Tuesday, August 29, 2006

"The Man Who Was Thursday" Discussion

I found this interesting blog recently, called "Veritatis Visio", where a discussion of The Man Who Was Thursday has just finished. There was also a discussion of A Tale of Two Cities which I enjoyed reading very much.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

Plymouth Rock and Chickens

I recently listened to the talk enititled 'Chesterton and De Toqueville' by Kurt Griffen, it was very interesting and entertaining. It was about (obviously) GKC and De Toqueville but more specifically about their trips to America. Since this was the subject, the books most talked about were (not surprisingly) What I Saw in America by GKC and Democracy in America by De Toqueville. I was interested by some of the things I heard from this talk about What I Saw in America so today (partly because I was interested and partly because I needed to post here) I picked it up. I browsed through the index and decided to try chapter 14: Lincoln and Lost Causes. I was greeted on the first page by this hilarious quote:

It would perhaps be an exaggeration to say that Plymouth Rock is a chicken. Any English person keeping chickens and chiefly interested in Plymouth Rocks considered as chickens, would nevertheless have a hazy sensation of having seen the word somewhere before. He would feel subconsciously that the Plymouth Rock had not always been a chicken. Indeed the name connotes something not only solid but antiquated; and it is not therefore a very tactful name for a chicken. There would rise up before him something memorable in the haze that he calls his history; and he would see the history books of his boyhood and old engravings of men in steeple- crowned hats struggling with sea-waves or Red Indians. The whole thing would sudenly become clear to him (by a simple reform) the chickens were called Pilgrim Fathers.

What I was initially looking for (although I was not successful) was the part quoted in the afore-mentioned talk about the sameness of Hotels. How everything was the same, not only were all hotel floors the same, all hotels were the same. This in turn led to the ridiculous names frequently bestowed upon these hotels, well actually 'Inns', The Ramada Inn, The Relax Inn and the Comfort Inn. I must add to this one of the 'Inns' that my brother stayed at while on a trip, The Sleep Inn. Well there is obviously much more to be read in What I Saw in America but that's all for now. I just had share that (and I also had to post:).

Sunday, August 13, 2006

More Chesterton Sites

My mom found these two sites today, I'm glad she did. I've got some things to add to my wishlist.

Click here and here to see these sites.
My brother and I really like this, an old dramatized The Man Who Was Thursday, from 1938 to be exact. Have Fun.

ChesterTeens reading list

This is the reading list my mom has started for, well, ChesterTeens.
Suggestions are very welcome.

Friday, August 11, 2006

What would Chesterton do...


... if this was coming to his neighborhood?

The "service" is going to be a concert and talk given by the co-president of The Freedom From Religion Foundation.

Please share your own thoughts; I'll post mine tomorrow.