The Median Sib

I enjoy photography, and I hope to get a new camera soon so I can take better photographs when I return to Alaska in September.  I’m going to take a photography class before then, too. As a matter of fact, while we’re Alaska, we will spend two days with a photography group in Denali.  Here are THIRTEEN of my favorite photos from the past year.

1. A photo I took last July in Alaska - it’s a sunrise with a dock in the foreground.

2.  Another Alaskan photo - this is of a flower I saw out on the tunda of Denali.

3. Yet another picture from Alaska - snow-capped mountains and clouds reflected on Eagle River.

4. Some forsythia blooming early this spring in PawPaw’s yard.  I like the way it shows up against the sky. I had to lie down on the ground and point the camera upwards to get this shot.

5. Some flowers on the land where PawPaw and I will build our house.

6.  These are roses PawPaw gave me for Valentine’s Day.

7.  This photo is of a rainbow that appeared for about five minutes during a hailstorm last month.  That was the day that the tornadoes did so much damage in north Nashville.  It hailed for awhile, then the sun shone through the clouds for a few minutes, and then the storm resumed.

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8.  The hail I picked up from my yard right before the rainbow (above) appeared.

9.  Sunset in the countryside outside Nashville.

10. Another shot of forsytia.  I like this one because of the graceful curve of the branches.

11. The absolute lights of my life!  Here are Sunshine and Sweet Stuff (my two granddaughters) last summer when I babysat them for a week.  A great action shot, I think.

12. Flowers again - an unusual looking one from our land.  They’re called “Sweet Betsy”.

13.  One last flower photo.  It’s not in focus very well - but when I get my new camera soon, I should be able to take much better photos.  I like the delicate blooms of this wildflower.

A couple summers ago I commuted back and forth to MTSU each day to take some classes.  I looked for books on CD to make the drive more enjoyable.  One of the books I enjoyed was The DaVinci Code.  It was a good read - a little long and tedious at times, but enjoyable.  It made my commute a tad more interesting for a few days.  I plan to see the movie - in a few weeks when the theaters won’t be so crowded.

So there are people who are protesting the movie.  It is FICTION.  Have these protestors checked out the latest X-rated movies or the ones that are so full of gratuitous violence that anyone who hasn’t been totally desensitized to death and destruction can hardly even watch them. Or maybe the ones that glorify satanism?  I can think of quite a few other movies that are more deserving of protest.

The DaVinci Code is based on a theory I’ve heard numerous times throughout the years - that Jesus married Mary Magdalene.  It doesn’t put the Catholic Church in a very favorable light since its premise is that the Church went to great lengths to re-write history.

One of the great aspects of the Christian faith is that it is open to questioning.  What good is a belief if you can’t question it and explore it and look at it from all sides?

Thank God we’re living in a country where people can discuss and debate religious beliefs - where literature and thoughts and speech are not controlled - where writers and filmmakers and songwriters and the average citizen on the street can discuss and question without fear of reprisal.  Can you imagine the killings and beheadings that would be going on if the movie were about Mohammad (RoPMA)?

It’s a movie.  It’s fiction.  Get over it.

Others posting on The DaVinci Code: Reflections of the Times, Freeman Hunt, The Age of Reason, Ramblings of a GOP Soccer Mom, Both Hands, Low Earth Orbit, Verum Serum, Cacciaguida, Movie Marketing Madness, Letters in Bottles