Turkish Delight

I decided to finally delve into my Chronicles of Narnia boxed set that I had gotten for Christmas, and now I'm totally into them. Narnia has got me thinking, though. Classic fantasy is kind of bizarre. I've noticed that the authors have a tendency to use the first- and second-person points of view much more frequently and consistently than any other type of literature I've encountered. For example, Lewis will say something like, "If you've ever been scared you know exactly how Peter felt when..." But for me there's an almost borderline creepy kind of intimacy with that sort of unexpected, dare I say "intrusive" shift in point-of-view. It's like, just cut the friendly chitchat and tell me what happens to Peter! I think fantasy writers should have been held to the golden rule of essay writing: never say "I" or "you" and use the third-person religiously. Of course, the word "religiously" brings me to a whole other topic regarding Narnia. What's the deal with all the overt Biblical overtones, anyway? That's something I'm still working on. And one more thing that's really buggin' me. When the Pevensies encounter Father Christmas, Lucy is given a dagger and says that she thinks she could be brave enough to fight in battle. Santa replies, "But battles are ugly when women fight." Why? What does he mean by that comment? I can't figure out if Father Christmas is making an antiquated sexist remark, or if he is some sort of proto-feminist. I'm fairly certain it's either a major jab at women (hence the movie's omission of the line) or the highest of compliments. Of course I'm rooting for the latter.

Pet Peeve of the Day: Why don't people get the hell out of your way when you're running? I went for a run at Greenlake today, and I know that place is always crowded, but I don't think I'm going way out on a limb here to ask for a simple common courtesy: I'm running, you're leisurely walking; therefore, move the heck out of my way before I run you down! If I wasn't afraid of inadvertently plunging into the lake I'd be a little more aggressive with people, especially since I jog with my iPod and wouldn't be able to hear them yell at me as I shove them out of my way.