Pilot

So I am starting another blog. My reasons are thus:

Because I am in a band that’s starting to garner some local (and quite possibly soon national) attention, I feel compelled to accept the myspace friendships of people that I don’t know. However, that makes me censor myself way too much when I am considering what to blog about on myspace. I did once have a Xanga which I enjoyed immensely, until everyone and their mother decided to transfer to myspace. While I enjoy the messaging and communication and individualized style that myspace offers, I enjoy the freedom and simplicity of blogspot or xanga much more. So you might say I am returning to my blogging roots. Haha.

Not much on the agenda today. I am heading to Jacksonville for Katie and Billy’s wedding tonight with my sister, so I’m excited about the little road trip. And of course I always like an excuse to dress up;)

I am currently reading “The Subtle Knife,” the second installment in the His Dark Materials trilogy and it is absolutely blowing my mind. I remember a conversation I had with my friend Billy (different than Wedding Billy) about Milton’s Paradise Lost. I was in the Christian Study Center in Gainesville, probably studying and drinking some iced coffee, when Billy stopped by my table. He was absolutely brimming over with awe and struggle as he shared his impressions and reactions as he read this epic story. Paradise Lost evokes the cosmic war between Satan and God, when this angel of light was thrown out of heaven for rebelling against God. Satan gathers together followers to wage war against the Creator, targeting Adam and Eve in the Garden as his main strategy. There were political overtones in Milton’s work, as Milton himself was part of the rebellion against the English king. He was an ardent believer in the republic, and strongly opposed absolute monarchy. So actually, Milton paints a sympathetic picture of Satan. What absolutely floored Billy was his sudden comprehension of Satan’s perspective, the rebellion and anti-authoritarian principles that influenced Milton’s poetry. To actually identify with Satan was a disturbing concept to him, but Billy let it wash over him and change what it could of his perspective on this cosmic story that we all are part of in a way.

Like the good passionate English major he was, Billy lent me his copy of Paradise Lost so I could share in this spiritual wrestling;), but unfortunately because of time and busyness I think the book found its way into box or the back end of a shelf. Although I have yet to read Paradise Lost I imagine it was sort of like C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, but multiplied several times over, because no matter how deep Lewis delved into the mind of Screwtape or Wormwood, Lewis clearly had an exhortational and pedagogical—not to mention Christian worldview—in his writing.

Because of His Dark Materials—a quote incidentally taken directly from Paradise Lost—my curiosity is piqued once again and I plan on reading Paradise Lost as soon as I am done with the trilogy. I also hope to buy a collection of critical essays about the trilogy.

From what I’m reading, HDM is a retelling of Paradise Lost, set in an alternate world as well as our own. The characters are complex and layered, and the world immersive, the plot obviously engaging enough to capture the young adult audience for which it was intended. But the themes are deeply metaphysical and theological, and the questions it raises (or flaunts) upset foundations enough that I’m quite surprised this book hasn’t elicited as much attention or controversy as the Da Vinci Code. It certainly would ruffle the feathers of many in the evangelical circles.

Anyway I will keep you all updated with my travels and imaginative wanderings like always;)

Enjoy!