The Hero's Guide

Ok, time for a little quiz. How many of these characters can you name?

Not difficult? I thought so.

Now for the hard part. How many of these characters can you name (and I mean real first names, not titles)?

Let's see, Shang, Flynn, humm, ummm, Prince..., Charming?, well..., I think..., Ha! Aladdin, and John Smith.

Exactly.

These guys go through life collectively known as "Charming." In fact, things have gotten so bad that no one knows their real names anymore. (Disney Wiki says they are, from left to right, Shang, Flynn, Adam, Eric, Ferdinand, Charming, Phillip, Naveen, Aladdin, & John Smith.) They are simply flat, interchangeable characters. They are called heroes, but, well, honestly, what heroics have they actually accomplished?

They need some help. They need to perform some real heroics.

Fortunately, unlike the lousy bards responsible for most of the above stories (and who forgot to even name the princes), Christopher Healy has written the "happily ever after" from their perspective. It's aptly called The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom.

In it, you'll meet the self-assured Prince Liam, the foppish Prince Frederic, the absent-minded Prince Duncan, and the muscular but insecure Prince Gustav (he has sixteen older brothers, each more muscular than he), as well as their respective princesses Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel. This group has not only names, but also distinct personalities.

Unfortunately, what the princes don't have at this beginning of happily ever after, is princesses. You see, after the initial thrill of being in a fairy tale wore off, all the princesses discovered that their princes were rather, well, immature. So, by means of various happenstances, all four princes end up together, lamenting their troubles with their princesses.

Which is when danger strikes. And, as the title would suggest, they need to rise above their slights and save their kingdom (with the help, of course, of their princesses). Along the way they learn the importance of heroism and bravery, their princesses learn that they may have misjudged their princes to quickly, and we learn that not all the princesses were accurately portrayed either in the common tellings.

Not that this is a moralizing tale, however. It is tongue-in-cheek fairy tale in one of the best senses (right alongside Dealing with Dragons), and is full of giants, bandits, ruffians, witches, and kingdoms that need saving. And, as would be expected, this is only the beginning of their adventures. Because once the kingdom has been saved, we're ready for The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle.

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Friday miscellaneous (4/26)

So despite all odds, this post exists. And by all odds, I mean my laptop dying the very last week of law school (fortunately my paper was rescued via my 10 year old PHC laptop and then my wife's previously dead laptop miraculously revived). Anyway, on to the links. And since there was no post last week, we have a lot today.

Let's see, Ron Paul is back and more bizarre than ever. And on those lines, Carl Trueman makes some excellent observations on the appeal of conspiracy theories.

And speaking of the Pauls, Rand's about face on drones and silly questions on immigration haven't served him well this week either.

Movie posters don't always translate well internationally.

And have you ever wondered what paintings by a race horse look like? Or the faces behind Disney villains? Oh, and speaking of Disney, did you know that the CIA helped build Disneyland?

Slate explores the rough life of a toddler.

The recent gay marriage arguments at the Supreme Court seem to have given new life to the effort to legalize polygamy.

PHC's Dr. Mitchell gives some unsolicited advice to the Republican Party.

With former President Bush's library opening, he is back in the news. And one of his advisers writes about just how bright the former President actually is.

Google's goal is to recreate the Star Trek computer.

Adventures bring fame, which creates the temptation to fake the entire story.

And finally, this is certainly a different take on the parable of the lost coin.

Quote of the Day

On the theory of Natural Law:

Unfortunately, the traditions which do affirm the common truths speak in such different ways that the unanimity of this affirmation is obscured. One group speaks of the Noahide Commandments, another of Common Grace, another of Natural Law. Jews think "natural law" is a Christian thing, Protestants think it is a Catholic thing, and Catholics sometimes think it a medieval thing. In medieval times, some people thought that it was a Roman thing, and in Roman times, some people thought that it was a Stoic thing. On the contrary, by whatever name it is called it is a shared thing, a human thing, and most of the various traditions and theories about it hold similar presuppositions.

-J. Budziszewski, What We Can't Not Know: A Guide

Friday miscellaneous (4/19)

Due to a large number of projects I have going on at the moment, there is no list of links today. I hope to resume next week and apologize for any inconvenience.

In the meantime, check out the new project two of our co-authors are involved with. And pray for Boston and Texas.

Friday miscellaneous (4/12)

The Romeike family, who I've blogged about previously, has received over 100,000 signatures on their White House petition. It will be interesting to see how the White House responds. (I suspect it will be something like this.) Some more liberal sources, however, note the irony that conservatives only appear interested in letting immigrants stay if they are white European Christians.

Speaking of immigration, this article on child arrivals describes the sort of work I've been doing at my legal clinic this semester.

In what can only be labeled bizarre, Ron Paul, the defender of the Constitution, has joined with Gary North ("the United States Constitution is an atheistic, humanistic covenant") to develop a curriculum for homeschoolers. Like I said, bizarre.

The homeschool movement is often viewed as a boot camp for conservatism. However, demonstrating that the largest challenges to homeschooling freedom come not from ideological opponents but from parents doing a poor job, there are an increasing growing number of graduates criticizing the model.

Demonstrating once again that some people have too much time on their hands, this site shows which costumes have been reused in which movies.

Wanted: a photoshop expert. Qualified applicants may contact your nearest totalitarian regime.

Have you ever wondered whether what we know as landmarks are simply the top of the structure? Now you need wonder no longer.

And finally, this is for all sleep deprived parents.

Friday miscellaneous (4/5)

North Korea has been back in the news making threats about bombing Austin, Texas. It can be added to the list of near daily threats. Many are having trouble taking the threats seriously.

Dr. Who, the British sci-fi character who is taking America by storm, will be appearing on British postage stamps.

Today's tough job market is leaving lots of people looking for different forms of employment ... like being a professional mermaid.

An April Fool's prank in Florida caused a mild panic when two radio hosts informed their scientifically challenged listening audience that dihydrogen monoxide was pouring out of their water taps.

Has anyone found any treasure on Google's treasure map?

For those in the Washington, DC area, go to the mall tomorrow to celebrate International Pillow Fight Day.

What does one do when one's city is under a bombing attack? Well, one can always take a lesson from WWII Paris and build a fake decoy city. Other Paris ideas include getting sheep to keep the grass trimmed.

President Obama has declared April National Financial Capability Month (we're still not sure if this is an April Fool's joke). He called "upon all Americans to observe this month with programs and activities to improve their understanding of financial principles and practices."

I imagine that the Federal Government teaching budgeting would look something like this.