Meanwhile, in Rivendell . . .

How's that for a provocative title, eh?  My teenaged self is prude-panicking right now, and it's all Kenneth Branagh's fault.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.   You see, it all started when I finally got around to watching the 1993 adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing .  I'd been vaguely familiar with the film for years, of course, but had never actually sat down and tried it before.  I expected to enjoy it, but I had no other expectations for my viewing experience.  I certainly didn't expect to be as utterly entranced by it as I ended up being.  The enchantment started working early, probably about five minutes into the show.  As soon as those triumphal horns ushered in that sublime overture, I was hooked.  The flock of revelers descending from the picnicking hill in flutters of tousled curls and white linen, racing toward the house ahead of the delightfully macho Returning Heroes — well, I don't mind telling you, Jeeves, I was Stirred...

My pal, my buddy, my main slice Katie  has passed me a Narnia-themed tag, because she's cool like that.  I have a Deep & Abiding love for this world that Clive created, so let's jump in! ⸻ Rules 1. Thank the person who nominated you 2. Rate your degree of “Narnia fanatic” (nostalgic, serious, maniacal) 3. Answer the questions below 4. Tag 5+ bloggers 5. Have fun! Scale of Fanaticism 1. Nostalgic Fanatic :  You read the book and/or watched the movies as a child and the word Narnia gives you a warm feeling. 2. Serious Fanatic :  You rediscovered the wonder of Narnia after you were older and have read the books and watched the movies. 3. Maniacal Fanatic :  You have lived Narnia from childhood, hid in closets on more occasions than is healthy, have read and watched all the movies including the BBC version. I read the books and watched both the BBC and the Warner Bros. movies as a child; the word Narnia gives me a warm feeling; and I constantly reread the books ...

Well, hello.   It appears that "Olivia angrily ranting about problems within the modern American Church" is turning into a series.   Tbh, I'm down for that. #noregrets Do y'all remember this post ?  The one in which I vindictively gracefully addressed some of the negative aspects of Christian literature, specifically?  I mentioned in that post that I wasn't going to delve very deeply into Christian film, because that was A Whole Other Deal. Welp, today, my dudes, we are going to dive headfirst into that Whole Other Deal.   That's right!  I'm going to talk a bit about the world of Christian cinema: a couple of the trends I'm seeing that concern me, as well as some of the exceptions to the rule that give me hope.  (#Positivity!) Here we go. I want to keep this post reasonably short [edit from future Olivia:  I failed] , so I'm going to restrict my remarks to the primary issue I have with Christian media right now.  There are several, but here'...

*WARNING*   This post contains frank discussions of sex, sexual misconduct, and various sexual activities.  It may also contain controversial opinions on those topics.  Use your own discretion. Hello! As some of you already know, I recently took a dive into the exotic world of Christian "purity books".  There were only four involved in this spontaneous little adventure, and put together their length was probably a little less than that of Les Misérables : Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild (by Mary A. Kassian)  Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ's Control (by Elisabeth Elliot)  Kissed the Girls and Made Them Cry: Why Women Lose When They Give In (by Lisa Bevere)  Every Young Woman's Battle: Guarding Your Mind, Heart, and Body in a Sex-Saturated World (by Shannon Ethridge and Stephen Arterburn)  Not a big deal, right?  Granted, I'd gone into the whole affair with blatant skepticis...

Also known as, A Large Amount of Random Facts About Me That You Didn't Ask For. 😁  [Unless, of course, you're one of the ladies who nominated me.  In that case, you literally did ask for them. 😜]   Thank you to the lovely bloggers who nominated me!  I'll have links to their blogs at the beginning of their questions.  Rules Put the award logo/image on your blog. Thank whoever nominated you and provide a link to their blog.  Mention the creator of the award and provide a link as well. (This award was created by Okoto Enigma .) Answer the 5 questions you were asked. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself. Nominate 10-20 people. Notify your nominees by commenting on their blogs. Ask your nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with one weird or funny question. Share a link to your best post(s). I'm not doing the "three facts" part of this award, since I'm already answering fifteen questions.  I'm also not going to create new q...