News and current issues

Yesterday I did something I may never do again.  I went and bought a battery at RadioShack.  As you may have heard, my old work place is changing it’s name to The Source (by Circuit City).  Circuit City bought RadioShack’s mother company, InterTan, last year.  Ongoing disagreements with the American RadioShack led to a court battle, which eventually ruled in favour of RadioShack USA, allowing them to end their license with RadioShack in Canada.  That means that the stores can no longer use the RadioShack name.

Started in 1921, the store in modern days was distinct because it has smaller stores but more of them, in order to be convenient.  And although I’m sure we’ve all had bad experiences, generally speaking their staff was far better trained on a variety of electronics topics than those in other electronics stores.  I know, I had to go through the training!

From the sounds of it, Circuit City is insisting in vague terms that you’ll be able to find the same products at the store that you always have.  On the other hand, they’re talking about adding “unique Asian products” and more “electronics hardware”.  Of course, we all know that if they become just another electronics store, they’re headed for trouble.  So we shall see…

Yesterday, Shari and I were in the same room as more dignitaries than we ever have been, or perhaps ever will be.  The long list included the Prime Minister and his wife, the leader of the opposition and his wife, the Governor General and her husband, the Premier and his wife, the Mayor and his wife, the list goes on and on. See some photos I took of the event here.  Of course, most people were there to see royalty – Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip.

There’s a lot I was thinking about saying afterwards, but watching the news changed my course a little bit.  There’s been so much reporting around the event.  The monarchists are ecstatic about the whole thing, the anti-monarchists (is that what they’re called?) were disgusted.  Most of the positive news was about what a charming and wonderful person the Queen herself is. &nbsp15,000 people of all ages gathered to see the Royal Couple, from newborns to children to teens to adults to seniors to the very elderly.  I saw them all there.

But what got me is one news reporter who I suppose was trying to make a point about how little some of Calgary’s youth cared about the Queen.  Of course, many youth were very interested and were there.  But the ones in the interview said that she was nothing more than a “curiosity”, and completely “irrelevant.”  Is she?

Now I won’t get into whether or not she should be our Queen, or any of these monarchist/anti-monarchist arguments.  However, I think people my age and younger too soon forget (or haven’t been told) about what has happened over her lifetime.  In the years before she was Queen, almost the whole world was under the control of the West.  Britain controlled much of the world – at it’s peak, the British Empire was the largest empire the world has ever known.  But in the years after World War II, even to this day, many countries and groups wanted independence.  Often this was a bloody business.  Power has shifted dramatically away from the Western World, and the world I grew up in did not even know the world the way it had been so recently.

For all the mistakes and injustices of the West including Britain, the amazing thing is that so many countries gained their independence so peacefully.  Not only that, they maintain a common bond, the Commonwealth.  No matter what you may think of the Commonwealth of Nations, it’s amazing that these countries and peoples once dominated by an empire were able to gain independence and maintain a good relationship with the United Kingdom.  It has been largely due to the tireless effort of  Queen Elizabeth that this unity in diversity has been maintained. If I’m ever in trouble in another country, and I can’t get to a Canadian embassy or consulate, I can go to a British embassy or consulate and be helped.  Like it or not, this success is incredibly relevant, and makes her much more than a curiosity.

As more and more groups around the world seek both independence or unity with larger groups, the question of how to go about it is incredibly relevant.  There’s much we could learn from the Queen, about treating individuals with respect and helping one another.  These are struggles our world faces, may we find the answers in Christ.  Here are some of the Queen’s words from her Christmas 2000 message:

For me the teachings of Christ and my own personal accountability before God provide a framework in which I try to lead my life.  I, like so many of you, have drawn great comfort in difficult times from Christ’s words and example.  I believe that the Christian message, in the words of a familiar blessing, remains profoundly important to us all:

Many of us read CS Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” series as children.  You may be interested to know (if you didn’t already) that the series will be coming to the big screen.  The first movie, Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe, is due for release in December.

The production companies involved are Walt Disney Pictures, Walden Media (recently involved in Around the World in 80 Days) and Lamp Post Productions.  It’s being directed by Andrew Adamson, director of Shrek and Shrek 2, and filmed largely in New Zealand.

The original children’s series, the first book published in 1950, was highly spiritual, and no doubt the movies will be aimed at a “Christian” audience.  What that all means, I’ll leave for you to judge, but it will be interesting to see what happens.  Having read the books myself, I viewed the trailer and already saw that some of the key concepts of the book appeared different in the movie.  But what do you expect?

If you’re interested, here’s a movie poster.  There are some pictures here, mostly just concept art rather than shots from the movie.  And here’s the newly released trailer.  For a website with lots of movie news, check out NarniaWeb.  I learned something at this site.  I had no idea there was a C.S. Lewis & Narnia For Dummies book out there.  You can’t say I didn’t learn anything new today!

Thanks to Matt and Hailey for letting us know about the trailer.