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TopSat, 06 Mar 2004
Mar 06, 2004, 21:29
[home/movies/narnia]
I Think I’m Going to Be Sick
Apparently Disney is jumping on the bandwagon again, with plans to film a Narnia series in the style of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Does anyone else think this is a bad idea?
I’m thinking of all the Disney animations which perverted the original story. Afterall, the movie Alladin wasn’t really the story of Alladin. The same is true for, Winnie the Pooh, Cinderella, Snow White, Pinocchio, Tarzan, to name a few off the top of my head. Disney’s got really good at adapting good stories; to “Disnifying,” if you will.
What if they do the same to Lewis’ work? Often suspected of holding an anti-Christian agenda, why are they even considering it? The Tales of Narnia are even more blatant spiritually-speaking than Lord of the Rings!
Suprise, suprise, it’s all about money. From here
Narnia could give a massive boost to Disney, which is gripped by board struggles, poorly performing stock price and a hostile takeover bid by cable firm Comcast. ‘It’s a very, very ambitious production and one we believe could be very important to the studio,’ said Disney studios chairman Dick Cook.
Their initial budget is slated at 100 million. They’re filming it in— guess where— New Zealand.
I can’t wait to see what happens. Maybe all the fuss over Mel Gibson’s, “The Passion” has made Christian movies more appealing… or maybe we’ll see some major Disnifying.
~Jason
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Mar 06, 2004, 17:14
[home/movies/passion]
See The Passion
I stumbled onto a cool site today, called www.SeeThePassion.com. It’s one of the most extensive, best researched and extensive sites on The Passion movie I’ve seen.
Here’s a quote:
Indeed, in the savagery of the attacks on Gibson what is coming out of the closet is a visceral hatred of Christianity.
Read the whole article.
Consider: Art critics have instructed us to appreciate that the “Piss Christ,” a figurine of Jesus on the Cross in a jar or urine, was art; that a portrait of the Madonna with elephant dung smeared on it and female genitalia surrounding the face is artistic freedom of expression that must be respected.
We were told “The Last Temptation of Christ,” that portrayed Jesus as a lustful wimp pining over Mary Magdalene, was a beautiful film. Yet the same critics tell us “The Passion” is an insult to decency that should never have been made.
~Jason
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Mar 06, 2004, 12:30
[home/politics]
And This is Worth It?
I’m really starting to like this guy. He sees things the way I do, but is way more eloquent and convincing than I am in describing the shortcomes of our system.
Will the government really coerce a doctor into doing his time in the boondocks for seven years away from his family? And when there’s no replacement for him when the time is up will they dream up some new excuse to keep him there? It sounds almost inhumane in practice. People aren’t pawns to be moved around chessboard to suit the government’s political needs. I’m sick of people claiming socialized medicine has a monopoly on compassion. This is not compassion for the doctors, nor is having seniors with dilapidated hips spending 18 months of agony on a waiting list compassionate.
There’s a reason these regions don’t have permanent shortages of veterinarians or opticians. The invisible hand of the market sees that these needs are met. It’s time we introduced market reforms into delivery of medical services too.
Really, what is the fear here? The main worry I hear from Canadians about reforming health care is that poor people won’t be able to get medical services when they need them. Reforming the system doesn’t mean we have to lock out the financially destitute. The system is not working the way it’s set up now.
Maybe some don’t like the idea of paying for a doctor. I would challenge them to consider how many times they’ve actually been to a doctor or emergency room in the last year. With a $10 doctor’s office visit co-pay and a $50 emergency room co-pay, I might actually spend $100 a year personally. As a family, that might amount to $800 a year. Maximum. I’m being generous here.
My taxes are way higher than that.
In any case, payment makes you powerful.
…when the government supplies you with “free” health care, you are not a powerful customer who must be satisfied. They are doing you a favour, and you owe the state gratitude and servility in return for this awesome generosity. They can give you the worst service in the world, but because it’s free, you are totally disempowered. One of the most important lessons I have learned from my contact with the Canadian medicare system is that Payment Makes You Powerful. And its absence makes you risible if not invisible.
Most people with average benefits at work could elect to pay into health insurance. Together this is a huge savings over our sky-high taxes. And what are taxes giving us anyway?
From this site, The Top Ten Things People Believe About Canadian Health Care, But Shouldn’t…
…the federal government put something like $20-billion into medicare just before the last federal election several years ago…everybody wants to know what we got for that money. The queues have lengthened, not shortened, the shortage of diagnostic equipment has got worse, people are less able to find a family physician than they were five years ago. In fact, we have had a lot of experience in Canada with new injections of cash into the system, supposedly to “buy change”. Normally what happens is that the powerful organised interests within the system (docs, nurses, support staff, etc, etc.), organise to capture a share of that money. Costs rise, but productivity does not and services are no better or more timely. The Canadian medicare system is a black hole into which we can pour seemingly infinite amounts of money.
That aside, the real plus is that market demands will improve service. Imagine being treated like a paying customer! Imagine getting respect, being allowed self-dignity!
If only we Canadians were less passive; less afraid of change; more willing to speak our minds and think through these realities.
~Jason
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Mar 06, 2004, 11:12
[home/journal]
Spring Cleaning
Well, I finally cleaned the garage. It’s amazing how dirty winter is, considering how white it is too. Probably mostly sand and salt from the road crews, but I had a good two shovel-fulls of dirt after sweeping. Disgusting.
In other news, tomorrow should be awesome. The choir is singing full parts on the worship package in the first service, and we’ll have trumpet and strings too, along with the regular rhythym section band. With 25 in the choir, and all the band (piano, keyboards, bass, electric, acoustic, drums, maybe percussion) there will be 35 people on the stage! Now that’s a band!
And I thought Valentine’s was big.
Maybe I’ll see you there.
~Jason
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Mar 06, 2004, 09:40
[home/journal] ~Jason
Welcome To Amy
I’ve added a new blogger to my blogroll: Amy Forderer. She’s so funny! And cool. Go read her blogs. Welcome Amy! 
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