Fantasyland

Today, I read an article about how some people are getting terribly depressed by the fact that they can never get to the planet Pandora (from Avatar). Apparently, there's a website where viewers share their laments and hope for encouragement from fellow lamenters. Here is a sampling of them from the Huffington Post:

"I just watched Avatar a few weeks ago and I'm feeling depressed and sad. It's like I want to reach out and be in Pandora. I'd do anything to be in Pandora. I've tried so hard to dream about me being on Pandora but it hasn't worked."

"Ever since I went to see Avatar I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of them. I can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora and the everything is the same as in Avatar."

Wow. Suicide to be rebirthed in a world similar to Pandora? That's a little extreme. And creepy. I do agree that Pandora looks incredibly beautiful, especially at night when all the plants are illuminated and the small creatures light up, but getting depressed by the fact that Pandora is pure imagination seems a little silly to me.

Granted, there are plenty of places I would love to visit if they existed. Narnia, for example. Have tea with Mr. Tumnus, ride a talking horse, bury my face in a lion's mane and feel no fear. Or Middle Earth where I could plant gardens in The Shire, befriend a talking tree, and write a book with the elves. Sounds pretty lovely to me. But that's what fantasy is. An escape from reality. To give you refreshment, inspiration, and freedom.

But fantasies aren't just about the landscapes; they're about the story. You can't dwell on the fact that you'll never see those lands in person. Learn from the creatures who inhabit those worlds. See what they have to show you about the real world and the real you.

And thank the author for giving you such a beautiful place to visit. :)

Newest desire

So, since everyone seems to be expanding their families, and I don't want to be left behind but don't want a child right now, I've decided that I want a puppy. Maybe a dachshund or cairn terrier. Both fun little dogs that are good with kids (for when we have them) and are super cute. Check 'em out:

Only problem: we can't have dogs at our apartment. Guess we'll just have to get a house! :) Oh, the desires never end! At least I've got my Phoebe.

Surprise in the Mail

Josh and I received letters we'd written to each other - last year. During our pre-marriage counseling, we wrote our hopes, dreams, concerns, and encouragements for our first year of marriage, and then promptly forgot all about them (what with last minute wedding plans and honeymoon and getting used to life and all). So, what a pleasant surprise when we found them in the mailbox! I think I'd like to make that a tradition. Kinda like short-term time capsules :)

Two days ago, I found out that another one of my friends is expecting a baby. She's younger than me, which makes it extra strange to me. But yay! Now I have an excuse to buy baby things! But seriously, people, stop it. Or I'm gonna want one too!

Merry Christmas!

Movie Quote of the Year

I wasn't sure if I'd like Love Actually, but once Hugh Grant finished his opening monologue, I knew this movie was a winner:

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around."

Pure poetry.

Feeling Accomplished

Yesterday, I found out that a manuscript that I read and highly recommended is going to be published! How affirming! Seriously, that made my day. Now I know that I have a knack for finding good literature. But it is making it a little difficult to be searching for technical writing jobs when I've discovered that I'm good at this editing stuff. I do have an interview sometime soon with the people from the MN Literacy Council, though. They produce a literary magazine each year, and they're interested in me helping them out! It's a part-time unpaid internship again, of course, but what can you do? The publishing world is kinda brutal, and I'm still tasting the beginnings of it.

So, be looking for a collection of short stories called Still Life with Plums. It should come out in about two years :)

Corresponding Shapes

My heart is breaking. People living together before they are married, people being politically correct about homosexuality, people being homosexuals. What ever happened to the sanctity of marriage, to the beauty that God created for us? Maybe I'm more effected by these social norms now, because I am married and know just how wonderful and lovely it is, and I see how Satan is destroying it. And maybe I'm more attuned to the deterioration of love, because I'm interning at a publishing company where artists are more open about their sexuality, more articulate about their sin. They make it look glamorous, poetic, beautiful. And that bothers me deeply.

But I'm a writer too. And a Christian. I feel more like a minority than I ever have before. But I won't stand for tolerance, acceptance. Tolerance becomes complacency, ignorance, indifference, and I don't want to live in an indifferent world. I will celebrate sexuality, but within marriage and between a man and a woman. Sorry if I offend anyone, but I will make God's view known.

And on a side note, though the Twilight series is very poorly written, Meyers is at least portraying dedicated love. And hey, they don't have sex until they're married. Kudos for that. In a world filled with frivolous sex, it's good that young people are idolizing a storyline that has some moral goodness in it. Not that idolizing is all that great of a thing, but that's an entirely different topic. I won't get on my soapbox about it, yet ;)

Love,

Heidi