In the beginning, it was the story, the classic hero epic of a man who fails but redeems himself in the end, which always held my attention. Beowulf ~ that nightmare of high school students everywhere~ talk about wordy, the old English a tough read, at first glance it is enough to turn most away . However, it is the story of the story, my heritage and yours also if any North Country blood flows in your veins. This tale, or one very much like it, was told around campfires at night, clan gathered close against the dark and that terrible evil which resides there. In one of the worlds greatest fusions, the blending of the art of story telling ,oral history, the fisherman’s gift for embellishing, and a cautionary moral tale evolved some 1,500 years ago. The demons promise, the sirens song, the dance with evil, bargaining with your very self/soul for the promise of glory, great good or grace. These archetypes run through our very genes and our every day lives.

The origins are murky, somewhere between the 8^th and the 11^th century real events occurred, in Denmark and Sweden, passed from bard to bard, story keeper to story keeper, until two scribes known only as A and B began the recording of the poem, all 3183 lines. Scribe B took over at line 1939, he was quite attentive to detail and even proof read Scribe A‘s work. All else the historians debate over, the exact who, what, when and where are unknown. Is this the tale of one great hero or a compilation of several heroic deeds? It is the earliest story from the Nordic traditions, recorded by very early Christians, whose additions are easily re-figured from their pagan equivalents. The beast Grendel is said to be a descendant of Cain and Abel, a survivor of the great flood. There are passages expressing disapproval of heathen ideas and worship, some ten passages speak of heaven, hell and judgment day, most un-heathen concepts. There are 53 incidental references to the Christian God.

While the Christian hands that wrote this tale are undeniable, there is little doctrine here, what references there are allude to the Old Testament. Beowulf is set in an earlier time, a time when heroes could still walk the earth , a time of change being neither entirely pagan nor fully Christian.

Now put away your Cliff notes, for we have two very different loose translations to avail ourselves of~Robert Zemeckis’s Beowulf and Sturla Gunnarsson’s Beowulf and Grendel. Each film captures an aspect of this saga, yet neither fulfills the promise.

Zemeckis’ take ,scripted by Neil Gaiman and Richard Avery in 2007, advances the same technique that The Polar Express used and is laugh out loud funny at times and only requires you to go on auto pilot to enjoy it. This Grendel, acted by Crispin Glover, is a horror yet strangely endearing ala the original Frankenstein. Campy, gory and meant to be seen in 3-D, it holds to the supernatural elements of the original and runs away with them. “Whenever you are depicting dragons, it is not that you are saying dragons are real. It is that your telling people that dragons can be defeated ~that’s a huge thing and a real thing” Neil Gaiman.

Director Sturla Gunnarsson version requires of the viewer no more thinking than the occasional; they spoke like that and cursed too? This film takes huge liberties with the tale; almost all the inherent otherworld- ness is gone. Poor Grendel is reduced to a mere troll, yet one mean misunderstood troll at that. Watching Gerard Butler in all his manliness is never hard, and an herb woman played by Sarah Pauley is added for sexual tension and a plot twist. The stunning locations really help here, and the weather that cast and crew battled with can be felt on the screen. Heroes still do battle with elemental forces it seems. For a weekend of easy watching, seeing the foundation of such great hero epics as the Tolkien tales and Star Wars, and good old fashioned mind-numbing gore~ I can recommend both films for rental.

Nonetheless, after watching both films, reading those Cliff notes and slugging through the original saga~ it is still the story that captures me. One cannot make deals with demons ~even if they look like Angelina Jolie. We will all die in the end, we are flawed human beings, and our choices echo down to our children. If we are brave, honest and can face our mistakes, we may yet win out in the end. The time of the heroes may well be past us, but stories end is up to each of us.Make good choices.

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A TED talk featuring Wade Davis,a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence,who travels the globe to live alongside indigenous people, and document their cultural practices in books, photographs, and film.

 Here he muses on the worldwide web of belief and ritual that makes us human. He shares breathtaking photos and stories of the Elder Brothers, a group of Sierra Nevada indians whose spiritual practice holds the world in balance.

It will take 20 minutes of your day~ but is worth it.

http://www.ted.com/index.ph...

Here is the National Geographic link: http://ngm.nationalgeograph...

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I know some folks are tired of this topic~ I sure am. It is not about pets, politics, policies or a recall...

Colleen Clark awaits justice, so does a young man. The trial of this young person, who allegedly attempted to do her harm, ended today. My friend, the victim’s boss, just left my house after another evening of asking why~ we have few answers. She has been going to the trial to support this young woman and looking at the face of this young man (born the same month and year Kelsey, my son, was)…now we wait for the jury to decide the merits of the case.

What will justice look like? What will it feel like? We tend to see this youth as some sort of sociopath. Yet both of us cannot help but think what a waste, what potential could this man have developed in some other life? How can we help our friend heal? Is their an answer to how to stop this sort of madness?

As for me, the path less taken has stood me well. I have yet to murder another human being. I hope that record stands.

Thanks to Steve and TBC for covering this mess.

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

From the NY Times News Service article by Jacques Steinberg

The two rivals sat next to each other quietly and at the end stood, talked together and embraced~ no more fitting tribute to Tim Russert’s power and legacy can be found.
Specifically it was Luke Russert’s request that Senators McCain and Obama be seated together during his father’s funeral service. He then in remarks from the pulpit exhorted them and other politicians to “engage in spirited debate but disavow the low tactics that distract Americans from the most important issues facing our country”.

“Five months from now” Luke said a few hours later, “I wanted them to remember that this occasion brought them together”

Wise words and such wisdom from one so young.
The vitriol is already being tossed around here at b.com, and is already being tossed around out farther a field in the political world.

Yet I would urge all to take a moment and consider those words.
Do we want to continue slinging slurs at each other furthering the day this great country breaks apart? On the other hand, do we want to engage in respectful debate that leaves us room to unite as one country?

I take heart the young point to a better way.

"Thunder Road" ,in a satellite acoustic performance,concluded the service.
 

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I saw a small article in the paper yesterday about this.The early facts are not encouraging,so my advice is to keep your eyes open and practice excellent food safety standards.

seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/366301_pigmrsa09.htm l 

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No matter your political affiliation,we have seen history in the making.Several blogs have been put up about how "dangerous" one side is compared to the other,and many harsh things have been said back and forth.

No one has mentioned history has been made~ both by the first serious woman candidate,and by the presumptive nominee,a black man. We have much to be proud of in this country and much that still needs work.I hope we all realize in our hearts that we must as country unite no matter the outcome in the election.

I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on that~ America,long may she stand.

War Dance~~~

Best documentary nominee for the 2008 Oscars, this movie is the balm for empathy burnout. We follow the lives of schoolchildren from a refugee camp, orphaned in the civil war in Uganda, as they sing and dance their way to the nation’s top competition, the Kampala Musical Festival. The camp was originally meant for 5 families, it now holds 50,000 people. There are some, 200,000 orphaned children in all of Uganda. The focus is on three children, Nancy, Rose and Dominic whose faces will never leave you and whose spirit will inspire you.
“We are the children of the war zone- we have lost mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers we have seen evil but our story does not end here…”

Nancy ~ “Our home was beautiful, it had plenty of trees and was cool” That morning her parents leave for their fields as always but at night only her mother returns. Ignoring their cries of where is Papa, she quickly orders Nancy to take her two younger siblings and go hide in the bush. She returns after two days to find her father hacked into pieces and her mother gone.

Rose~ “when the rebels pulled out my mothers head from the cooking pot I felt I was losing my mind”. She and the other children of the village where forced to watch each head emerge as a warning. The rebels leave the village desolated and the orphans to fend for themselves. In the camp, she finds an aunt who needs help with her children and reluctantly takes her in. “I dream of my parents every night, I wish they were still alive”

Dominic~ His eyes steady on the camera never even blink. “You are the first to know I have killed. The rebels told the farmers to lie down face first in the field, they told everyone not to turn away or close their eyes or they would be killed. We older boys(9 years of age) had to take the farmers hoes and hack them until they died or we would be killed” He escapes some days later and makes his way to the refugee camp.

If you pity these children, you are without eyes or ears, because as they sing and dance their traditional tribal songs you see how the human spirit can be healed. Nancy is a dancer but wants to become a Doctor and have a clinic in the camp. Rose defies her aunt and goes to the competition, her voice, her father always told her, was a gift from God. Dominic plays a wooden “xylophone”, not happy with the sound he concentrates as he pulls out the nails, readjusts the wooden key, restrings the jute around the nails and plays on. It makes him feel happy to play and he wants to become a professional musician.

I cannot say enough about this amazing film, these children. You owe it to yourself to seek out this movie. Please. Soon.

For more information go to Shine Global and the movies official site: http://www.wardancethemovie...

 

Blind Spot:Hitlers Secretary~

Andre Heller and Othmar Schmiderer,documentarians,rolled their cameras and 81 year old Traudl Junge recalls for some 95 minutes her life as Hitlers secretary.

We see,through her life and experiences, a unique view of Hitler,the Nazi regime and the German peoples mind set at the time. "I never got the idea he was conscious of pursuing criminal acts.To him they were great ideals,a human life meant nothing in comparison to those lofty goals".

 The footage is full of both small banal moments and pivotal historic ones. She speaks of his love for his dog,Blondie and she heard the sound of the bullet when he committed suicide. The documentary is compelling in it's bare bones approach,just a woman struggling with her past.Her inability in the end to forgive a 20 year old girl,who in her naivety and ignorance served arguably the worlds greatest criminal. It forces one to consider the blinders we all must put on to live our lives in relative peace.

Downfall~ is the Oscar nominated dramatization based on Blind Spot,in it's own right a great film.

I recommend both for a full night of historical perspective.