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Peter W's BLOG ARCHIVES CONTAIN EARLIER ENTRIES >> >> >> To > 2009 - Fall 2010 - WINTER Feb. 5 - Santa Claus Bail Out!! - Current Events I heard on the news this morning that the organizers of the Santa Claus Parade in Toronto are looking for a $4 million bailout or grant to continue the annual event. They need a better warehouse to accommodate higher floats and equipment. This is a ridiculous idea for several reasons. Who benefits from this parade? Well, some would say that it is the spectators with their children who line the streets, or the millions of TV viewers watching around the world. I hope that The parade receives some benefit from the televising. Now, I don't want to be regarded as having a humbug attitude towards Christmas (although many have already labeled me as such), but I think it's a little naive to think that those are the main benefactors. The people most benefiting from this commercial orgy of Christmas icons are the businesses promoting their products, inducing you to start you Christmas shopping, or just pushing the various memes associated with Christmas to urge the public into the buying frenzy. It seems to be as obvious as can be that these commercial institutions are the ones who should be providing the financial backing from the parade. Why should taxpayers pay for an event designed to increase the profits of commercial institutions? Beyond that, why should the multicultural taxpayer pay for an event that may or may not reflect their own religious, political or ideological beliefs. It is a misuse of public funds. The current climate of throwing bailout money at everything combined with the "warm fuzzy" nature of the Santa Claus parade threatens to blind us to the obvious. Regardless of whether you enjoy it or not, it's really just a big infomercial.
Feb. 7 - The Child Thief - Culture I just finished reading The Child Thief, by Brom. It's another story involving kids fighting and killing. (Honest, I'm not seeking them out.) It almost seems to be a new genre, possibly a spin off from the Harry Potter books. This one is a retelling of Peter Pan with the darkest twists you can imagine. Peter, obsessed with winning against the Captain, kidnaps unwanted children from the real world and takes them to fight his battle. It is definitely not a YA novel, but would probably be one of those books that adolescent boys would lap up. The violence is extreme and gruesome, though not gratuitous. The language is generously peppered with pointed expletives. There's nothing really of a romantic or sexual nature. It's a great book. It totally engaged me. The descriptive writing is fast paced and exciting, pushing you to read quickly to keep up with the tempo of the story and the beating of your heart. In an excellent Afterword written by the author, Brom refers back to the original, unedited, unsantitized version of Peter Pan, pointing out that there were a lot of unanswered questions about statements in the original story, like, "The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out..." We know that those original sotries were all much more gritty than their present day, politically correct, Disneyfied versions. No wonder boys don't like to read. The people who wrote those original stories knew what was engaging in stories. I look at picture books and other novels available for kids now and wonder what mentally sedated version of the world produced them. They are often either tepid as day old porridge or are calculated to present some noble character trait in a thin and drab disguise. This new breed of books that has emerged from Harry Potter, has got the old bite and guts that has become unpopular in the Librarian circles over the past decades. Books like The Hunger Games, The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Child Thief have action and raw emotions, -and every one of them has authentic moral themes, the likes of which can only be presented in books that address difficult choices and situations by striking a blow square between the eyes. Diluted stories have diluted themes, and don't really fool anyone. Personally I applaud these new books. An interesting theme which is common to many of these books is rebellion against the status quo, whether it be outdated religious ideas or a corrupt government. In The Child Thief, just like in The Knife..., the villain is a deranged preacher spouting dogmatic religion. I have to say that it warms my heart. I don't regard these as being anti-religious, but rather anti-dogmatic. Providing adolescents with examples who question dogmatic authority, whether it be religious or political, can never be a bad thing. In most of these books, the questions associated with the killing are brought out through deep introspection within the characters. There are points requiring decision making in the plot which encourage the reader to examine their own views as they read. I strongly feel that, like the comic books I read as a kid, these books promote positive moral values. The strong language and violent nature of The Child Thief may cause some parents or teachers to consider it inappropriate for YA. If so, then they should read it themselves first so that they can help guide the YA through it. That's what does the damage. Not the violence or strong language in films, games and books, -but the fact that young people are often left in a vacuum to experience them.
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