For a so-called Christmas film this has precious little to do with Christmas. However, its climax occurs on Christmas eve, so it kind of fits. The story concerns a family in St Louis in 1904. The World Fair is going to be held there the following spring, and everyone is excited by the news. The…
Wise men saw a star in the east And went looking for a king A shot in the dark A journey of faith Wise men found a child And knew him for the lord of all But they did not know That their gifts could not match his His gift was shiny like gold…
How often do you read a book that makes you smile all the way through? I was given this book at the age of eleven, and many years later I still love it. Tolly is a seven-year old boy who is going to stay with his great-grandmother. He has not met her before and doesn’t…
It’s hard to take, for those alone All the appropriate feelings Happiness, good cheer, family and friends Smiles make pain scream all the louder So share your Christmas blessings With the bereaved, the sick, the sad Shine a little light in their darkness At the birth of grace Give hope to the hopeless God came…
“A Graveyard for Lunatics” is the second in a series of three mystery novels written by Ray Bradbury. It is set in 1950s Hollywood, on the grounds of a film studio, and is essentially a murder mystery. The narrator is a writer of science fiction hired by the studio and loosely based on Bradbury himself,…
In the empty caverns of an empty soul Something echoes, a sad sound Is it fear that current plans will fail Is it conviction that all plans must fail Immaterial Time to sing a new song Time to fill the empty caverns With music of the heart Time to plant seeds of faith And grow…
In 1984, before the birth of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki directed an anime film called “Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind”. Here we find all the ingredients that would go on to be the bedrock of his work – the theme of being in balance with the earth, the motif of flight, and the…
On the border between dream and nightmare It could swing either way Take charge, stand your ground Exert your will Wolves become puppies Demons turn to harmless sprites Close the door on the bad and the mad And open the way to a country Where everything shines
In 1933 in Adelaide, South Australia, a local business owner created a Christmas pageant. It featured eight floats and four bands, and was watched by 200,000 people. Other than a short hiatus during World War 2, it has run every year since. 86 years later, 84 floats and bands have completed the pageant last Saturday,…
I need income support Sure, they say And I wait and I wait and Oh, haven’t we done that? We’ll get right on it And I wait and I wait and Oh, it got stuck in the computer All sorted now And I wait and I wait and Haven’t we done that yet? It’ll be…
Eclectic Assemblage 