Episodes
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Tuesday Sep 05, 2023
Nonetheless, it wasn't until architect Fred Van Brandenburg's return to Spain to New Zealand in 2004, and his exploration of Park Güell in Barcelona—a masterpiece created by Gaudí during his naturalist phase, drawing inspiration from organic forms in nature—that Fred experienced a revelation profoundly shaped by Gaudí's influence.
Van Brandenburg - a South African who emigrated to New Zealand as a young architect over 30 years ago - describes it as an architecturally cathartic experience that struck him like a sudden lightning bolt. In a fleeting moment, he realised the necessity of delving into these structural principles, understanding how they could be adapted and applied in contemporary architecture, allowing the very structure to become the essence of the architecture itself. He made a radical decision, he refused to go back to his known style. His wife explained that she was concerned when she heard Van Brandenburg say to his clients: "I am not doing that type of work anymore." "How will we they pay the bills now?" she asked. However, Fred made his decision, it would prove to be his watershed moment.
Gaudi’s design philosophy, in short:
Organic Architecture: Gaudí believed that architecture should harmonise with nature and draw inspiration from natural forms and patterns. His buildings often feature flowing, curvilinear shapes and intricate, organic details that mimic the beauty of the natural world.
Structural Innovation: Gaudí was a pioneer in using innovative structural techniques and materials. He incorporated the use of hyperbolic paraboloids, catenary arches, and other unconventional structural elements into his designs to create buildings that seemed to defy gravity.
Faith and Spirituality: Gaudí was deeply religious, and his architecture often reflects his devout Catholic faith. His most famous work, the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, is a testament to his spiritual beliefs, with its awe-inspiring interior spaces and religious symbolism.
Functionality and Aesthetics: Gaudí's designs are known for their artistic and sculptural qualities, but he also prioritised functionality. He believed architecture should serve its intended purpose while being visually striking and emotionally evocative.
Contextualism: Gaudí was conscious of his projects' cultural and historical context. He integrated Catalan culture and history elements into his designs, creating buildings that felt deeply rooted in their surroundings.
In summary, Gaudí's architecture philosophy was characterised by a fusion of nature, spirituality, innovation, functionality, and cultural context, resulting in some of history's most iconic and distinctive architectural works.
Gaudi’s design philosophy, in short:
Organic Architecture: Gaudí believed that architecture should harmonise with nature and draw inspiration from natural forms and patterns. His buildings often feature flowing, curvilinear shapes and intricate, organic details that mimic the beauty of the natural world.
Structural Innovation: Gaudí was a pioneer in using innovative structural techniques and materials. He incorporated the use of hyperbolic paraboloids, catenary arches, and other unconventional structural elements into his designs to create buildings that seemed to defy gravity.
Faith and Spirituality: Gaudí was deeply religious, and his architecture often reflects his devout Catholic faith. His most famous work, the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, is a testament to his spiritual beliefs, with its awe-inspiring interior spaces and religious symbolism.
Functionality and Aesthetics: Gaudí's designs are known for their artistic and sculptural qualities, but he also prioritised functionality. He believed architecture should serve its intended purpose while being visually striking and emotionally evocative.
Contextualism: Gaudí was conscious of his projects' cultural and historical context. He integrated Catalan culture and history elements into his designs, creating buildings that felt deeply rooted in their surroundings.
In summary, Gaudí's architecture philosophy was characterised by a fusion of nature, spirituality, innovation, functionality, and cultural context, resulting in some of history's most iconic and distinctive architectural works.
More eBooks and articles are available at https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author at http://williamvanzyl.com/
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
“I am tired of all these Bible stories. Reading the devotionals and doing these prayers all the time is too much for me!?” said the young Alexander.
“You will sit down and read the Bible Story; you will listen and pray before you go to bed!” said the dedicated dad with a stern voice.
Alexander folded his arms and sighed. “I don’t want to.” He unfolded his arms and said compliantly, “Ok, I will.”
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That night his mum and dad discussed the comments and behaviour of the strong-willed Alexander displayed over the past couple of days.
“What is going on with Alexander? Do you know?”
“How do we allow Alexander to develop his creativity without overdosing him with the scriptures and the Bible?” asked the dad.
“I think we have to allow Alex more freedom. We also have to expose him to more advanced technology and modern ideas and concepts. I’ve been reading and researching. I will share with you what I have found,” said the mum.
“Maybe we should expose Alex to more open-ended questions, more challenging activities, unique stories, higher-order ideas and advanced concepts?” responded the mum.
“But how can we create more open-ended resources? How can we change the way we do things? How can we liberate Alex in his thinking? How can he be freer in his thinking and remain fully Christian?” asked the mum with a frown on her forehead.
“Yes, we do want Alexander to value those strong Christian fundamentals. Those richly layered Bible stories are so powerful; it provides an extravagantly wealthy library of truths and concepts,” said the dad.
“I have found a short essay and some ideas on how to develop creativity, I will share it with you,” said the mum.
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Does this conversation sound familiar to you? I think parents should evaluate the methods they use to develop their children’s creativity and innovation. I have written this short essay for you, and I list several ideas you can use as a parent, caregiver, or teacher.
Don't miss the research on the badger that never changes its path - part of the article.
Here is a list of strategies and activities you could consider:
ONE. Abstract Art: What could a scene from the bible, a character, an object, or an artefact look like in abstract form?
TWO. Futuristic approach: What would Jesus do if he lived on the Moon in 2082? What would He say? What type of Space Stories would he tell? Be creative, write a short one, and make a couple of sketches to accompany the story.
THREE. Redesign an insect or sea creature of your choice. Think about God’s amazing designs Investigate the shape, form, pattern, colours, size, the science behind it, the interaction with other species, eating food, and more. Sketch it. Make a quick watercolour drawing (use a fountain pen and ink). Create extravagant washes. Compare your design with God’s design work. Could you improve on something?
FOUR. Choose to read extravagantly rich and unique stories and books to children. “Inside my Imagination.” What if …..
FIVE. Collect National Geographic Magazines and allow children to read through them. The rich images and articles are a stunning way to hook children into nature, cultures, science, and much more.
SIX. Watch Superbook on a TV or device. Every story from the Bible that Superbook tells has a lesson to be learned, and the lesson is applied to real-life situations. Superbook keeps all of the kids in my Bible study classes entertained and wanting more. I use this for kids TK-8th grade. The start of most Superbook episodes is with Chris, Joy and Gizmo (the robot), and either Chris or Joy has a situation to deal with (making the right choice, helping someone, forgiving someone, etc.). Then Superbook takes them back in time to a part of the Bible that will help them with their situation back home. The kids and Gizmo interact with the people from the Bible and learn so much! The fact that Superbook can cram so much information in such a short time frame is beyond me. During the kid’s adventure in time, they ask questions and a lot of times Gizmo uses his inner computer to answer the question, OR someone from the Bible answers it. After the kids have learned their lesson, Superbook takes them back home at the same time they left, and the kids can now make good decisions and take action; for example, sharing their pizza with the less fortunate.
SEVEN. Caption from the blog post: A scene from Superbook. See the robot on the far right. Chris Quantum is your typical Middle School student — except if you take into account one of his best friends is a robot named Gizmo. Add his best friend, Joy Pepper, into the mix, and you have a recipe for adventure. The adventures begin for this trio when a mysterious device appears, taking them on journeys throughout the Bible. Travel back in time and get ready for the journey of a lifetime!
EIGHT. Tell a Bible story in Minecraft Education: For example, the Story of Moses. Caption below the image in the post: ‘The Unofficial Bible for Minecrafters – Stories from the Bible told block by block’ recreates Bible stories – including the Garden of Even and Noah’s Ark, in 3D form and is meant for children aged 7 to 11.
NINE. Animate a Christian song in Minecraft: For example, Chris Tomlin – Our God is Great. See the video below.
TEN. Solve a problem with an Arduino Uno: See the article's details of blinking an LED.
ELEVEN. Solve a problem with a BBC Microbit (Version 2): Micro-Maqueen. See the details later in the article.
TWELVE. Design a virtual 3-d object in TinkerCad and then 3-d print the creation. 3-D printing.
THIRTEEN. Design a virtual circuit in TinkerCad Circuits: Create virtual circuits in an instant.
FOURTEEN. Produce a Podcast: Open-ended -fiction – Ask children to create a unique story. Tell a story using Podcast software. Teach them how to create sound files on Podcastle (free). You will need a quality USB microphone. Podcastle is free. Once the voiceovers are completed, import short sound snippets from Free Sound dot org. You can find any short sound file (or longer sound files) for free. Import and place at the appropriate place on the timeline. Children will have lots of fun. The sounds will make the story come alive. Choose into and outro music to match the genre of the story (e.g. drama, suspense, and so on). Here is an example of one of my stories: Search PODBEAN or SPOTIFY – ‘The Extravagant Podcast.’
More at Five House Publishing: https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author: https://williamvanzyl.com/Blog-Posts.php
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Saturday Apr 22, 2023
Read the article as a blog post while listening: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2023/04/10/true-stories-with-unfathomable-depth-rich-cultural-variations-and-extensive-contexts-will-develop-creativity-in-young-children/
See the stunning short video clips of the movies The Shawshank Redemption, and Esacpe from Alcatraz - as an introduction to this article - in the blog post.
Have you ever considered Bible Stories as too violent for young children?
Have you been told Bible Stories when you were young? What are your experiences regarding stories? Have you been told different stories? What were those stories? How did it impact your life, reflecting back as an adult?
I will share my experiences.
Well, I must admit that I have been exposed to all the Bible Stories since I can remember as a young child. My experiences are all positive. In fact, those stories have impacted me in a very special and optimistic way: I don’t fear – I have faith in God. I have heard, and I have experienced His comforting words; I understand His character through listening to those richly layered stories. I understand that ‘The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.’ I trust in Him.
I have been researching the topic: ‘Bible Stories are too violent for young children.’ After reading many articles and posts, I have listed the impacts listed and also comments by some other authors for you. Here they are.
Bible Stories have the ability to impact children of all ages – including adults – in a significant way:
It develops the Fear of God in children (e.g. children that dishonour their parents are stoned to death)
It highlights the difference between a Theocracy and a Democracy (e.g. God says [His Theocracy], ‘this is the deal, you don’t get to vote’).
It demonstrates the contrast between God’s Wrath and His Unfailing love (e.g., sending His Son Jesus to Earth to die for our sins). His wrath was released on His Son – for the sins of the world – to provide complete propitiation [appeasement] for our sins and our healing; Jesus’ unfailing love for people giving up His life for his friends – all of us).
It emphasises the stark Dichotomies in the Bible: Black and White, Right and Wrong, Light and Darkness, Building and Destroying, Blessing and Cursing. For example, Gehazi and Elijah: A servant of the prophet Elisha, Gehazi enjoyed a position of power but was ultimately corrupt, misusing his authority to cheat Naaman the Syrian, a general afflicted with leprosy. As punishment, Elisha cursed Gehazi, transferring Naaman’s leprosy to him and his descendants forever.
It explains and demonstrates the difference between The Old Covenant and the New Covenant (Old Testament versus New Testament). E. g. The brutal events in the stories of the Old Testament versus the more humane government of God (grace and mercy of God) in the New Testament and beyond.
It explains God’s Blessings and Cursings (e.g. King Saul chooses to disobey God – Saul did not utterly destroy a city which God commanded him to do. A cursing followed – God’s presence and annointing departed from him)).
It expounds on the Consequences of Man’s Choices and Actions (e.g. choice to serve other gods – Jehovah is a jealous God – it has severe consequences).
It shows how God issues warnings (e.g. destroying Sodom and Gomorrah with fire and brimstone).
It shows His Kindness and His care (e.g. Jesus turning water into wine at a wedding).
God has supernatural powers which He utilises from time to time
God Responds to Faith (e.g. David placed his faith in God and consequently defeated Goliath).
It develops a child’s moral compass. It reinforces crucial aspects of How His Kingdom works, story upon story. For example, ‘Thou shalt not Steal.’)
It underlines the unchangeable laws, statutes, and precepts of God’s Kingdom (ancient landmarks). For example, the Ten Commandments).
It develops creativity and innovation in a child, providing an immense range of contexts and cultures (e.g. the different contexts and cultures throughout the history of the Bible)
It teaches about discipline, including obedience and submission (e.g. Daniel praying to Jehovah 3 times a day).
It teaches how to pay honour and respect to people and things (e.g. Honouring parents and God’s Laws)
It teaches what commitment and a covenant are (e.g. truthful marriage and making a choice to serve God)
It is culturally responsive. I include an excerpt from the article by Mvududu (2009, p.7). ‘Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Bible Tells Me So.’
“To reiterate, as Christians, we are required to be stewards of the gospel. This requires cultural competence. We cannot communicate the gospel to others if we do not understand what their culture is about (Coleman, 1998). Without understanding the signs and images of a particular culture, we can’t communicate what we consider significant. Altering the worship customs of any group is not consistent with multicultural sensitivity. Similarly, using a one size fits all approach to teaching does not effectively meet the needs of our students. Each group brings unique contributions to the Lord’s Table, and we can learn from each other. Looking at those different from us through uninformed assumptions is like looking at an image through a broken mirror. The reflection is distorted even though the image itself is valid. As Breckenridge & Breckenridge (1997) put it, “to cross into other cultures is the expected norm for God’s people, not the exception” (p.77). By preserving rather than covering up or ignoring diversity, we are being more faithful to the Bible and the complexities of life (Rhoads, 1996). Diversity should be constructive rather than the oppression of those with whom we don’t agree. It should not lead to an attitude of superiority and intolerance (Mvududu, 2009, p.7).”
For your information, I’ve also listed important things to remember when telling Bible Stories. Read more in the blog post. https://fivehousepublishing.com/2023/04/10/true-stories-with-unfathomable-depth-rich-cultural-variations-and-extensive-contexts-will-develop-creativity-in-young-children/
More about the author: https://williamvanzyl.com/Blog-Posts.php
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Get the Name of the Dog. By William Van Zyl. Published in December 2022.
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Tool# 14: I share my dog's name - a brown-coloured dachshund named Jason (1997). It all happened at a hardware store in Alberton. Suddenly he was gone without a trace. Location: The Johannesburg area in South Africa. The introduction will whet your appetite to hear more.
Read the full blog post here: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2022/12/17/get-the-name-of-the-dog/
Excerpt 1:
“One moment, please tell me, what is the dog's name?” asked the reporter.
“His name is Jason. I’ve had him for 6 years. He is my most trusted friend.”
“What makes Jason special to you? Do you have any significant stories of Jason?” asked the reporter.
“He is very intelligent - a brown dachshund. Dachshunds are very clever dogs. They love touch. Throughout the day, he will snug up against me and nap. Sometimes, he jumps onto my lap and rests on my legs when I sit down. He is quite heavy, but I tolerate his weight. When he looks into my eyes, my heart just melts. He is so loving.”
“Aaahhh, so cute.”
“The most significant story of Jason probably is that he once disappeared. He is very friendly. If a stranger opens a car door, he will jump in. He is so trusting. And that is exactly what happened once. I was at a hardware store with a large open field next to it. He was running around enjoying himself. I wasn’t attentive for a while. My wife was in the car, and she was also distracted for a while. Then as I called him, he was gone, nowhere to be seen. Luckily, someone in a car in the carpark saw what had happened. She ran up to my wife and me and said someone saw the dog on the other side of the field. They stopped, opened the car door, and Jason jumped in. They took off. Did they think he was lost?”
“What happened? Did you get him back?”
“Yes, I did get him back about 2 days later.”
“How did you get him back?”
“He had a microchip in his neck. The people who stopped thought that he was lost. They took him to the nearest SPCA. We made several calls hoping they would take Jason to the nearest vet or SPCA. And lo and behold, we received a call from a local vet 2 days later. We were overjoyed! We identified him by pointing out the loose hanging dew claw on his right front leg - just above his foot.”
“Great story!”
Excerpt 2:
This rule applies not only to dog stories but to all stories. Writers and reporters need details. Make lots of notes. Ask many questions:
Notes: Take endless notes — story ideas, impressions of sources, unique insights — and mine them for future articles. Ask many questions. Think about your questions before you have your interview. Jot them down. Knowledge is the cornerstone of superior stories in journalism and content marketing.
Research: No matter the type of content you create, using data, statistics, and research will bolster the credibility of your articles.
Writing: Once you have quality information and a point to make, you must package it into a clear and compelling story. How will you present it? To write compelling non-fiction you have to be creative. Here are 5 things you could do: 1. Tell a memorable story. 2. Bait your audience. 3. Use emotional language. 4. Say it simply. 5. Surprise the reader.
Be creative and innovative: Think about how you will start your story. In this article, I started with a conversation between a journalist and a person (the person was me) on a true dog story. How will you start your story? A poem, a conversation, a compelling story, a photograph, a diagram, a sketch, or something else.
Always remember to get the name of the dog
More blog posts and eBooks:
https://fivehousepublishing.com/2022/12/17/get-the-name-of-the-dog/
About the Author:
http://williamvanzyl.com/
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
“Five minutes before landing.”
“Three minutes before landing,” said the leader of the mission. All eyes were fixated on the large black-and-white screen.
“Houston, we have a problem!”
“What! What is the problem?”
“Listen to the alarm. We think it is the onboard computer.”
Margaret Hamilton moved closer to the screen. She had her large, heavy laptop open. Her computer stored over 600,000 lines of code. Behind her was a stack of handwritten computer codes on size A3 paper. The stack was as tall as Hamilton herself. About 1.7 m high.
She ran to the stack. She grabbed volume 17 - right at the top, and opened it on page 95.
“We think it is the radar system,” said the astronaut.
“I have thought about all sorts of interferences. I have programmed the computer to recognise such an error. The software’s priority scheduling would complete high-priority tasks first — like preparing for landing. The code that has been written will ignore lower-priority ones.”
“Margaret, it seems to have settled now. I think your high-priority code kicked in! The alarms went off!”
The ground crew sighed in relief.
“One minute before landing, all engines running.”
“The Eagle has landed!”
The ground crew - at NASA Mission Control Centre - and the 3 famous astronauts jumped for joy. Neil, Buzz and Michael were over the moon.
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Did Margaret Hamilton write the code for the Apollo Moon landing?
The answer is Yes! She is far lesser known as Neil Armstrong - the first man on the Moon. However, she is the woman who helped them to get there. Margaret Hamilton and her team of software engineers at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory wrote the sprawling code that made the mission possible.
I saw the great picture below of Margaret Hamilton standing next to a 1.7 m high pile of handwritten code on social media. Immediately an article popped into my head. I have written it for you.
Who is Margaret Hamilton? She is an American computer scientist and software engineer. She led the team who developed the software for the Apollo moon missions and the Skylab space station in the 1960s and 70s. Her code helped the 3 men to get to the moon - and back!
How many lines of code did she write for the Apollo?
There are 17 binders in the photo. Assuming the 17 piles (bound volumes) are 5″4′ (1.524 mm) in total (stacked on top of each other), they're all code (not simulation) and applying Mike's measurements, assuming 10 binders are Aurora-like and 7 are Luminary-like yields 14,500 code pages, about 660,000 code lines.
What software was used for the Apollo?
The Apollo Guidance Computer (AGC) was installed on board the Apollo 11 Command Module (CM) and Lunar Module (LM). The computer’s software was written in Assembly Language. It was called Assembler. Assembler is considered a low-level programming language as there are very few “plain language” type words - for example instructions - readily recognised by humans.
The article includes great images and a video that will make the article a compelling read. The introduction had been dramatised.
Read the article as a blog post: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2022/12/22/the-code-that-took-humans-to-the-moon/
Author's website: http://williamvanzyl.com/
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
Saturday Oct 29, 2022
The senior pastor of the Gateway Church in New Zealand loved to talk about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien getting together at a nearby pub to discuss their writing. I attended his church for several years - around 2015. He delivered great messages to his congregation. ‘The Eagle and Child Pub,’ which I am referring to, is famous in the UK. See the picture of the pub in this post. Can you imagine the extravagant discussions by the two well-known writers while sitting in the relaxed environment of the pub? According to reports, they have critiqued one another’s writing.
Where did the inspiration of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien come from? Which places did they visit during their lives? What could have inspired them? In this article, I look at their extravagant thoughts and the events and locations that could have inspired them. What inspires you?
Link to the article: https://fivehousepublishing.com/2022/10/14/aslan-pulls-the-sword-from-the-rock-the-earth-quakes-he-defeats-the-giant/
This article endeavours to point to the parallels between the legend of King Arthur and King David (Biblical character). I compare the richly layered true stories of the Kingdom of God with the legend of King Arthur. I also search for allegories to Biblical events. The point I want to make in this article is the rich inspiration of the Bible stories combined with myths and folklore of the past in Lewis' work - The Chronicles of Narnia.
Please take a look at the image of the rock in the blog post. According to legend King Arthur found a stone in his shoe and threw it from Carmarthenshire to the middle of the Gower Peninsula. As it had been touched by the hand of King Arthur, the stone grew with pride, and the rocks around it raised the main stone high up with admiration. Holding it up for us to see. King Arthur's Stone (or in Welsh 'Maen Ceti') is on the Gower Peninsula in Wales. It is a Neolithic burial tomb dating back to 2500 BC. Credit: Robin Leicester - Own work. Description: A massive capstone over a Neolithic Chambered Tomb, on the Cefn Bryn hillside, in the center of Gower (Wales).
More articles at fivehousepublishing.com. About the author: williamvanzyl.com
Monday Oct 03, 2022
Monday Oct 03, 2022
EXCERPT:
At last, he gets him.
They are both bloodied, exhausted to death. The tomahawk slices through some of his fingers. The assailant looks at his hand in disbelief. He is missing a couple of them, blood starts to trickle from the exposed flesh. It colours the white snow ruby-red. The white bone of Fitzgerald is visible, But only for a few seconds. He instinctively tears a piece of his shirt off with his right hand. He wraps the dirty shredded fabric around his hand, ready to continue the fight. The pulsing blood from his hand is under control. They are both lying on the ground. Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) can’t get up, he has a severe stab wound to the back of his upper leg. His hamstring twitches from the trauma. He grabs his leg and screams.
‘AArrggghh!’
He had been chasing down John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) in the frozen water and melting snow of the mountains in Nebraska. Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), the legendary fur trapper who survived a grizzly bear attack, had been trekking through the snowy terrain to track down the man who betrayed him – Fitzgerald had killed his son. He will pay. Glass shows the same grizzly-bear determination he had modelled months ago. Glass became a legend for surviving a grizzly bear attack, left for dead, and walked over 320 Km back to the fur-trading camp.
Glass is ruthless, fearless, and unforgiving. Like a groaning grizzly bear, his eyes are locked onto his target –Fitzgerald. He will destroy him. He has to take him out. Fitzgerald has to pay for taking the life of his young son. He will avenge his son’s death. John Fitzgerald will pay with his life.
Synopsis:
As you’ve gathered, the true story and the legend have been turned into a movie. I watched this movie, The Revenant, in September of 2022 on the Maori TV Channel in New Zealand. The film was released in 2015, and DiCaprio won an Oscar for the leading actor’s role in 2016 at the Hollywood awards. Leonardo made a stunning speech on the night, calling for action. Over and above the list of people he thanked graciously, his focus was on saving the environment. See the 49 million views on YouTube of his speech. ‘We have to take action for our environment,’ he said.
https://youtu.be/xpyrefzvTpI
It is 1823. In short, the story goes like this:
While exploring the uncharted wilderness in 1823, frontiersman Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) sustains life-threatening injuries from a brutal grizzly bear attack. When a member (Tom Hardy) of his hunting team kills his young son (Forrest Goodluck) and leaves him for dead, Glass must utilise his survival skills to find a way back to civilisation. Grief-stricken and fuelled by vengeance, the legendary fur trapper treks through the snowy terrain to track down the man who betrayed him.
The frontiersman, Hugh Glass - the legend who survived a grizzly bear attack.
Monday Aug 29, 2022
Monday Aug 29, 2022
“He never gave me a name,” whispers the rejected monster as he prepares to die. His facial expressions are gruesome – the stitches crisscrossed over his face, neck and head. It tells a story of science that has gone wrong, horribly wrong. The pain in his eyes is excruciating to watch. He flinches and repeats those painful words, “He never gave me a name.” He closes his eyes and gives up his spirit. He is lost forever, without a name, without someone taking responsibility for him. Nobody cared about him. Nobody loved him. The flames consume not only his body but also his soul and spirit.
Where is his Maker? Where will his spirit and his soul go?
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I watched this movie of the famous writer’s life – Mary Shelly – on Television on Saturday night, July 24, 2022, on the Maori Channel (New Zealand TV). I watched the movie Frankenstein years earlier. It must have been fascinating for its time. Dr Frankenstein collected all the different rejected parts of dead people. Later, Mary – the writer – is hailed as the pioneer of science fiction. However, there is so much more to this story. The real-life of Mary Shelley, who lived with her partner, who became her husband after several years, is depicted in the second movie Mary Shelly, as I have mentioned. I look at the words of the monster. What lies behind the emotional sentence? Read the blog post at Five House Publishing:
'He never gave me a name.'
https://fivehousepublishing.com/2022/08/28/he-never-gave-me-a-name/
More about the author: https://williamvanzyl.com/
More articles: https://fivehousepublishing.com/blog/
Articles and eBooks by the Author: Five House Publishing.
https://fivehousepublishing.com/ is the home of all the writer's work. Many genres are available. eBooks are available at most major eBook outlets. Most blog posts are also available on podcasts (Podbean, Spotify and many more). You can also visit the personal website of the writer at http://williamvanzyl.com/
AUTHOR'S PROFILE: The author had an exciting and unique childhood. Not travelling abroad - as you would expect - but venturing through the fields, bushes, tools sheds and mysterious underground tunnels around his neighbourhood. His happy place was - and still is - tinkering with ideas, science, and new possibilities. While cycling, he often gets new ideas; he brings the unexpected, the unique, and the creative in a flurry on a page or sketch. To this day, he dreams of vicious wars and sophisticated weaponry in an innocent child's scout cave. He loves diagrams, timelines, cross-sections, sketches, and details of sinister and hidden concepts and ideas, always looking for a new mystery to decode and encode. He investigates and explores extravagant thoughts, which he includes in children's books and stories; he loves to include philosophers' perspectives, articles, intriguing stories, and poetry. Academic and research work are also his forte. He always offers a simple but practical explanation within an engaging context. Not your ordinary thinker! A lifelong scholar and teacher. SKETCH: Self-portrait - Author.