Stewart 5

Writing from our family’s holiday in Port Elizabeth.  PE is a beautiful city down in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, and home to our good friends Sean & Jean Daly.  We drove from Pretoria – 12 hours – last Sunday.  Since then, we’ve just been relaxing and having fun… lots of that at the beach.  This holiday is much-needed for us – finally taking a break from work and just being together.

One downside has been lack of good/consistent internet connection.  Free wireless is “virtually” non-existent in South Africa, so we’ve had to jump online at  the Dalys’ house once and use an internet cafe another time.  However, this isn’t all bad as it has allowed me to unplug and just BE with my family.  Having this forced on me is inconvenient but probably the only way to be with the fam. like I want/need to…

Here are a few pics.  We’ll probably post a lot more when we get home, but these will give you a taste for now.  Beach shots are pretty obvious, there is also one of AP making a shaker at a drumming class all the kids did one morning.

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I am going to put in plugs/gages. these are basically earrings with bigger posts, though they are most commonly “tunnels” and you notice them when someone has honkin’ big ones in and you could put a hotdog through the hole in their ear. i decided i was going to do this back in October, so I asked the guys at my tattoo shop to order some 5mm (the smallest size you can get here) for me. 5mm being the diameter of the post/hole in your ear. get a ruler to see how big this is. these aren’t tunnels, they have a solid face with design

anyway, at that point, they told me to start stretching the holes. slowly, and with caution of course. most plain earring posts are .8mm, so you can see how far I needed to go. so, i started putting in several earrings at once. this was slightly irritating, and looked dumb. then, on the recommendation of one of the tattoo guys, i was putting toothpicks in the holes. not bad, right size, but you can imagine that wooden toothpicks can be slightly irritating. then, i found some earrings with bigger posts. i wore these for a while to let everything get all healed up, but they are only about 2mm. long way to go. then, i was hanging luggage locks from these earrings, as weight helps stretch the hole. looks lame, need i say more.

about a week ago, i went on an all-out hunt for something the jam through my earholes that was at least 3 mm. and i found something. anything that has a “pole” that a lego person can hold is 3.5mm – standard size. fortunately, we have lots of legos, so i put the boys to work pulling out all these pieces – spears, swords, oars, etc. these would all be fine, but are a little long to put through your ear, so i was going to have to cut them.

and then we found the perfect things: an axe and hammer from a knight’s kingdom set. right diameter and short enough to not need cutting. i just had to sharpen the handles to better instert in my ear holes and voila! easy in and they’ve been doing fine. and, you can only see the axe and hammer heads, but you can’t really tell what they are. they aren’t the coolest earrings i’ve ever seen, but also not the worse. they’ll do until my proper earrings come in, which are on backorder from a place in capetown which orders them from the UK.

i’ll keep you “posted” on when the real earrings come in. in the meantime, here are pics of the axe and hammer earrings i’m sporting these days.

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sometimes we read texts so many times that we miss things.  today, i was reading through the story of Jesus’ birth from Luke’s gospel.  I had intended to get to the Magnificat – Mary’s song of praise to God for his promise of her son the Messiah.  I love this song.  But in reading the story preceding that, with the angel announcing the news, I actually stopped and laughed at this part form Luke 1…

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”

[pause here - my response at this point, would be "awesome - I'm going to have a son who will be all that!!!"  Mary's response...]

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

wait a minute, did you say I’m having a baby??  never mind all the rest of that stuff you said, you know I’m a virgin, right? 

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This should be our last post on the subject. The following comes after several conversations with our son about the movie.

I think anyone should be allowed to see the Golden Compass. Even Christians should see it. So what if the children kill God in the third book it’s not ever going to happen and never will because it is impossible to kill God. So if you have been listening to the people posting about not seeing the Golden Compass, I say you should think for yourself. It might be as they say, I don’t know, just think for yourself.

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Melissa and I saw The Golden Compass today. i liked the film – fantasy, adventure, parallel worlds, action, great visuals. one of those movies where there is a child as the protagonist, and they are brave and do what is right.

at the same time, i have read a number of articles (referred to here http://www.stewart5.net/?p=98 ). So, i also have lenses on the film coloured by what I know of the whole series of books. the “first things” article linked above goes into great detail on the meanings of significant people, events and concepts in the book series. mind you, i have not read the books myself. at this point, i would like to just to compare to what i have been reading by others.

my take on the film on its own, esp. regarding the “messages” it communicates…. i think it really loudly proclaims that individuals should be free to exercise their free will. the bad guys are the Magisterium, who try to control what everyone thinks, but in a “nice way.” They are set in opposition to the scientist/university guys who are encouraging free though, which generally comes in conflict with what the Magisterium wants.

I guess in general, I don’t have a problem with the film or what it says. I also have problems with big ominous controlling organizations that discourage questions and free thinking (see my post from a few days ago http://www.stewart5.net/?p=97 ). however, from the books, I can see where Pullman is taking us, and I am not as comfortable with that. I also think the author makes some unfair characterizations and attacks on God, the Church, faith, and miscellaneous values. But again, that’s not in THIS movie per se.

I would take my kids to see it and talk about it with them. I’m not the type to shelter my kids from real world perspectives. Like it or not, I think the perspectives and values of the author are those of many (most?) people. I want my kids (and other adults, frankly) to be able to talk about what we think, where we agree/disagree, etc.

DISCLAIMER: the opinions expressed above are those of ARTHUR and do not necessarily reflect the perspectives of Melissa or anyone else in this family

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here are a couple of posts you might find interesting. the first one in quite in depth. the second two are more reflective/question-asking like my post.

Alan Jacobs at First Things

My friend JJ’s friend Simon

Steve Hayes

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You may be sick of this conversation already.

Tomorrow, the movie The Golden Compass opens in cinemas. Big controversy because

1. some feel it “promotes atheism”.  well, not so much this movie as the third book of this trilogy.  And the author – Philip Pullman has been pretty clear that he is not religious (of any sort).
2. others find offense at the fact that there is a big ominous religious organization (church) that is all about oppression and control.

Let me just stop there.  Have you received all the emails about how bad this movie is, especially because in the third book, the protagonist children kill God?  I would love to hear from anyone who has read the books.  Would you describe the books as having an anti-God agenda?  Or anti-church?  Or anti-religiosity?
And can I add that I am also opposed to big ominous religous organizations that discourage creativity and exercise oppression.  I hope we all are!  I guess the problem for us Christians is that we know the author is talking about us, or at least the bad manifestations of us.

I will definitely see this movie.  And if I can get my hands on them, I will read the books.  Why?  Well, because I want to make an informed decision.  I’m pretty sure that reading the books won’t cause me to turn my back on God.  I would hope that all of us are critical enough readers/viewers to take the good with the bad.  If we can’t see movies made by athiests (or anyone who is different from us) we won’t be able to see many movies.  Sort of makes dialogue difficult, don’t you think?  Do you only engage what you already agree with?

Look, I can understand if you think that this movie, which is clearly targeted at children (my oldest has seen all the commercials and wants to see it), might be confusing for children, or even cause them to have some warped perceptions/values.  So, don’t take your kids if you haven’t seen it.  Don’t you do the same with movies that might be too violent or scary?  YOU should decide, not some “critic.”  Why is their opinion more important than anyone else’s?  I’ve yet to hear that there is anything that is actually offensive about the film.

For what it’s worth, I read some interviews with Pullman and here are a few quotes I find interesting:
“My point is that religion is at its best — it does most good — when it is farthest away from political power, and that when it gets hold of the power to (for example) send armies to war or to condemn people to death, or to rule every aspect of our lives, it rapidly goes bad. Sometimes people think that if something is done in the name of faith or religion, it must be good. Unfortunately, that isn’t true; some things done in the name of religion are very bad. That was what I was trying to describe in my story.”

I agree.

“I think the qualities that the books celebrate are those such as kindness, love, courage and courtesy too. And intellectual curiosity. All these good things. And the qualities that the books attack are cold-heartedness, tyranny, close-mindedness, cruelty, the things that we all agree are bad things.”

Sounds ok.

“What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression. Good things have been done in the name of religion, and so have bad things; and both good things and bad things have been done with no religion at all. What I care about is the good, wherever it comes from. ”

seems simplistic, but I agree.

So, based on what I have heard from the author and what I have heard from his critics, he is promoting good values without God/religion.  Is he secretly advocating atheism as well?  I guess I’ll have to see for myself.

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Animals aren’t meant to live in captivity. They’re meant for the wild, to be in their natural environment with the proper food and space. We’ve all seen domesticated animals. Pretty sad really. Cooped up, walking in circles. Everyone knows they should be experiencing more. But, I think we all know that you can’t just take an animal that has lived for a long time (or been born) in captivity and release it into the wild. Even though that’s where it belongs, it no longer knows how to survive or flourish there.

I’m no scientist, but I’ve seen enough movies to know that you have to slowly reacclimate animals to the wild. You give them little tastes that allow them to know the environment. Over time, they overcome their fears because they know it is a better place. At some point, they won’t want to come back to their cage – they will want to stay in the wild. They will HAVE to stay in the wild.

People are animals too. We are meant for the wild. For adventure. For risk. For fun. But, far too many are living domesticated, boring, unfulfilling lives (are you?).

In a sense, what we’re trying to do with NieuCommunities is release people into the wild for which they were born. slowly, step by step. two weeks at a time. one year at a time. inviting others to JOIN US “out there.” because as you begin to experience the wild, you see that those deep longings weren’t just crazy dreams, they’re possible. and the more you step out, the more you are willing to risk. and when you’ve lived in the wild, you can never go back. there are others out there too. You hear them roaring, beckoning those still inside their cages.

Join us. Run free. Live like you were meant to – in the wild.

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