Digital Wilderness

From BoingBoing:

CS Lewis: Don’t let Disney make Narnia! Live action Aslan is “blasphemy”

According to nthposition.com, C.S. Lewis wrote the following letter to a BBC producer. In this letter, C.S. Lewis states how disapproval of turning The Chronicles of Narnia into a live action movie, saying it would be a “buffoonery or nightmare” and blasphemy. He goes on to say that making them into a cartoons would be okay…as long as it wasn’t Disney.

18 Dec. 1959

Dear Sieveking

(Why do you ‘Dr’ me? Had we not dropped the honorifics?) As things worked out, I wasn’t free to hear a single instalment of our serial [The Magician's Nephew] except the first. What I did hear, I approved. I shd. be glad for the series to be given abroad. But I am absolutely opposed – adamant isn’t in it! – to a TV version. Anthropomorphic animals, when taken out of narrative into actual visibility, always turn into buffoonery or nightmare. At least, with photography. Cartoons (if only Disney did not combine so much vulgarity with his genius!) wld. be another matter. A human, pantomime, Aslan wld. be to me blasphemy.

All the best,
yours

C. S. Lewis

[Letter to BBC producer Lance Sieveking (1896-1972), who has written at the top: 'The Magician's Nephew' and, after the address, the phone number "62963".]

So what would he think about the soon-to-be-released live action movie being released by Disney? Considering how the world of making movies has changed (computer graphics and special effects have greatly improved since 1959 – no more anthropomorphic animals), and as long as Hollywood sticks to the ideals in the book, I think he *could* be pleased. We’ll see come Dec 9th!

From Men’s Health, but applicable to everyone: 18 Tricks to Teach Your Body

Some could be useful, some are just interesting, and others will leave you scratching your head…

Interesting…

Dali Clock

Here’s something we all could use after gorging ourselves during Thanksgiving dinner – just about the only use for this thing…

The Treadmill Bike

Check it out: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Trailer (Quicktime needed)

Have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you get to spend it with loved ones. Don’t forget to give thanks for the many blessings God has given you.

As I mentioned previously, I canceled my home phone (landline) and went strictly wireless. I thought everything was well and good…until the bill came.

What a nightmare!

First, the electronic bill (e-Bill) that I get via email each month was about 50% more than normal. Confused at why the bill was so high, I went to check my account online. Nothing! Yeah, exactly, I had nothing listed there. My old apartment address was listed as well as my apartment phone number but neither my home nor my wireless accounts were anywhere to be found. I’ve been paying my bill online for several years with no problems, so who knows what happened to my account information.

I called Cincinnati Bell to get things fixed. First, the lady I spoke with told me the amount I owed was two thirds less than the bill I had received. Great! Oh, but she couldn’t see my home phone bill, only my wireless, so I may still owe more. What?!? The amount she gave me for the wireless bill was what I usually paid for my home and wireless together. I should not owe more. So I ask her why my accounts aren’t showing up online. After being on hold for a while, she told me that since I closed my home phone account and since my wireless plan was apparently attached to that account, I’d have to add my wireless account to the online system. Huh? I did that while she was on the phone, but once it was added, it said I had a zero account balance and my last payment was in Feb 2002. Arg! I asked her to fix this and again I was put on hold. Seemingly forever later she came back and said that she couldn’t fix this issue, that I’d have to email tech support from the website. Whatever… I was at work, so I had to go for the time being.

I get home that day and find a Cincinnati Bell letter in the mail. Yes, it’s a bill. I can’t remember the last time I’ve gotten a bill in the mail from them. Of course I would get one now. What was especially great about this bill (sarcasm) was that it was for a different amount than the e-Bill and what the customer service rep told me. So now I had three different amounts due. Errr…

Still not seeing any information via the website, I decide to try to get information from their automated “Anytime” service using the phone. Yeah, well, no matter which phone number I enter, wireless or my landline, the system said it couldn’t bring up my account.

Three different bill amounts and I can’t get any information about the bill anywhere.

I call back again today needing to pay the bill (it’s due tomorrow). First guy I talk to is clueless. He’s just the “home phone service” guy – he can’t see my wireless account balance – so he transfers me to their wireless department. The wireless guy is a little more knowledgeable, but is ultimately as fruitless. When I ask for the final balance for both the wireless and home phone services, I’m put on hold for a looong time. He comes back to say that they’re still checking into it, but he wasn’t able to get my account up on the website or the Anytime line either. What, did he not believe me?!? More hold time… He comes back and they’re still checking it and I’m on hold again. Finally, he gets another lady on the phone who gives me a balance (the same as the one I received in the mail) and she takes my payment information. The matter should be settled, but we’ll see next billing cycle.

Now, why can’t any of these people see my total account balance if I personally was able to in the past? Why is there a “wall” between the two departments that prevents them from seeing my composite bill? Why can’t I pay online anymore? If these accounts are so separate that one customer service rep can’t pull up both of the accounta, then why were both trashed when I canceled my landline?

And to think I was using my peak wireless minutes – I was on the phone over half an hour – trying to get this straightened out.

This really bakes my noodle!

Hmm, it seems that it’s been quite a while since I last posted. This downtime has been due to being busy, not having anything to write about and not being motivated to try to think of something to write about. It’s time for some quick hit thoughts, though.

I have to admit, after having worked in a small company for several years, I was worried that moving to a more corporate environment would be a difficult, that the structure, procedures, policies, etc would drive me nuts. While that has been the case to some extent, there are definitely perks that make up for it. For instance, I recently learned that I had two floating holidays to use by the end of the year, so even though my boss had already made up the schedule for the rest of the year, I got to pick two days to take off. So, I’m off Tues and Wed of this week now Woohoo! I really need this time off to rest up and relax, as the past few weeks have been stressful and have worn me out.

Even though I have this time off, I’m still not going to have all that much time to sit around and do nothing. Seems several traditions for this time of year have popped up recently. Of course, there’s the usual Thanksgiving dinner with my extended family, but there’s also the annual turkey day football game as well as paintball on Saturday. I also need to work on getting my outside Christmas decorations up before it gets too terribly cold.

Yes, college basketball season is underway! Boo, UK has already suffered their first loss of the season. They fell to #17 Iowa tonight 67-63 in the Guardians Classic. My thoughts on this year’s team? Wow, where to begin… There’s potential for the team to go all the way for sure, but lots of work needs to be done before that becomes reality. LOTS of work. They still can’t make free throws to save their life, we’ve lost our inside game and some players (*ahem* Sparks, Bradley*ahem*) take ridiculous, completely uncalled for shots. In tonight’s game, it felt like we couldn’t buy a basket – they shot 33%. Yuck! Bright spots include JuCo transfer Rekalin Sims, who ended up with 22 points, most of those from 3 pointers and Rajon Rando, the 6′ 1″ guard who had 19 rebounds. However, I think that ultimately underscores the team’s problem – we’re missing an inside presence. This year’s team is guard dominated, which will lead to tough games down the stretch against more physical teams. Another important thing that’s missing is leadership. With the graduation of Chuck Hayes, I have yet to see a player step up and take his leadership role. Sparks is not fit for that role, Rondo is too young and no one else has a presence to handle that. It could be a bumpy ride this season, Cat fans, so hold on tight.

OK, that’s all I have for now. Stay tuned for a post later this week on my plans for a puppet team, something that I’m really excited about but not sure if it’ll turn into a reality…

Brian Bailey of Leave It Behind writes about a project his son is doing:

My son Ben is working on a great school project. He has to choose 12 people for his ideal get together. They can be alive or dead or even characters from fiction.

Brian posted his list of twelve, so I thought I’d do the same. Well, sort of. Here are my *ten* guests:

• John (the Disciple)
  He’s the author of my favorite gospel, as well as the book of Revelations and others and was the self-titled “beloved” disciple of Christ.
• C.S. Lewis
  Author of The Screwtape Letter, The Chronicles of Narnia and much more, he was once an atheist and was supposedly converted to Christianity by JRR Tolkien.
• J.R.R. Tolkien
  He’s the author of my favorite book trilogy, The Lord of the Rings
• Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz)
  A Christian author who is not afraid to speak his mind and tlel it like it is. No beating around the bush regarding the down times, sinful periods and doubt-filled times of his life. I really like his writing style, one which engages and doesn’t belittle the reader.
• Benjamin Franklin
  Wise and intelligent, an inventor and respected man who did a lot with his life.
• Steven Curtis Chapman
  Awesome singer and songwriter who’s adopted several children from overseas. He’s real when it comes to sharing his family and faith, including the hard times he’s faced.
• Billy Graham
  A man of faith and deeds, loved by many. A true example of what it’s like to be a true follower of Christ. One can only start to imagine the people that he’s influence, including Presidents to Popes
• Matt Theissen and Relient K
  Awesome band that’s tons of fun, yet they write some of the deepest lyrics and best overall songs that I know.
• Jim Henson
  Henson was incredibly passionate about puppetry, as well as entertaining both kids and adults. What would the world be like without the Muppets?!?
• Jon Kitna
  He’s the backup quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, but once was a starter. He’s a Christian and not afraid to voice it, whether it’s on the field, in press conferences, etc. When it was Carson Palmer’s turn to step up as starting QB, Kitna stepped aside without making a big deal. Additionally, he took a pay cut to stay with the team and be Palmer’s mentor. Great man in a sport where showboating and the “all about me” mentality seems to rule.

Who would you invite? Post your list in the comments.

What a combination! Star Wars Transformers

I know several Star Wars/80s Toys fanatics out there who are wiping up the drool right now. Great idea!