Batman Weeps for Colorado

Friday, July 20, 2012


I'm sure everyone has heard by this point but here's the lowdown in case you haven't. At approximately 12:30am today a gunman opened fire on a theater in Aurora, Colorado filled with The Dark Knight Rises fans, killing over a dozen and injuring over 50. The final toll for victims is 71.

This tragedy seems fitting somehow with the pain and suffering Colorado has experienced over the last few months. It doesn't even feel quite real to me yet. All I knew was that when I first heard of the shooting (without knowing where in Colorado it happened) my immediate thought was for a friend of mine who was attending a midnight showing with his buddies but he was in Colorado Springs. There will be plainsclothes police officers in every showing of The Dark Knight Rises in Colorado this weekend to dissuade any copycats. This might be something they do across the country, I don't know.

What do you say when something like this happens? When does this ever happen?

Caitlin and I had planned on seeing The Dark Knight Rises this weekend. But now. Now I'm not so sure I want to go sit in a darkened theater where someone could easily come through the emergency exit and start killing people.

My heart grieves. It grieves for the victims, it grieves for the witnesses, and it also grieves for the people who spent a good 3 years of their lives making this movie in the hopes it would bring enjoyment and entertainment to millions. Now all people will remember is "The Batman Massacre" as its been named. And massacre would be right. This is the largest shooting in history. Movie theaters aren't that big. You can kill and maim a lot of people in a short amount of time.

What has happened to this nation? Right now Batman weeps for us.
Read More

Singin' in the Rain - In Theaters for 1 Night Only!

Monday, July 9, 2012


Don't you just love Fathom Events?! This is how I was able to experience The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions in theaters and a special film about Elvis in concert before his death. They're special opportunities and may never happen again. And this time it's the 60th birthday of Singin' in the Rain!

You know the one with Gene Kelly in his iconic dance on wet streets with an umbrella that does everything but keep him dry. The one with the enchanting Debbie Reynolds as the girl who gives Lena Lamont an appropriate voice for talkies. The one with Donald O'Connor dancing on the walls! I mean, Singin' in the Rain may be the best musical ever!

So mark your calendars if you're a classic movie buff. It's coming up fast, on July 12th! So you know where I'll be this Thursday, in a theater with my mom and sister and wishing my dad didn't have to work that night. It'll be awesome!
Read More

Red Victorian Rose Arts And Costuming: Honest to goodness craft post!

Saturday, July 7, 2012

The latest post from my sister Caitlin @ Red Victorian Rose Arts And Costuming


Aren't my mice awesome?

These are mice made from a Jill Barklem's Brambly Hedge pattern book. I love her work and if you have never heard of them, seriously, go look them up. They have the most awesome illustrations and story lines, perfect for children and adult alike. Anyway, these were my first four, given to me by my mother years ago. She then added Dusty Dogwood and Poppy Eyebright in their wedding clothes.

The pictures below these are of a folding card I made with the aid of my sister. She cut the card out of some really pretty fantasy paper we had and folded it, then handed it off to me to decorate as I wished.


To read more, please visit her blog HERE.
Read More

A Nudge from C.S. Lewis


Sometimes it's hard to read complete books by C.S. Lewis. The man was such a master of the English language and his thoughts were so precise and so incredibly acurate to reality that it almost hurts trying to make sense of everything he said. Which is why I'm happy to have found a book called The Joyful Christian so I can read individual blurbs taken from his various books in the hopes that what he says will sink in and stay. Because let's be honest, Lewis had a lot of crucial insights into humanity in general and Christianity specifically.

So I just read the very 1st blurb which deals with *drumroll please* Right & Wrong. Since this is only a blurb it only skirts the basics of what Lewis wrote but it's enough to give me food for thought. When we hear arguments in our daily lives it's usually based on the idea that we share a similar view of Right & Wrong with the other person involved in the argument. In Lewis' words, "he is appealing to some kind of standard of behavior which he expects the other man to know about."

A standard of behavior. An accepted norm that this is right and something else is wrong. I love how Lewis remarks that humanity rarely argues with the Right & Wrong standard but tries instead of make a special case for himself as to why it doesn't apply to him in a given situation. That standard applied to a friend in another situation but not to me right now because . . .

I'm reading a book by Alison Strobel called Worlds Collide and it's fascinating watching the hero come to the realization that he needs Christ. He moves through logical moments of denial and need before asking himself some very basic questions such as does God exist and if so what is he going to do about it. Once he moves past those two levels he realizes the question of truth must also be answered. Is it relative or absolute? His conclusion is, according to the very fact that we can say something is wrong and/or sinful, that absolute truth exists.

Most people realize there is a right and a wrong. And most, if they thought about it long enough, would realize that it's not based on what they think at the moment. I'm sure that slavery was not considered a sin in the South but it still was one regardless of what they thought. Imagine the slaughter in the Roman games with Gladiators and Christians and wild beasts. It was a horrific evil committed against mankind regardless of whether they saw it as a sin or not. Human perception doesn't matter. Truth is absolute.

Which means that inwardly that standard of Right & Wrong exists in most people. If it didn't then there would be no point in quarrelling with someone because you don't have the same standard. Makes me feel sometimes as if I shouldn't even bother arguing with those of a more liberal bent because nothing I say is going to change their mind which means they don't believe in this Law of Right & Wrong or as Lewis describes it The Law of Human Nature. In his words "a body could choose either to obey the Law of Human Nature or to disobey it."

A person might choose to not participate in this Law of Human Nature but denying its existence doesn't work either. I could go on for paragraph after paragraph and reiterate the same thing but I won't. All I will say is WOW! Lewis managed to wrap up in a few paragraphs what it takes some authors 100s of pages to say. Truth is absolute and the majority of men are held to a certain standard or law. Disobeying is their choice but it doesn't mean the standard ceases to exist.
Read More