The Same Old Story!

I read somewhere today, that some brave people have decided to make futuristic manga comic strips featuring biblical stories. A cited example was David and Goliath, but with robots portraying the pricipal characters instead. I actually quite like the idea, because despite it's quaintness and occasional cliched moralistic tale, the Bible is clearly a good source of material. It's probably provided the back-bone for many a modern book or film. Let's face it, Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter are incarnations of Jesus anyway, maybe with a swipe of Dionysus as well, but that's bye the bye really!

I personally think that the Old Testament has some kernels of truth from pre-history in it. The New Testament might have given us a useful insight into historical happenings in Judaea at that time, if it wasn't for the later removal of every notable historical and political element, by the Roman church. Why don't they write a new bible anyway? Using the Nag Hammadi scrolls and others, I'm sure they could put together something much more relevant. But that something would be well out of line with the traditional scriptures wouldn't it? They'd never stand for that!

My own favourite is Ezekiel! He got up to all sorts. Babylon was obviously the place to be in those days, even though they didn't exactly choose to be there. But if he hadn't been there then he might never have got to travel in a space-ship. Ezekiel probably would have been left out too, had they not been able to interpret events entirely differently to what clearly happened. After all, nobody would have looked at Ezekiel's "visions" as close encounters before the 1950's. It wasn't until then that an explanation was given for such events. Before that people wouldn't have known what to think. Yes, people, especially those of little education, do have a need to be told what's going on, and tend to blindly accept the explanation given, especially from an authority they hold in veneration... like the Church for instance!

Tunnel of Germs!

I'm under the weather again! Don't know what it is, not a cold or the flu. Probably a "virus" like before. That's the new catchall term the Doctors use for any illness which you might succumb to at this time of the year, the identity of which is not immediately apparent to them. What are my symptoms? General aching all over, but particularly around the neck and throat. I have a very sore throat. I thought about taking the day off, but then quickly decided against it. I knew I had a light enough load today, to be able to get through it reasonably intact. Anyway, ill at home, ill at work, not much difference. Only difference is, you get to feel more sorry for yourself at home.

Hopefully I'll be a bit better by tomorrow. I have a few challenges set for me then, to get through which, I may have to be on top form. I can't go into details. Simply put, getting a group of individuals to engage in tasks, the manner of which will be most unappealing to them. Mainly because they don't like doing anything, asked to think a bit and that's stepping over the line. Nevermind, I have some devious ploys ready to persuade them that my way is the best way.

I finally got around to watching "Alexander - The Directors Cut" on Saturday, and I was very disappointed. I know it got bad reviews when it was released, but quite frankly, I expected more. 300 wipes the floor with it, no doubt at all. Still waiting for Cloverfield. It'll be my first trip to the cinema since I took the kids to see the last Harry Potter film, which will be the last Harry Potter film any of us want to see. Is it just me or is Harry Potter a steaming pile of shit? Anyway, I'm sure Cloverfield will restore my faith in the big screen!

Read Before You Look!

So, the kids are sitting watching "The Lord Of the Rings - The Two Towers" again and they still really enjoy it! I'm glad they do, because it's a fantastic story, which I'm afraid to say is far more enjoyable in the reading rather than on film. The problem is, having read the book at the age of 12, it was clear to me that any film version would never be able to do justice to Tolkien's writing. The second component is the imagination, and as a 12 year old, my imagination was indeed vivid. I lived this book, in my head.

Now, I know that my children, even if they were to read the book, would never draw the same enjoyment form it that I did, because not only do they now know the main themes of the story, but they already have mental images of the events described, and so won't be able to imagine them for themselves. It's a shame really, but at least they show me that they have the same good taste as myself, in embracing "The Lord Of the Rings" just as fully as they have now rejected that Harry Potter nonsense. The comparisons are ridiculous really, but they do happen, and it's clear to me that the popularity of Harry Potter says a lot about the present generation of children. What's astounding though is how many older people I've met who have expressed a liking for it (mainly women in retrospect). I wonder why that is? Perhaps because, it's written by a woman!

Anyhow, I think it should be compulsory that in order to be permitted to see a film based on a book, you should have to have read the book before-hand. Such a move would increase literacy skills and allow people to be imaginative again, instead of sitting in front of the telly vegetating. Get your brain mechanisms working again, reading does stimulate the mind, just get a book and read it, even if it's awful at least you'll have the mental capacity to realise that!