Last week, I posted about reading C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, and I wondered in that space how the Disney folks would handle Aslan.

Now we know what the book marketers are going to try to do. Thanks to Evan Erwin (misterorange)and his comment over on Gary Lamb’s blog, we see this article about that very topic.

This from the Slate article…

Fifty years later, Lewis is surely looking down from heaven in horror. The New York Times recently reported that his beloved “Chronicles of Narnia” series will soon be supplemented by new, secularized installments; HarperCollins plans to bring us, as the title of Doreen Carvajal’s article put it, “Narnia Without a Christian Lion.” All the Narnia books, new and old, will be marketed aggressively, and according to a memo obtained by the Times, “no attempt will be made to correlate the stories to Christian imagery/theology.”

And this…

…Narnia’s “Christian imagery” goes beyond a sprinkling of biblical allusions; the entire story line mirrors the Christian salvation story. The Magician’s Nephew tells the creation story and the way evil seeped into Narnia; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ; Prince Caspian tells how right religion was corrupted and then restored; and so on, until the final volume, The Last Battle, where Ape (the Antichrist) tries to take over Narnia, which leads to Aslan’s second coming. In addition to all the usual challenges of attempting a sequel to a classic, HarperCollins will have to figure out what it could possibly add to such a complete, iconic tale. Will the publishing house insert amusing anecdotes and preteen adventures amid all the divine revelation?

I’ve often wondered why “we” have to “baptize” everything in order to get a message across. And now I’m wondering why “they” feel the need to screw around with an absolutely riveting tale, just to avoid the fact that it just might say something of real and lasting value. Go figure…

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*What Would C.S. Lewis Think?

Some good stuff to help you enjoy whatever remains of the summer, from the good folks at Bruderhof…

…that are doing a tremendous job for the Atlanta Braves this year. The old guy is having the time of his life! Julio Franco turns 47 today!

He’s still a pretty potent force on the field, but his real value may lie in the wisdom and leadership he freely shares with the new guys on the team.

Not too shabby for an old coot! (There may be hope for the rest of us!)

From Samuel Butler, English composer, novelist, and satiric author…

Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes on.

From Chris Widener over at The CEO Refresher…

From Fast Company early this morning…

Live up to your potential instead of imitating someone else’s.
–Martha Burgess, Founder, Theatre Techniques for Business People

I discovered Oscar Peterson when I was a freshman in college. One of my favorite albums – see, there used to be these things called “albums,” about 12 inches in diameter, black vinyl, with one looooonnnngggg groove that made the music come out – was Ella and Oscar. I remember going one night to Hilton Head to see Oscar play. Amazing!

Well, he just turned 80 this week, and he’s still going strong! Oh, and did you know he’s the first living Canadian musician to be honored with a commemorative postage stamp?

Thanks to the good folks over at MetaFilter for the link.

NOTE: The Amazon link above shows the cover art for the Ella and Oscar LP I had, but as one reviewer noted, it’s definitely not the same music. Check the first review for the list of tracks on the album I loved…

…but fantasy world, just the same!

Go over to Tadd Grandstaff’s blog, get inside his mind, and read his post about the time, effort, and almost “cult-like” involvement in preparing for his upcoming fantasy football league. Be sure to catch the last couple of paragraphs…

If I spent half that time excited about what I do everyday for my so called “calling” in life, What kind of impact would I have? Whose life could I be used to help change? What kind of impression could I be used to help make in this community?

All the time I spend focusing on a fantasy world clouds my vision of a real world that truly needs my attention.

Now, my “vice” isn’t fantasy football, although I spent last summer having a big ol’ time in a fantasy baseball league. No, my “vice” may be fantasy church leading or something like that. I find myself, at times, living vicariously through the lives of others who are doing something significant for the Kingdom. I wonder…if I spent half as much time “doing” as I do “acting like it,” what kind of impact could I have? What could God use me to do?

Ouch! But thanks, anyway, Tadd! Good Great Stuff…

Since the new Chronicles of Narnia movie is due out at Christmas time, I thought I’d do a little “refresher” reading. (Just an aside: It’ll be very interesting to see what the Disney people do about Aslan.)

So anyway, I pulled out and dusted off the old paperback editions and started digging in. Book 1, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe starts with C.S. Lewis’s “dedication” to Lucy Barfield, his goddaughter. And it includes these great words…

I wrote this story for you, but when I began it I had not realized that girls grow quicker that books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.

I hope I never get “too old for fairy tales.” I hope I never lose the sense of wonder in great stories – especially the true ones. I hope I always know what it means to share that wonder wherever I go.