I saw the Chronicles of Narnia movie last night and left the theater without experiencing a religious conversion. The movie itself was entertaining, but it didn’t evoke the same kind of substantive sense of dread and foreboding that I experienced in all three of the Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth felt like a fully realized world, while the Narnia presented here seems somewhat two-dimensional. But that might be more a flaw with the source material. This film was aimed at a decidedly younger crowd, with cute kids in the starring roles and an abundance of talking animals. As for the Christian imagery, it’s certainly there, but it’s not emphasized any more than it is in the book. I doubt that it will turn off secular audiences. The movie’s impressive first-weekend box office receipts won’t do anything to discourage Hollywood from greenlighting more fantasy-themed projects.
A few years ago, science fiction author David Brin wrote a column in Salon criticizing Lord of the Rings (and most of the fantasy literature it spawned) for promoting an antiquated and anti-democratic worldview. He reflected on the reasons these kinds of stories may be enjoying such a surge in popular appeal:
Wouldn’t life seem richer, finer if we still had kings? If the guardians of wisdom kept their wonders locked up in high wizard towers, instead of rushing onto PBS the way our unseemly “scientists” do today? Weren’t miracles more exciting when they were doled out by a precious few, instead of being commercialized, bottled and marketed to the masses for $1.95?
These movies tend to express an affection for a kind of benevolent feudalism that seems to sit quite well with a lot of people. Brin’s analysis makes me wonder if we are an instinctually reactionary people, constantly looking over our shoulders at a gauzy past while the future rushes towards us like a bullet train.

I’ve quickly come to the conclusion that I’m a writer, not a web designer. My first few attempts to redesign the site resulted in little more than some muttered expletives. So here’s what I’m going to do. I want a professional-looking design, so I might as well pay a professional to do it.
I’m looking to hire someone who has experience with both web and graphic design to do a complete overhaul of The 19th Floor. Knowledge of CSS is a must and I’d really love to find someone who has a strong arts background. I want a customized banner image, a revamped color scheme, and a three-column layout. I’m willing to pay either a flat fee or a reasonable hourly rate for assistance on what should be at most a ten-hour project (I’m thinking somewhere between $100-$200). If you have examples of other projects that you can show me, that’d be great. This could be a good gig for a freelancer looking to make a little extra cash for the holidays or for a student looking to build a portfolio.
Interested candidates can e-mail me at mcsiegel19@gmail.com. I may also post something on Craigslist.

On yesterday’s Morning Edition, Ben Mattlin, a commentator with a physical disability, discusses the unexpected death of a friend who was a quadriplegic as the result of an accident. At his friend’s funeral, the pastor and several family members made varying remarks on the same theme: he was free of his unresponsive body, he was now walking around in heaven, and so forth. I’ve watched a few families deal with the death of a loved one with a disability and this seems like a typical attitude. The mourning family has an entirely human need to believe that their loved one is now “whole” again and living in a better place. This kind of thinking is, I suppose, mostly harmless, but it does make one wonder whether the family ever completely accepted that person, disability and all. It makes one wonder if the disability was more an issue for the family rather than for the person being mourned.
I’m fairly certain my immediate family and close friends wouldn’t express such sentiments upon my demise. Like anyone else, I’d hope they’d miss me and think of me fondly from time to time, but I’d be horrified if anyone looked back on my life and saw anything less than a rich and full existence.

I feel a 19th Floor redesign coming on. I’ve been wanting to experiment with a three-column design that might give the site a more streamlined appearance. I also want to try adding a background image to the title bar. I don’t pretend to have much in the way of stylesheet kung foo, but there are tools like the Movable Type Style Generator that can make me seem, at the very least, competent. My plan is to tackle this project in the next week to ten days, so let me know if you have any ideas on layout or color scheme.

When I renewed my MPR membership, I received a subscription to The Economist as my thank-you gift. I have a sinking feeling that I’m going to have to devote entire Sundays to keeping up with my magazines. But at least I can speak knowledgeably on voters’ recent rejection of Kenya’s draft constitution. You never know when that sort of thing might come in handy at a dinner party. Of course, there’s always the risk that I might come across as an insufferable bore.
Thanks to everyone who has identified themselves on my Frappr map. I find it fascinating to see all of the places my readers call home. If you haven’t done so yet, I hope you’ll consider adding yourself.