Right, because eastern cultures never did things like foot-binding in an attempt to reach an unreal ideal female form….

The fuckin' Never Ending Story did that with yetis (or some shit, I dunno). It takes them centuries to take a step, so they don't even realize any other living things are intelligent.

For one thing, the idea was presented in the video as though it were normative and acceptable to the period (it was shown openly and, remember, the idea is that this is supposed to be the "accurate" version). We're talking about European Christendom, not backwoods Appalachia- the sexual mores are both restrictive in…

A crucifix, actually.

What makes you think pedophilic incest would have been particularly common (such that including it makes the presentation "more accurate") to the medieval period? It was not exactly an era known for its libertinism.

Yeah- the whole "daughter wife" thing is particularly egregious.

I despise Chris Martin- but that song isn't as bad as its rap would suggest. B/B-.

We were always at war with Eastasia. We were never at war with Eurasia.

Kids, let me tell you about another so-called "wicked" guy. He had long hair and some wild ideas and he didn't always do what other people thought was right. And that man's name was… I forgot. But the point is… I forgot. Marge, you know who I'm talking about. He used to drive that blue car.

Well, I mean, that wasn't my point- but I actually do agree with you. Eurasia or bust.

It's because it's just a region, not a continent. You don't complain that "western Europe" is a part of Europe, do you?

I sense something…. as though a thousand fangirls squeed in delight and were suddenly silenced….

Yeah, there are definitely naked people about. A few days at a lake resort and I saw far, far more naked-old-man flesh than I ever thought I would.

http://youtu.be/ZzJEtM02I2A…

Vis-a-vis Narnia: ultimately, there's no such thing as a story without an agenda. Every story preaches something, every author presses a worldview. The question is to what degree it is upfront about it and how subtly it is done. Narnia is actually quite upfront in comparison to many other ones.

Augustine generally solved his problems through heavy doses of allegorizing, along with lingering traces of Manicheanism and some mild anti-Semitism.

He was the greatest of all quadrupedal theologians, bar none.

Does anyone actually name girls "Augustine"? "Augustina" would be the feminine form, surely?

I think he got abducted by somebody at the Port Authority.

Only if someone writes a fanfic first.