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Austin Aitken was just another regular guy having a regular day, when he chose to allow his brain to turn off and his television to turn on. Austin, feeling in good health for a 49 yr old man mind you, chose to waste his time on NBC’s Fear Factor as he had many times before. But this time it would prove to be near-almost-approx. fatal. Unlike every other show, this show just went to far. It showed people, men and woman (most likeley in swimsuits because thats the proper attire if you are going to let scorpions crawl over your body, then jump from a speeding boat onto a helicoptor while chewing pig rectums) eating disgusting things, in this case rats mixed in a blender(where was peta?).

At this moment, for Austin, it was like all the milk in the world got spilled and then went sour. He got light headed, his blood pressure rose and he began to vomit. Then, feeling very disoriented from the vomitting, light headedness(?), and milk spilling, Austin rose to head toward the bathroom and knocked his head on a doorway “causing suffering, injury and great pain.”

So what does Austin do? I mean NBC ruined his life and his favorite pants. Austin sues. Austin sues for 2.5 million. Claiming it’s not about the money, he says he thinks its horrible what they force these willing volunteers to do and he wants to send a message to NBC.

Now I can’t go into how much I dislike the majority of what is shown on the devil box (television in the commoners tongue), reality t.v., and lawsuits. I’ll also add in celebrity gossip and men’s bikini underwear. I could just call this guy and everyone else who watches tv stupid but Im going to try a less pessimistic approach.

I understand we are a entertainment driven culture and I dont think entertainment is bad. Im a film major for goodness sake. But there are lesser forms of entertainment. Music is entertainment, but it can also be art or performance, and take hours of dedication to master. Hours in my opinion spent worthwhile. Its a craft. Watching television only takes your time, unless you only watch the Science channel, it never gives back. Most shows will not provoke thought. Television has been described very simply as “talking heads” and thats all it is. So next time you have something to do but you turn the tv on instead because its easier or you chose to watch someone else’s life, instead of living your own remember this:

Your tivo has no arms to hug you back

The more I get into Book 1 of C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, the more I love it. Everyone who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings novels or The Hobbit and especially any of Lewis’ other writings, will really enjoy this book.

It’s not only a good adventure story, but the writing is so intelligent and his observations he makes about the fragileless of humanity when in contact with a new world are enlightening. I have not been this excited about reading a book since I read The Hobbit.

Lewis and Tolkien write in such a way as to say, “this is real and I’m just passing it along to you.” Lewis set out to tell stories that pointed man toward God set in conceived worlds, whether Narnia or Malacandra. Tolkien was working on a Mythology that people could accept and add onto. Though he states he did not set out to write a “christian allegory” as Lewis did, he says this, “I would claim to have as one object the elucidation of truth and the encouragement of good morals in the real world by the ancient device of exemplifying them in unfamiliar embodiments that may tend to bring them home.”

Though they both took different paths, their works come to the same point, man left to his own devices is corrupt, but with the guidance of a higher power can accomplish great good.

More on The Chronicles of Narnia
A video has been released of some of the work WETA is doing for the upcoming movie adaption of the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It’s pretty awesome, check it out here