of animal you can think of.

Here's a fun (and impossible) quiz. To look up all the names so you can complete the quiz, see here and here.

The most poetic ones are for the birds, literally:
- an unkindness of ravens
- a covey of patridges
- a host of sparrows
- a flight of swallows
- a bouquet of pheasants
- a parliament of owls
- a murder of crows (!)
- a dule of doves
- a murmuration of starlings
- a charm of finches

And some strange ones:
- a mob of emus
- a sounder of boars
- a shrewdness of apes
- a rhumba of rattlesnakes

There are lots more that are interesting, unexpected, and strange. It makes me wonder how these words came to be. I'll have to research into that.

About Moi!
My dear husband (who knows I hate being left out) has tagged me, so here goes:

Four jobs I have had (in chronological order)

• Assistant for a woman with disabilties
  
• Typist/copier/asst. for the English Dept. at Concordia College, Ann Arbor
  
• Receptionist at a veterinarian's office (which included doing odd jobs like taking 5 dogs at once out from the kennel to tinkle; monitoring a kitten getting claws surgically removed; being present with families as they put their sick/old animals to sleep)
  
• Secretary for a law firm in Fort Wayne, IN
  

Four places I have lived (chronologically)

• Lakewood, CO
  
• Seattle, WA
  
• Ann Arbor, MI
• Fort Wayne, IN

Four of my favorite foods:

• M & Ms with almonds
  
• I love to sample just about any kind of ethnic food
  
• Pizza
  
• Cake/brownies
  

TV shows that I like to watch:

• Alias
• CSI (Sometimes--when the gross-out factor doesn't gross me out)
• Seinfeld reruns
• the news
  

Four Movies I could watch over and over:

• The Lord of the Rings
• Band of Brothers
• You've Got Mail (It's got everything: bookstores, children's books and a golden retriever!)
• It's a Wonderful Life
  

Four places I would rather be:

• In the mountains
  
• On a beach
  
• In the hot springs pool in Glenwood Spring
  
• curled up with a book, hot chocolate and a warm fire
  

Four websites I visit:

• www.higherthings.org
• www.scbwi.org
• www.dictionary.com
• www.rhymezone.com
  

A New Sunday School Curriculum
Many of you know that I've been working for two years on a new Sunday school curriculum for Concordia Publishing House. The curriculum called "Growing in Christ" begins this fall--Fall of 2006. It's been a joy to work with the editors and other writers on this new project. The samples of the completed curriculum we're seeing are awesome. Here's a link.

I write for the Middle grade (3rd/4th grade) level along with two other writers. It's been a lot of fun especially putting together the Bible Discovery Guides, which give a lot of historical and geographical background to the Bible lesson for the day.

AFC Championship - The story of my two cities

I wrote the following essay over the weekend. The muse struck a little too late to get my reflections into the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but I thought I'd post them here:

Last week I watched the local news with interest as reporters from both Pittsburgh and Denver compared the merits, not only of the Broncos and the Steelers, but also of the cities of Denver and Pittsburgh. Why did that interest me? Because I'm a Denver native who has lived for the last six and half years in Pittsburgh.

A columnist from the Rocky Mountain News visiting here from Denver last week made the mistake of calling Pittsburgh a "butt-ugly town." He backed off his crude statement later in the week, but the sentiment behind it rankled me.

I have often thought about the differences between Denver and Pittsburgh. Colorado's beauty is dramatic—the skies are intensely blue, the sunsets are nearly always spectacularly red and pink and orange, and the mountains provide a gorgeous backdrop to the trendy and growing Denver metro area. My home state is full of variety too—the wide open plains, the bold granite peaks, the Aspen trees quaking on the hillsides. The Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde National Park are in the southwest section of the state. Further north, Rocky Mountain National Park (one of my favorite places on earth) bursts with natural beauty—streams, breathtaking vistas, tons of wildlife: elk, moose, beavers. There are great college towns like Boulder and other cities nestled up against the peaks, like Colorado Springs. Colorado is nothing if it's not dramatic and full of variety.

Pennsylvania's beauty is more subtle. Here I've discovered the incredible variety of trees (hence the name "Pennsylvania"—Penn's woods), the delicate ferns that grow on the forest floor, the wild turkeys that roam through neighborhoods. In South Park, I discovered that the sassafras tree bears leaves in three distinct shapes. I saw firsthand the age-old process of maple tapping at Round Hill Farm.

I also love that Pittsburgh's neighborhoods retain their old world charm. Pittsburgh is full of fabulous restaurants tucked away in neighborhoods that have been serving the same tried and true recipes for who knows how long--places like Max's Allegheny Tavern on the North Side, and unique spots like Primanti's on one end of the spectrum and the Grand Concourse on the other.

I've always loved (as much as my cars haven't) the brick-lined streets in our neighborhoods, like the gorgeous Hornaday Road in Carrick. When you step on a brick street, you know that it's been here longer than a decade. And it makes you wonder what life was like 50, 100 or more years before.

Other charms: the Strip District, with its specialty food shops—the train that runs through Wholey's, the delicious aroma of fresh-ground coffee at Presto George's. The lovely Heinz Hall with our jewel of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. Some neighborhoods, like the area around Zion Lutheran Church in Lawrenceville seem like they've been pulled out of old Europe, with an American flair. These are things a casual observer who's in the city for a three-day stint isn't necessarily going to appreciate. But I know Pittsburghers do.

And many Pittsburgh homes retain their uniqueness with archways, stained glass, and interesting nooks and crannies in even modest homes. Every house is different, unlike many cookie-cutter newer suburbs in places like Denver.

A non-charming aspect of this "old-worldliness" is the fact that streets can change names numerous times within the span of just a few miles. This can make navigating the city tough-going. I must admit that my first couple of years here were difficult as far as getting around. I learned the hard way that I should never leave home without 1) a map, 2) detailed directions, and 3) a cell phone.

Yet, when I have gotten lost, I find people who really try to be helpful (they say: "you know where that old King's restaurant used to be?"—not exactly a good landmark for a newcomer) and always-friendly drivers—drivers who go out of their way to outdo each other in being friendly.

Every place is unique in its history. Colorado is known for its lively characters—people like Molly Brown of the Titanic or Doc Holiday who died in the mountains near Glenwood Springs. Colorado's gold rush is historic and many ghost towns that were built and died almost overnight attest to this part of Colorado's history. The homesteaders on the prairies of Colorado must have been hardy souls. The ancient Anazasi people scraped a city out of the sandstone in Mesa Verde in southwest Colorado.

Pennsylvania's history holds its own charms, especially its importance in American history. WQED just produced a television special on the French and Indian War and Pennsylvania's role in that "war that made America." And "George Washington slept here" is a sign that Pennsylvanians could boast. Within our borders is the Liberty Bell, that wonderful symbol of American freedom.

So, you ask: who did you root for in yesterday's game? Well, put it this way: I almost bought a black and gold shirt for myself today. (And I was glad the Steelers won!)

Journey to the Center of the Earth
Japanese scientists are planning next month to explore the center of the earth. Here's another link. They are going to drill into the sea floor to try to punch a hold through the rocky crust in order to help predict earthquakes.

Like Paul Harvey mentioned today, I wonder if they'll get to the other side of the world by drilling through?

Writing Like Groundhog Day?
I just read a great article by Marvin Olasky here. In it he talks about how writing is all about persistence and determination. One writer in the article says:

Moneyball author Michael Lewis says, "The most common pleasant thing people say to me about my writing is that it looks 'effortless.'" Then he confesses, "It is the opposite of effortless. . . . I probably do 20 drafts of each chapter. I write something over and over. It's like Groundhog Day. My writing process is sweaty and inelegant."

Ain't that the truth! I also like the quote from Michael Crichton: "Books aren't written. They are rewritten." That is so true. The fun of writing is the initial spark of the idea, the process of figuring that idea out, fleshing it out into words, and finally producing a draft. Then, it starts getting ugly. Change this, change that. Most of the time the rewriting fine-tunes the work, sharpens the vocabulary and overall, improves it. But sometimes the writing just dies from overworking it too much.

Quote for the New Year
I just started reading a book called "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by Thomas Cahill. It's a few years old, but was the beginning of a series he wrote called "Hinges of History." The second in the series is "The Gift of the Jews." It looks like there are at least two or three others in the series, one on the world before and after Jesus and another on the Greeks. They appear to be intriguing books, and I'm looking forward to getting into this one on the Irish.

Anyway, here is the great quote of the day (or year), which appears opposite the dedication page in How the Irish Saved Civilization:

"Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope. Nothing which is true or beautful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith. Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love."
- Reinhold Niebuhr

Final Thoughts on Christ the Lord
I posted on Anne Rice's newest book, Christ The Lord: Out of Egypt a week or so ago. I mentioned that I was part-way through the book and was reflecting on some thoughts on Joseph, Jesus' guardian.

This morning, while enjoying some lovely leisurely day-after-Christmas relaxation, I finished the book. As I closed the cover, all I could think was this book is incredible. It's about the 7-year-old Jesus and his growing understanding about his life and purpose, while always in the embrace of his large extended family. Gradually, he increases in understanding, which reminds me of this verse from Luke 2: "And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him" (v. 40 ESV).

Especially amazing is the ending when Mary finally explains to her son about all of the circumstances of his birth. Jesus longs to be in the temple, with the teachers, trying to understand everything about the Scriptures and what happened at his birth. But Mary finishes her retelling of the events by telling him that the Lord could have given him to the temple, to the teachers, but He chose to place His Son in the midst of a family, to Joseph, His guardian and to Mary, His mother. It was a very poignant and excellently written passage.

Read what the Kirkus reviews wrote about it:
____________________________________________________________
“A riveting, reverent imagining of the hidden years of the child Jesus . . . A triumph of tone—her prose lean, vivid—and character . . . Christ the Lord is a cross between a historical novel and an update of Tolstoy’s The Gospels in Brief, it presents Jesus as nature mystic, healer, prophet and very much a real young boy . . . Essentially it’s a mystery story, of the child grappling to understand his miraculous gifts and numinous birth . . . As he ponders his staggering responsibility, the boy is fully believable—and yet there’s something in his supernatural empathy and blazing intelligence that conveys the wondrousness of a boy like no other . . . With this novel, Anne Rice has indeed found a convincing version of him; this is fiction that transcends story and instead qualifies as an act of faith.”

—Kirkus Reviews
____________________________________________________________

I completely agree. The book was masterfully written with great care, and that comes through on every page. Rice uses some lovely lyrical turns of phrase and creates a kind of prose that is almost poetic. All her skills as a novelist come into play as she builds the story to a climax when the extended family visits Jerusalem for the Passover.

It is definitely a must-read, and I highly recommend it. By the way, it was terrific Christmas reading. Normally during Christmastide, I read Martin Luther's Christmas book by Roland Bainton (which I still will do), but this was wonderful Christmas reading because it made me reflect on the humanity of Christ, on the reality of His growing up in a family, being a real boy.

Dental Phobia
So, I got over my short-lived dental phobia yesterday by seeing my fabulous dentist, Dr. Paul Hess. Here's help for those of you who don't have terrific dentists. (And seriously, don't fall off your bike when you're 13 and then need repeated root canals years later that are treated by scary endodontists.)

Thoughts on Parenting
Two unlikely places have made me think about parenting lately.

1. We watched the movie Spanglish the other night. It was quite good, and much sadder than I expected. Not your typical Adam Sandler movie. It portrayed some wonderful go-against-the-grain thoughts on parents sacrificing their own freedom and desires for their kids' sake.

2. I read this poem, "Father's Song" by Gregory Orr from The Caged Owl on the Writers' Almanac today. Very nice.

Five things about me
1. I like vanilla more than chocolate. Seriously. But I do like chocolate too.

2. I drive the people I live with crazy when I find a song I like because I listen to it over and over and over and over. Mindy Smith's "Falling" is one of those songs. (And yes, I just listened to it twice.)

3. I am currently researching ancient Egypt, particularly about Joseph (from Genesis) and the Holy Family's flight to Egypt. I'm also researching nocturnal animals and Saint Patrick. Interesting mix, eh?

4. Guinness stout is always my first beer of choice; Yuengling's Black and Tan is also awesome.

(okay, just listened to the song again...)

5. I love to drive stick shift. I don't know why. My husband looks at me like I'm really strange when I say that. Maybe it's because I can coast all around our hilly city and save gas?

Thanks, Burr. Absolutely no one left to tag.

Christ the Lord by Anne Rice
I am currently about one-third of the way through this latest book by Anne Rice. It is fascinating. She delves into the inner workings of the 7-year-old Jesus, and paints a portrait of his life in Egypt and traveling to Nazareth.

The surprising element in the book so far for me has been the portrayal of Joseph. Joseph is spoken of so little in the Gospels that I've quite honestly not thought a lot about him. But Rice creates his character as calm, strong, steady, and wise. Because he is not mentioned during the years of Christ's ministry, it is sometimes thought that he is quite a bit older than Mary. Would he have been around when Jesus was 7? Maybe. If he was, I think it most likely that he was much the way Rice portrayed him. He is pious, patient, calm, and very clearly the guardian and protector of Jesus, even while caring for his large extended family.

Anyway, I'm really enjoying the book so far. Take a look at it here.

Lutheran Carnival
Check out Aardvark Alley for the 13th installment of the Lutheran Carnival here to read various and sundry thoughts from other Lutheran bloggers. Even I figured out how to be included, so keep scrolling down. And a couple of dear hubby's posts are on there too. Ooh...so exciting! Am I becoming blog-tastic or what?

Thoughts on Narnia
Last night, despite the nasty winter weather in our area, we decided to go see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was tremendous! I really enjoyed it, and have been thinking about it today.

As we walked out of the theater, our ten-year-old son mentioned how similar it seemed to The Lord of the Rings. Dear husband (whose comments are here) then reminded dear son that C.S. Lewis, who wrote Narnia, and J.R.R. Tolkein, who wrote LOTR were great friends and met often to critique each other's writing. They both were lovers of fairy tales and mythology from many cultures. Tolkein was a great lover of language. They had a lot in common (including--and why is this?--the fact that their Christian names are known only by initials...).

It got me thinking about my own writing and my own writing critique group. Not only do these people support and help me in my writing, but we artists do feed off of each other. The reason why my writing can improve, I believe, is because I put myself in the company of excellent writers. Because of them, I try new things. I experiment with different genres, etc. I'm sure the same was true on some level with Lewis and Tolkein.

So, the similarites between Narnia and LOTR are striking: the unlikely king, the magical creatures, the epic battles, evil being overthrown. Themes are also similar: courage, valor, loyalty, and redemption.

For me, LOTR was deeper, richer, fuller. Narnia the movie felt more suited for children. And I think this could be a result of directing or casting or some other cinematic element. But mostly, I think it's because Tolkein's work is longer, fuller in scope, more epic itself. Narnia, especially LWW is short (150 pgs?), and its intended audience was children. And the movie stuck to the book. So, that's why I think some people think it may be coming up short to LOTR. It just doesn't have the depth and scope of LOTR. On the other hand, it is brilliant in its simplicity. The direct parallels to Christ are terrific.

A note about Aslan: I'm reading many who are saying that Aslan isn't what they hoped for. I think this could partly be a result of failing to capture in film what is in the printed word. For me, Aslan in the books is larger than life, and somehow putting him on screen with computer-generated fur and movement doesn't quite translate perfectly.

By the way, did anyone notice that it was Douglas Gresham, Lewis's step-son who was the radio announcer in the movie? He has a new book out that I'd love to read. Look here.

One last thought: how cool is it that Tolkein and Lewis, both professors at Oxford University wrote these fabulous epic fantasies that are now on the big screen. They were great thinkers and teachers, who loved literature and language. And it makes me think that children's literature will certainly take a turn for the worse when death row inmates and celebrities are our bestselling authors.

Feeling Scroogie?
If you need a mindless waste of time to get your mind off your to-do list, go to this link and have an elf snowball fight. So far I almost made it to level 3.