Skip to main content

The University of Animated Characters


Followers of my wife on facebook may have noted a few days ago (epiphany to be exact for reasons that will become obvious) a comment concerning the sources of information drawn on by our youngest son and a question as to whether she should be encouraged or despairing... What happened was that we were having a discussion about the 12 Days of Christmas, Twelfth Night and Epiphany, whilst taking down the Christmas decorations (we often have such high-brow conversations in our house). Our 15 year old son asked "What's Epiphany mean?" to which Ciaran, our 10 year old said "Epiphany - a sudden realisation..."

"Where did you learn that Ciaran?" I asked, only to be told "The Simpsons Movie."


On Saturday we had a second episode - I came into the kitchen to find him discussing Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's 5 Stages of Grief with his mum... The source of this bizarre conversation - a section in his "Spiderman Handbook" entitled "How to Deal with the Death of a Loved One". This, apparently is important since the "Bureau of Superhero Statistics" suggests that the friends and relatives of masked do-gooders are 61 times more likely to suffer tragic (and bizarre) deaths than the general population. Hence Kubler-Ross's much misunderstood stages of grief were translated into the webslinger's words of wisdom as follows:

1) Denial: "She can't be dead. She'll turn up and everything will be fine."

2) Anger: "How could this happen to me? It's not fair!"

3) Bargaining: "If she comes back I promise never to wear the costume again."

4) Depression: "The world is an ugly place full of shape-shifting villains and psychotic robots."

5) Acceptance: "Wow. She really is dead. Well... on to the next one."

Also, super-heroes have an added layer of guilt... the feeling that "if only I'd been there sooner, she'd be alive."

All very amusing... but I wouldn't recommend passing this on to anyone coping with actual grief, unless of course they too are complete Spiderman addicts.


In the meantime I look forward with anticipation as to where Ciaran's next nugget of knowledge comes from...

Comments

jools said…
surely we should get a new blog now? 'The world according to Ciaran?!?' Looks like he's got your reflexive traits - hope he's got his mum's looks ;)
In a word often used by Ciaran "Oi!!!"

Popular posts from this blog

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65

Anointed

There has been a lot of chatter on social media among some of my colleagues and others about the liturgical and socio-political niceties of Saturday's coronation and attendant festivities, especially the shielding of the anointing with the pictured spoon - the oldest and perhaps strangest of the coronation artefacts. Personally I thought that was at least an improvement on the cloth of gold canopy used in the previous coronation, but (pointless) debates are raging as to whether this is an ancient practice or was simply introduced in the previous service to shield the Queen from the TV cameras, not for purposes of sacredness, but understandable coyness, if she actually had to bare her breast bone in puritan 1950s Britain. But as any church leader knows, anything performed twice in a church becomes a tradition. All this goes to show that I did actually watch it, while doing other things - the whole shooting match from the pre-service concert with yer wumman in that lemon-