Into the Wild Movie Review and an L.A. Times Nutrition Article

Titus and I finally got around to seeing Into the Wild last night after first hearing about it a couple years ago (see March 2009 story telling).  The occasional nudity, foul language, and general adult foolishness keep it from being appropriate viewing for children, but we think it is indispensable for young adults (still skipping the nudie parts).  So much fodder for discussion there!  We fully intend to view it with our children as they enter adulthood in order to help them understand more fully where certain types of folly lead.

In other news, L.A. Times  just printed an article that confirms what we've been learning around here about the benefits of orienting our diets in a high healthy fat, low carb direction.  Several months ago,  Bee Wilder helped us pull together various things we've been learning over the past few years and focus on candidas control in a specific way using the type of diet described above.  We've been making focused efforts in that direction since August and have seen numerous benefits in our family's health.  There are lots of success stories on Bee's site where people have written in to describe their progress in everything from diabetes to fibromyalgia, which serves as further confirmation that this is a good way to eat for many reasons.

A Satirical Mirror . . .

. . . for one branch of American Christianity

I have no idea whence the makers of this trailer for the movie Sunday's Comin' hail, but it's so accurate, it really doesn't matter too much.  Thankfully, this represents just one segment of the evangelical church in our country, and whether this exact shoe fits or not, it's a great reminder that a lot of good can come from learning to laugh at ourselves.

HT: Amy of Humble Musings fame

A Life Well Lived: Grandma's Memorial Video

Margaret Elizabeth Riches finished her race on this earth January 1 of this year and is now enjoying things that eye has not seen, nor ear heard.  This video was created for her memorial service by my talented cousin, Nathan.  We miss her and are very thankful for all the ways God used her to bless our family.

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Robber of the Cruel Streets: George Muller

The title above was what Netflix kindly provided us with for entertainment last Friday night (before the aforementioned zoo trip). It was excellent. Among other things, Mr. Muller built orphanages for thousands of nineteenth century England's destitute children without a single bit of "fundraising" as we think of it. He simply prayed and trusted God to provide for His will in His time. Imagine that! We all came away inspired with a thorough admiration for Mr. Muller's faith as it was fleshed out in his long, tremendously fruitful, and generous life. And the video was only about an hour long--perfect for zoo trip prep.

Madeline the Movie

Last night, with Daddy at a meeting and the girls staying with Grammy and Grandad to enjoy some extended visiting with their great grandparents, the boys and I declared an impromptu movie night. After combing through the Netflix instant play options, we settled on the Madeline movie made about ten years ago.

I'm certainly not one inclined to favor movies over books, but I really think this movie might have actually improved on the books. It wove the different Madeline stories together quite nicely and fleshed them out in a way we found thoroughly enjoyable. Both the outright misbehavior in some characters and the childish foolishness in others were balanced adequately by a simple sense of justice and a respect for authority. And there were plenty of funnies and excitement along the way. We like it when movies leave us smiling in satisfaction, and Madeline did just that.

Two Fun Shows in a Row

When weather allows, we try to spend as many Friday evenings as possible at the park for some family time and fresh air. During inclement weather (i.e. all winter and the hot part of summer), Friday night is the regular movie night at our house. It's always a fun time to sit and relax together with some pizza, but it's not always easy to find something to watch that all of us will truly enjoy. Due to a change in Titus's schedule this week, we did movie night yesterday evening, and I thought it worth noting that this week was our second big success in a row.

Last week, we viewed Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee, a Mary Poppins-type story with some fun twists. I have fond memories of first seeing this in the dollar theater with a friend not long after Jocelyn was born. I have no idea why it took me so long to introduce it to the rest of my family.

This week it was Garrison Keillor's A Prarie Home Companion 30th Anniversary video. It may not be as fun for adults not familiar with his Saturday radio program that airs on NPR, but Titus and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the faces behind the voices while we all appreciated the folk music and skits performed by some very talented people. Both shows left us all smiling big.

Intelligent Design Is Definitely an Understatement

We were too hot and tired for tennis tonight, so we abandoned our planned trip to the park in favor of a Moody Science Video on the solar system. It's always good to be reminded of how unfathomable God is--and how graciously condescending are His relations with man. Thoughts along this vein also provide the perfect opportunity to slip in another good quote I've come across recently from the biology field:

Now, when a man sees that his vital operations could not be directed by reason--that they are constant, and far too important to be exposed to all the changes incident to his mind, and that they are given up to the direction of other sources of motion than the will, he acquires a full sense of his dependence . . .

When man thus perceives, that in respect to all these vital operations he is more helpless than the infant, and that his boasted reason can neither give them order nor protection, is not his insensibility to the Giver of these secret endowments worse than ingratitude?

--Sir Charles Bell
19th century Scottish anatomist, surgeon, physiologist for whom Bell's Palsy and several other discoveries were named

One Night with the King

This was our selection for last night's Family Movie. (Thanks, Ruthanne!) We thought it was beautifully done, and though plenty of artistic license was taken, there did seem to be a fundamental respect for the Scriptural text. It will be fun to read the biblical account as a family now and more carefully judge the movie's accuracy.