movies

Book Break: Starship Troopers

/ J. Thorp / 1 Comment

Years ago, I read Robert Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land. I remember only a handful of details about the book — the concept of grokking, the story in broad strokes, the religious aspects — and I remember realizing, at the end, that I had read my first mature science fiction book. Not mature in the Rated M sense (which actually is quite immature, when you think about it) — although the book has its moments and is not for kids — but mature in the sense that it wasn’t a space adventure with rocket-ships, robots, and ray-guns.

Now, some of you know that my middle-school son aspires to the Naval Academy, followed by the Marine Corps. Awhile back I ran across a supposed “required reading” list for our military academies, and nestled among The U.S. Constitution and The Art of War was a surprise title I knew only from a movie preview: Starship Troopers. Thinking it might be a sci-fi book to interest Brendan, I googled it; seeing it was written by Heinlein, I thought I’d better check it out first. We borrowed it from the local library, I skimmed it thoroughly for adult content, then let Brendan have a go.

He devoured it, though he struggled with the rapid fire dialogue and military jargon. I finished it last night, and again discovered that I read a mature science fiction novel.

Heinlein supposedly caught a lot of flack for an overtly pro-military (and some say fascist and species-ist) book. I found it a very compelling read, especially considering it was written in 1959. It’s set in the future, and tells the story about a teenager who volunteers to join the military against his parents’ wishes, mostly because his buddy (and a pretty girl they both know) is doing it. The world has changed since the 20th Century — Earth is part of an interplanetary federation, and ruled as a democracy of sorts…except that only those who have served a full term in the military can vote. Apparently in the late 20th century, things on Earth went downhill: parents ceased disciplining children and were no longer considered responsible for the actions of their children; children, as a result, looked to their peers for security and guidance, joining gangs and engaging in selfish (and ultimately criminal) activities. The criminal justice system ceased holding criminals reasonable beyond a fairly comfortable period of isolation with other criminals, followed by early release and frequent re-incarceration. And citizens young and old became so self-involved that they voted only in their narrow self-interests, for policies that padded their pocketbooks, kept them comfortable, or made them feel good about themselves. Vision, long-term impact, and responsibility to others fell by the wayside…

I’m elaborating a bit. Can you tell the book struck a nerve?

The seductive thing about Starship Troopers is that Heinlein seems to have glimpsed the future, and he paints a picture of the aftermath that is un-American in so many ways and yet makes me shake my graying head in agreement that yes, that’s exactly the problem. Only veterans can be entrusted with vote because only they have shown by their actions — by their service and sacrifice — that they will put the long-term interests of the nation and the public good ahead of their own interests, or even their own lives…un-American, but almost makes sense…parents of juvenile offenders are held partly responsible for the crimes of their progeny and share in the flogging…un-American and brutal, but who hasn’t read a news story and said, “They oughta lock up the parents, instead!”

I recommend the book as a good, quick, and thought-provoking read. I can’t recommend the movie, one, because I haven’t seen it, and two, Denise Richards. (Seriously? She’s the wrong kind of of “cute girl” and Carmen was mostly an emotional presence in the book, not a physical one.) Gonna have to read more Heinlein (and maybe re-read Stranger in a Strange Land). Maybe you should, too.

The Creation of Thunder

/ J. Thorp / 1 Comment

As originally reported on my Facebook page, I watched Ben-Hur this weekend with Brendan and Gabe. I think Brendan now wants me to go back to The Albertville Creamery antiques shop to pick up the late 19th century edition of the book they have for sale. He knows I am susceptible to such suggestions…

At the outset of the movie, as the Overture played, the DVD displays Michelangelo’s painting, The Creation of Adam, and since I was watching with two tween boys, I referenced the irreverent “pull my finger” caption you sometimes see associated with that painting. It was storming at the time, and Gabe (our aspiring priest) said, “GOD said, ‘Pull my finger,’ and the first thunder was created!”

We laughed and laughed. And it was good.

Four Kids; Four Tidbits

/ J. Thorp / 1 Comment

Blogger’s Note: Thought I’d share a little bit about the family from the past few weeks. Just random stuff. Little things …

I was digging through a closet and found a stack of National Geographic magazines from the turn of the century (the 21st Century, unfortunately). The April 2000 issue has an open-mouthed great white shark on it, and as soon as I saw it, I had a flashback to when Brendan was about three years old. I flipped it open and found a feature story called “Yemen United.” I flipped several more pages and found a full-page portrait of a dark-skinned, graceful Yemeni girl, her face more African than Asian, with deep brown eyes, wearing a purple headscarf with black flowers, a colorful floral-and-stripes dress, and a beaded necklace and silver rope chain around her neck.

I showed the cover it to Brendan. “Do you remember this?” I ask.

“Yeah,” he said. “We watched a show about those sharks.”

I open to page 52. “Do you remember this girl?” He is confused by the question and shakes his head no.

“She was your first crush,” I tell him. “When you were three, you used to find the shark magazine every night, look through it until you found this picture, and tell this girl, ‘Good night.'”

He looks embarrassed. “Really?” he asks.

No reason to be embarrassed, Bren. She’s beautiful.*

* * * * *

The Easter Bunny brought the kids Night at the Museum on DVD. Sunday afternoon, Trevor said he couldn’t wait to watch “Hotel After Dark.”

Later in the day, one of the kids said something about the Easter Bunny laying eggs in our house. He or she quickly changed it to hiding eggs, but the whole deal got a big laugh .. and got Trevor thinking.

“I know!” he said. “What if it was Christmas time, and Santa was a polar bear that laid presents!”

* * * * *

After Mass the other day, Father M called Gabriel (and the rest of us) into the vesting sacristy to give Gabe something. Because our middle son thinks he may want to be a priest when he grows up, Father had hinted that he had communion set of some sort for Gabe to practice with.

Gabe was so excited, but almost had to be pushed into the sacristy because it felt “off-limits” — like he was backstage without a pass. Father turned to him, smiling, and presented him with a long purple cleric’s stole, which appeared hand-woven south of the border. “You must always kiss it before you put it on,” Father said, and Gabe nodded, wide-eyed. Then Father gave him a large brown stoneware chalice and paten with the Words of Consecration on their rims. He took them, and stared, and said next to nothing.

Jodi and I both thanked Father, then coaxed Gabe to do the same. He did, haltingly. “We don’t use clay in this church,” said Father, “but this is a real set. Someday, when you’re ordained, you’ll get your own set, but you can practice with this one.”

Gabe said nothing, but nodded. “I think he’s in shock — a little overwhelmed,” I said.

As we walked to the car, I told Gabe that I had thought Father was going to give him some sort of kid’s set: a tin cup and plate, or something. “This was very generous of Father,” I said.

“Dad,” he said, “when I didn’t say anything right away, it was because I was surprised, and overwhelmed, and a little disappointed all at once, because I thought it would be gold, and it wasn’t. I didn’t know it was a real set.”

I told him that I understood how you get something in your head, and when it comes out differently, it can disappoint. “But remember Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade? When Indy had to pick the right Grail and drink from it, but if he picked wrong, he would die? Of all those beautiful cups, which was the right one?”

Gabe’s face lit up. “The carpenter’s cup!”

“Right — the clay cup. Jesus wasn’t rich man, and neither were his disciples. He wouldn’t have had a gold cup!”

You should see him now: he kisses the stole, puts in on, and carries his chalice and paten with such care!

* * * * *

Emma has been working for several weeks, 10 to 15 minutes a night, to read Beverly Cleary’s Runaway Ralph. It was slow going at times — a “stretch” book from the get-go, since she’s just finishing first grade. But she insisted, persisted … and today got 10 out of 10 on her Accelerated Reader quiz, which means she understood what she read. Yeah, Rosie!

* * * * *

* I’ve search the Web over, and cannot find this photo, and I don’t feel right about scanning it. The photographer who shot it has books of famous National Geographic portraits and photos, including this famous Afghan girl. He does good work, and I’m sure he protects his copyrights.

Summer Vacation, Day 60: The Wizard of Oz

/ J. Thorp / 4 Comments

Last night the kids wanted to watch a movie. It’s sometimes a challenge to get them to agree on a single flick – but our DVD player downstairs isn’t working, so we’re limited to the older movies we have on VHS.

Still they were going back and forth, so I said, “How about The Wizard of Oz?” Why, you ask? I dunno – maybe because Jacqui had been blogging about it …

“Yeah!” said Emma.

“Yeah!” said Gabe.

“Um – no!” said Trevor.

“You haven’t even seen The Wizard of Oz, Trevor!” I said, although Jodi’s eyes warned me otherwise.

“Uh-HUUUH!” insisted Trevor.

“Really. What did you see?”

“There were monkeys, and even they could fly!” he said, a big smile breaking across his face.

“Flying monkeys?! That sounds pretty cool! What else?”

“And there was a lion!”

“Was it a mean lion?”

“No, he was a nice lion – even there was a scarecrow!”

“A scarecrow, too? Was he scary?”

“No, and even there was a dog!”

“Wait a minute,” I said. “The Wizard of Oz has flying monkeys, a lion, a scarecrow and a dog? This sounds like a pretty good movie!”

Trevor, by this point was grinning ear to ear, and nodding along with his description.

“And even there’s a collection!”

“A collec … a what?”

“There’s a collection, and even he can move!”

“A collection that moves?” I asked.

“Even the collection has an ax, and even the ax can break wood!”

But of course: the Tin Man, a collection! “Well, Trevvy – that sounds like about the best movie ever!” I said. “Wanna watch it?”

“Yeah – let’s watch it!” he cheered.