Blog | frasergo.orghttps://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014-01-14T12:09:31+00:00BlogNot the One (Lego) Ring2014-01-14T12:09:31+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2014/01/not-the-one-lego-ring/<p><img alt="Rings" height="187" src="http://thebricklife.com/wp-content/uploads/Lego-LOTR-One-Ring.jpg" style="float: right;" title="One Ring or Three" width="299">As a family, we love both the writings of <a href="http://www.tolkiensociety.org/">J. R. R. Tolkien</a> and <a href="http://www.lego.com/">Lego</a>, so we've really enjoyed the <a href="http://thelordoftherings.lego.com/">Lego Lord of the Rings</a> and <a href="http://thehobbit.lego.com/">Hobbit</a> range... however we were puzzled to obtain not just one, but many powerful magical rings with the various different Lego sets we bought ... What could be happening? Was the Lego company, to save costs, supplying other, less powerful, magical rings (having recovered some of the others mentioned in <a href="http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Ring_Verse">the ring verse</a> - presumably those given to the dwarves, or the elven rings), or had they managed to produce their own rings with identical properties to the original (since that was <a href="http://static1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060310232855/lotr/images/8/8c/Mount_doom.png" title="it really doesn't look like it made it through intact">quite clearly destroyed</a>)?</p>
<p>We were terribly disheartened to find that none of the tests conducted by Gandalf on the original ring produced the intended results on these Lego miniatures:</p>
<ul>
<li>Placing them onto the hand (they're too big for the finger) of the Lego characters does not cause them to disappear (or have any other apparent magical powers)</li>
<li>Placing them into a fire does not seem to cause fiery lettering to appear on them</li>
<li>Nor do they appear cool immediately after being placed in the fire</li>
<li>Indeed these rings melt quite readily even in a simple candle flame - forget withstandanding the <a href="http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ancalagon_The_Black" title="a winged dragon of the fierce and fiery variety">fires of Ancalagon the Black</a>!</li>
</ul>
<p><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><img alt="Mount Doom blowing up with the ring" height="172" src="http://static2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20060310232855/lotr/images/thumb/8/8c/Mount_doom.png/320px-Mount_doom.png" style="float: right;" title="The One Ring got destroyed" width="320">We have not been able to take the rings to Orodruin to cast them into the fire for destruction, as we hoped, but we doubt that it would have the effect shown in the picture to the right!</p>
<p>Dear Lego ... we really think you should be working harder at this and not disappointing children around the world in search of such natural goals as obtaining magical powers and then giving them up for the good of the world.</p>Time to recoup2009-05-25T21:41:19+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2009/05/time-to-recoup/<p>We've just come back from a wonderful four days in <a href="http://www.volmoed.co.za" title="An amazing Christian retreat center">Volmoed</a>, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermanus" title="A small town two hours drive from Cape Town">Hermanus</a> (where we've <a href="http://frasergo.org/node/106">been before</a> a few times). We caught up on sleep (David has only struggled with sleep for one night out of the last two weeks!), had good time with God, praying and reading <a href="http://www.ivpbooks.com/9780851115535">Tested by Fire</a> by John Piper (available online as <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/OnlineBooks/ByTitle/2423_The_Hidden_Smile_Of_God/">The Hidden Smile of God</a>), which gave us fresh encouragement about God's sovereign purpose... cried, played with James and Charis, made spiders, went for walks, went for a family picnic at a beautiful waterfall, collected fir cones, made a braai and some roaring fires to keep us warm in the evenings, watched movies, looked at the stars (and Venus and Jupiter) and felt very very grateful! We've uploaded <a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/">some photos of the holiday</a>.</p>
<p>
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/226/p1220057/"><img alt="At the start of our adventure walk to the waterfall" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220057.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>At the start of our adventure walk to the waterfall</i><br />
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/219/p1220007/"><img alt="Peeking through the giraffe tree" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220007.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>Peeking through the giraffe tree</i><br />
<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/223/p1220126/"><img alt="Content" src="/static/media/galeria/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/P1220126.JPG" /></a><br />
<i>Content</i><br />
(<a href="/photos/2009-05-holiday-volmoed/">more photos here</a>...)</p>
<p>On the way we were listening to a recording of the story of David and Goliath, which asked the question "David didn't want any armour to protect him. What was David trusting to protect him?" Charis answered "God", and then a few seconds later, "And maybe his monster suit". Both James and Charis have a wonderful sense of humour which really makes us laugh! (Although I think she was serious this time!) When we asked them what they enjoyed most about the holiday, James said "Playing with Charis" and Charis said "The tablecloth"...</p>
<p>James was nervous again going back to school, so we are trying to help him with this...</p>
<p>And we have even more to look forward to because this coming week Joy (Danielle's sister) is coming to visit, which is so exciting!</p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />Macrophage dreams and spleens2008-11-22T14:54:34+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/macrophage-dreams-and-spleens/<p>With all his treatment, James has gotten interested in the different blood cells and how they work. His favourites are the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrophage">macrophages</a> which are white blood cells that do a cunning trick of growing arms to swallow bacteria etc (see <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiLJl3NwmpU">an amazing animation</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdR9ctxzab4">a time-lapse video</a>).</p>
<p>The other week, he was sleep-talking and was obviously dreaming - he said <i>"My brain can control the macrophage"</i> - and went straight back to sleep</p>
<p>Then on Monday I was reading a book from the library about the Body (again fascinating to him) and there was a section explaining how in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spleen">Spleen</a>, macrophages take apart old red blood cells so there parts can be recycled.</p>
<p>We finished reading and he said to me, <i>"Daddy, I'm a macrophage and you're a red blood cell. When you're old and can't work any more, <b>I'm going to tear you to pieces in the spleen</b>"</i></p>
<!--break--><br class="clear" />Mayonnaise and sunblock2008-11-07T10:36:40+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/mayonnaise-and-sunblock/<p>So, on October the 5th we went to Spier in Stellenbosch. I blame sunstroke for putting mayonnaise instead of sun-tan cream on Charis's face. Basically I was looking at her, not the containers, they were next to each other on the table, I put what I thought was the sunblock on my hand without looking, started applying it to her face, and thought <i>that's a bit yellow, and it's not rubbing in very well...</i> oops!</p>
<p>There's a great <a href="http://www.thewesternnostril.co.za/2008/10/14/mayonnaise/">art-imitating-life cartoon</a> on the subject at <a href="http://www.thewesternnostril.co.za/">The Western Nostril</a>, that great source of cartoons that could have been puns.</p><br class="clear" />Elephant moralities2008-11-07T09:57:23+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/elephant-moralities/<p>In a recent SABC article <a href="http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,179465,00.html">SA to earn millions from biggest ivory sale</a>, the following peculiar sentence is found in the last paragraph:<br />
<i> Parts of the 45% </i>[of the ivory from the period 1988 to 1994]<i> are of elephant moralities.</i><br />
Perhaps <i>moralities</i> should read <i>mortalities</i></p><br class="clear" />Lex and Wycliffe2008-11-02T21:55:31+00:00david/blog/author/david/https://www.frasergo.org/blog/2008/11/lex-and-wycliffe/<p>Lex Loizides has been doing a great <a href="http://lexloiz.wordpress.com/">series of blogs on church history</a>, but little did I know that he's actually a first-hand source! For example, he's just done a <a href="http://lexloiz.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/a-yorkshireman-delivers-a-blow-to-rome-and-a-bible-to-england-part-1/">post on Wycliffe</a>, who was a fantastic preacher as can be seen in this great painting:<br />
<a href="http://frasergo.org/node/111"><img src="http://frasergo.org/files/images/lex%20with%20wycliffe.jpg" /></a><br />
<i><b>John Wycliffe</b>. In the villages and towns the people listened eagerly to Wycliffe and his preachers reading passages from the Bible - in English. One in particular, in the lower right hand corner, seems in earnest prayer... perhaps due to the proximity of the axe to his face.</i>
</p>
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