Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2014 Book Awards, Part 2

More awards which should speak for themselves. (Links go to reviews.)


DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I'M BEAUTIFUL
A HECKUVA GOOD TIME
TILT YOUR HEAD LIKE THIS
THE YEAR OF:
  • Jane Austen
  • C.S. Lewis
  • Japanese Catholics
This one I'll explain. The Japanese Catholics and Jane Austen served to make me regularly mindful that I must be mindful of how I treat others. 

Meanwhile, I not only read C.S. Lewis's space trilogy, but began working my way through audiobooks of his theological writing. I'd read Mere Christianity recently but never his other nonfiction. These not only served as practical devotionals but also overlapped with Jane Austen and the Japanese Catholics in how I lived and, interestingly, how I understood the other books in my ken.

It's not a combination I'd have known to choose but one that I am sincerely grateful I fell into. I guess God not only looks out for fools but for those grabbing books at random off of shelves.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

2014 Book Awards, Part 1

Rather than take my usual "defined in 10 words" route, these book awards should be self-explanatory. (Links go to my reviews.)

MARRY ME
IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S ME
WORTH BEING CRUSHED IN BED
WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL MY LIFE? 
WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS?
THE END OF THE AFFAIR
More tomorrow!

Worth a Thousand Words: Snow in Germany

Snow in Germany
taken by my brother
This is one of those times when a picture really is worth a thousand words. It conveys a sense of cold, beauty, and winter more tangible than any translation into language.

Monday, December 29, 2014

Blogging Around: The "It's Still Christmas" Edition

We had a really wonderful Christmas, beginning the Saturday before when Rose came home from L.A. to make our joy complete. We entered into a whirlwind of family parties, food, games, and nonstop talking.

Rose has returned to California but in the Catholic liturgical year the Christmas season continues. Here are a few interesting stories to keep us all in the mood.

Nine Reasons Analog Games Are Awesome

The Art of Manliness blog reminds us that board games, card games and the like aren't just for Christmas. It's too easy to fall into playing computer games and watching movies together for entertainment without realizing that we lose a lot of human interaction ... and fun ... by not playing regular games together.

The Good Lord Needs Drama In His Life Too

I swing by The Rhino Times every Thursday to read Orson Scott Card's column, Uncle Orson Reviews Everything. This week I saw Scott D. Yost's piece about Christmas and spiritual warfare. It's a good 'un so be sure you read it all.
... spiritual war is like any other war: We’re all in it together, and we all have to be on high alert, not just for ourselves, but also for those around us. And, especially when it comes to your close friends and family, you really have to always watch out for each other and keep an eye out for when they’re under attack. And sometimes that means you have to give cover fire, or tackle them into a foxhole, or drag them out of harm’s way, and it means that sometimes they have to do that for you.

That’s exactly why God gave us all this almost magical ability to detect, to feel, to know, when our friends or family members are in trouble, even if we’re not around them or talking to them. That’s why, when you have a weak moment, and you need help, the doorbell rings, and it’s your best friend stopping by unexpectedly with a six-pack of beer, just to talk. Or why, at that very moment, your phone rings and it’s someone close to you you haven’t seen in a long time who suddenly got the urge to call you. We have that ability so that we can help protect each other.

Pittsburgh Hospital Sends Christmas Babies Home in Stockings

The Deacon's Bench has the story and the adorable photo.

Celebrating Our First Christmas with Alzheimer’s Disease: Laughter Allowed

A touching story rooted in deep Catholic faith. Via Sticking the Corners.
I cannot count the things that have been moved to the strangest places. ... She has hair curlers that keep vanishing. I have found them in the garage, in the refrigerator, and under the kitchen sink. We had been searching for them and when I found them in the refrigerator I said loudly, “Here they are.”

She was standing nearby and turned to see me lifting the bag from next to the milk. I quickly asked, “Can I use these for curly fries?” I began to laugh and she shook her head and smiled. I gave her a hug, opened the freezer door and tossed the curlers in. “They are not frozen enough,” I said. She began to laugh and so did I and, although shrouded in a dark moment, we laughed our way into the brightness of a new moment.

Favorite Movies of 2014


My favorite movies seen in 2014 with descriptions in 10 words or less. In the approximate order in which I saw them. Links are to reviews.

  • Much Ado About Nothing (Joss Whedon, director)
    If all Shakespeare movies were like this, I'd love Shakespeare.

  • Gravity
    Gravity. Not mentioned once in the movie. But integral.

  • Captain Phillips
    Intense. Just remember to breathe.

  • I Confess
    We should all have a priest as good as this.

  • Mud
    Where I learned to not hate Matthew McConaughey.

  • The Guard
    Directed by a McDonagh. Which means clever, humorous, and nuanced.

  • Calvary
    Not for the faint-of-heart. But simply astounding.

  • Spinning Plates
    It's not what you cook. It's why.

  • That Guy ... Who Was in That Thing
    16 faces you recognize but can't name. 16 fascinating stories of Hollywood.

  • Halloween
    It defined a genre. And deservedly so.

  • Mama
    A supernatural thriller I didn't want to love, but couldn't resist.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Schumann's Tagesbar

Schumann's Tagesbar in Munich
by Edward B. Gordon
I've said many a time that I love paintings which include modern jobs. Photographs tell one sort of story but it will be lovely for future generations to have paintings which portray our modern age. No one does that better than Edward G. Gordon.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Blogging Around: The Christmas Edition

Via Arts Everyday Living where there is interesting
 information about Dickens and his most famous story

A CHRISTMAS CAROL AT CRAFTLIT
Heather Ordover is sharing a book from her premium feed which she calls "audiobooks with benefits." You get her interesting and insightful commentary before and after the chapters (staves) are read aloud. It really enriches the understanding of the story. The CraftLit iTunes feed has these or you can pick them up here:

SANTA PREPARES YOU FOR BELIEF
... Santa doesn't prepare you for disillusionment—he prepares you for belief. He's a kind of training-wheel Jesus, presenting aspects of faith in a manner that kids can handle.

"If the Santa story is a type of the Jesus story, [it] persists because the Jesus story is true," Dr. Edie wrote."It is true because it reveals that all life ultimately comes to us as a gift. It is true in proclaiming that the receiving of this gift occurs in the sharing of it. It is true in its testimony to the powers above...as benevolent, close at hand, and definitely not us."

In other words, Santa is like a stage set. At a certain point, it is rolled away, revealing a story still more impossible to believe, where the sun shines, the trees glisten, and the presents patiently wait beneath theJohnston's tree.
Rich Cohen, WSJ essay Learning That There's No Santa Taught Me to Believe
I never understood the idea that finding out there was no Santa taught you to distrust grown ups or religion or anything. Perhaps that was because my parents steadfastly denied any claims that they were Santa until we were old enough to let it go ourselves. I was fairly old as such things go before that happened. And then being let in on the secret and allowed to participate in giving that joy to my younger siblings made it a sacred trust. That's why I like this piece which I found a bit meandering in the middle but which brought it home in style.

PAPA PANOV'S SPECIAL CHRISTMAS BY LEO TOLSTOY
I came across this story after having a big success reading The Gift of the Magi to my mother-in-law whose on-again, off-again dementia made it difficult to connect with during visits. She stopped gazing into the air, met my eyes intently for the duration of the tale, and asked me to read to her again when it was done.

Buoyed by my success I went looking for other such simple tales to read. It didn't take long to find Papa Panov's Special Christmas which intrigued me because of the famous author. It quickly became one of our favorite stories and was the last one I read to her before she died.

So it touched me when I saw that The Christmas Stocking podcast is featuring a reading. You don't have to listen. You can read it at Google Books.

THE SNOWMAN 
Joseph Susanka offers us a holiday special: the Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning version of Raymond Briggs’ “The Snowman.”

Worth a Thousand Words: Fellas of the Baltic Seas

Fellas of the Baltic Seas
taken by Remo Savisaar
How does Remo Savisaar get these shots? He is a genius at nature photography.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Movie Review: Unbroken

Unbroken (2014)

★★★★½
A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
This remarkable story takes us through Louis Zamperini's life as a juvenile delinquent, championship runner, and after his plane is shot down in the Pacific during WWII. We learn the source and inspiration of the determination that helps him survive harrowing experiences.

The result is a powerful film which left me pondering the effects of war on both captors and captives, not just in WWII but in every conflict. The situations and lessons are as old as time.

Faith is shown and discussed briefly in the first half of the film but never with a heavy hand. Indeed, much of the last half depended on subtle imagery for us to see the Christ-like parallels being drawn. I applaud director Angelina Jolie for including an element that many would have chosen to eliminate, but which was so important to Zamperini's life.

It is beautifully photographed and directed with great restraint. I saw a review disdainfully mentioning that Jolie was determined to keep the rating PG13. I applaud her decision as working within those guidelines kept the majority of violence offscreen in the creative style of some of our most classic movies. That restraint also was evident in a brief but beautifully effective scene that reminded us of the cost of war to the civilian population.

Jack O'Connell as Louis Zamperini and Miyavi as "The Bird" give masterful performances in their adversarial relationship in the POW camp. Once again, this is where Jolie's restraint pays off. Again and again I expected, even longed for, the movie to take a "Hollywood" plot turn. Just as repeatedly I was answered with the unvarnished truth of how the events really happened.

My one complaint is that it is difficult to follow Zamperini's internal journey in the last third of the film. He has no buddy to chat with, no unguarded utterances to clue us in. Jolie does draw our attention to his gaze, with his fixed attention often giving clues. But we could have done with more help in that regard.

There was a teenage boy next to me at the screening. Early on he leaned forward in his seat, cross-legged, tensely alert. He watched the entire movie that way, leaning back only when it was finished and saying, "Awesome!"

Yes.

Worth a Thousand Words: Young Girl with a Bouquet of Tulips

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Young Girl with a Bouquet of Tulips, c. 1878
via Arts Everyday Living
Isn't it interesting that everything in this painting is fairly ethereal except the hat which is much more realistically drawn? And it is the hat that made me love this painting.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Decorated Alley

Decorated Alley
by Remo Savisaar
Be sure to click through the link and look at this in full size. Simply superb.

Father James Martin - Finding God in All Thing at On Being

Look who Kara Tippett's latest On Being guest is — Father James Martin. I've enjoyed many of his books although I don't always agree with him about points in current Catholic events. Regardless I was very interested to see him turn up on this podcast.
Before Pope Francis, James Martin was perhaps the best-loved Jesuit in American life. He’s followed the calling of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, to “find God in all things” — and in 21st-century forms. To delve into Fr. Martin's way of being in the world is to discover the "spiritual exercises" St. Ignatius designed to be accessible to everyone more than six centuries ago. Also his thoughts on the "un-taming" Christmas.
Listen here or pick it up on iTunes. Thanks to Scott Danielson for the heads up on this!

"He thought he was being called. I thought he was being brainwashed"

A fascinating snippet of a sister's insight over what priesthood can do for the right man at Humans of New York.

Julie and Scott learn what the world would be like if their podcast never existed.


We decided to keep doing it, anyway. Our discussion of It's a Wonderful Life is at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Pour yourself a cup of eggnog and join us!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

In which we race for silver skates, play with trolls, and put our finger in the dike.

Chapter 2 of Heidi's Alp by Christina Hardyment is up at Forgotten Classics.

Worth a Thousand Words: Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. Mary Mapes Dodge. Illustrated by George Wharton Edwards.
via Books and Art
I've been reading the second chapter of Heidi's Alp for Forgotten Classics. They're in Holland and following Hans Brinker's trail. Having read so much about that story, I just couldn't resist this when I saw it pop up.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

The War on Christmas is over. Jesus won.

I couldn't resist stealing that from The Washington Post. Talk about grabbing your attention.

It's a perfect way to sum up the new Pew Research Center survey about Americans and Christmas.
That's the implication of a new Pew Research Center survey that finds nearly three-quarters of Americans -- 73 percent -- believe that Jesus was literally born to a virgin. This is especially surprising when you consider that only one third of Americans say that the Bible is the word of God and should be understood literally.

[...]

Another sign that the War on Christmas is over: 72 percent of Americans say nativity scenes should be allowed on government property. 44 percent say nativity scenes should be allowed even if symbols from other religious faiths are prohibited. Only one in five Americans say nativity scenes shouldn't be allowed on government property at all.
In other words, the squeaky wheel was getting all the media coverage while the rest of us were quietly celebrating Christmas because we believe in it.

Read the whole story and find links to the survey results here.

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Friday, December 12, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Staplehurst Rail Crash

Staplehurst rail crash, 1865, Engraving in Illustrated London News
via Wikipedia
Naturally, I found this picture captivating after reading more about Charles Dickens' experience. The poor man lost his voice for two weeks and his son said he never really recovered from the shock. He died five years to the day after the accident.

Here's an interesting account of Dickens and the accident. A bit to whet your appetite:
The scene was covered with corpses and injured bodies. One young passenger, Mr. Dickenson, later recalled how it was the urging and assistance of Charles Dickens that ultimately helped to free him from a pile of twisted wreckage. Another passenger would later recall how Dickens, with his hat full of water, was "running about with it and doing his best to revive and comfort every poor creature he met who had sustained serious injury."

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra


By the brilliant Belinda Del Pesco who has more to say about this if you click through to her post.

Well Said: Looking at books

... and he glanced at the backs of the books, with an awakened curiosity that went below the binding. No one who can read, ever looks at a book, even unopened on the shelf, like one who cannot.
Charles Dickens, Our Mutual Friend
As I mentioned last week, I was really surprised to see the emphasis on reading and books in the early chapters of Our Mutual Friend. They may continue through the whole thing, which would be welcome, but I haven't read enough to know yet.

The way some people yearn after reading, like Mr. Boffin and Lizzie, it makes me realize afresh what a blessing it is to have such a literate population. Even if much of it rarely cracks a book, they don't have to have someone else read them signs.

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Early Reaction - Unbroken

Unbroken (2014)

★★★★½

I was unaware of this movie until receiving the preview invitation. Which may make the film's marketers weep, but there you have it.

However, I was interested in the fact that the book was written by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit. I enjoyed the movie made from that book. Was this story as good?

I was interested in seeing Domhnall Gleeson, who I first noticed simply because he was Brendon Gleeson's son but whose talent I admired a lot in Calvary.

I was interested in seeing how Angelina Jolie did as a director. We've got those who've done it well like Clint Eastwood and those who can't really pull it off like George Clooney. I had no sense of where she would fall on this scale.

Let's just say this. Angelina Jolie is no George Clooney. And I mean that in the best possible way. World class is what I'd say.

The movie is fantastic and shouldn't be missed.

(I'll do a more complete review when the film opens or when I get the green light from the promoters.)

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Haystacks at Giverny

Haystacks at Giverny, Claude Monet, 1884
via Wikipedia
I remember seeing a row of Monet's haystacks at the Chicago Art Institute. Standing far back gave the best vantage point. I was fascinated by the schoolchildren sitting before the paintings, sketching their own copies of the art. And by a parent who was painstakingly taking each child in turn, having them move to the back of the room. He pointed out how the painting was better far away, while listing a few things the artist had to keep in mind when being so close to the canvas and painting the scene. Lucky kids! (Whether they realized it or not at the time.)

Review: Father Robert Barron's Priest, Prophet, King

It took a while for my review copy of Priest, Prophet, King to come. And then it took a while for me to watch it. However, once we began we binge-watched all six episodes.

Partly it was because we enjoy Father Barron's style. And this was like a really good Bible study taking us through Biblical history so we really understood how Jesus's fulfilled his titles of "priest, prophet, and king."

Partly it was because we couldn't figure out how he was going to get from "here" to "there." "Here" being Old Testament priests, etc., and "there" being the new evangelization.

Of course, he pulled it off. By the time we finished the sixth episode we had plenty of food for thought. We talked about it the rest of the evening and the next morning.

What's the format? Father Barron gives a series of six connected talks to an audience. Each is around 20 minutes long. This isn't as dull as it sounds because they intercut shots of masterpieces for illustration. This could have been released also in an audio format and I think I'd have gotten just as much from it. However, the video undoubtedly encourages group participation and discussion (there's a study workbook and leadership guide, though I haven't seen those). It did for us.

Was it worthwhile? Yes. Many of the concepts and information presented may be new to viewers and will be eye opening in how they understand Christ. Although we were familiar with a fair amount of it already, Father Barron connected everything in a way that engaged us, made us think, and even had us stopping the dvd mid-episode sometimes to discuss things.

Did it change our lives? Yes and no.

Why no?
Because, as my husband said while we were watching, "The new evangelization is really the old evangelization. It's just that everyone forgot to do it lately."

I myself am always wondering why I can't stick to a resolution to not bring up my Catholic faith. You wouldn't think you'd have to make such resolutions but time and again God's in the conversation. At the grocery store, at my movie group, on my nonreligious podcast. With believers and nonbelievers. All the time. He just ... comes up. I can't help it. And we help with various ministries at our parish as well as a few independent projects. So, as I say, we're already evangelizing just by the way we live our lives.

Why yes?
Father Barron gave us new ways to think about our own culture and where we fit in it as Catholics. Especially valuable and thought provoking were his discussions of:
  • The rose window imagery of ordering life
  • The devil as scattering, as dis-integration
  • Sin as wrongly oriented worship with focus on pleasure, wealth, power, and honor
  • Living in a society of accusers
  • Rene Girard's ideas about scapegoats and society
These are points resonated so strongly that they've been the focus through which we've discussed local news, politics, and personal relationships in our own lives. It has been very clarifying in a lot of cases.

Do I recommend it? Yes. Definitely yes. 

This is something that will benefit every American Catholic, no matter how involved they are, no matter how well they understand the Bible, no matter how well they feel they have a handle on living their faith.

I'm passing my copy on to our pastor. Hopefully it will be studied in our parish soon.

He was just a humble student in Hobbit Studies at the University of Chicago ...

No one who gets a postgraduate degree in Hobbit Studies ever imagines they’ll be sued by the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. I certainly didn’t expect to wind up in court against Christopher Tolkien and his lawyers, like Frodo Baggins facing down the Nazgûl on Weathertop. Little did I know I was heading into a legal and scholarly Midgewater when I wrote and published The Lord of the Rings: A New English Translation.

As anyone who’s read the appendices to The Lord of the Rings knows, both it and The Hobbit are Tolkien’s translations from the so-called “Red Book of Westmarch,” an ancient manuscript written in Late Vulgar Adûni. How Tolkien came to possess the Red Book is a mystery, and the Tolkien Estate has never allowed other scholars access to it.

[...]

I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and put my research skills to work on my defense. Unfortunately, the case law was sparse. The only similar case I found was The Estate of S. Morgenstern v. William Goldman over the latter’s abridged version of The Princess Bride. It was settled out of court. There was also Lemony Snicket’s lawsuit against Daniel Handler over Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, though the court ruled that a pseudonym may not sue his own author, no matter how delightfully wicked and meta that would be.
How I Defeated the Tolkien Estate. So funny I read it twice. Enjoy!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Well Said: Through a Spider's Eyes

For years we were taught that a spider spins a new web every day and that certain threads are covered with a sticky substance to catch its lunch. The spider only puts the substance on certain strands so it can move easily and quickly across the web and not get stuck.

That was our vision of the spider and the web until a few years ago when Catherine Craig, an evolutionary ecologist at Yale, wondered if we had been operating under the wrong point of view. We looked at the web as people, but we never looked at the web as if we were insects—the spider’s prey. Insects have a different system of vision than us, and different from spiders. Insects see a different spectrum of light. Scientists decided for the first time to study the web using the insect’s ocular system.
What they found was amazing.

Insects could not see the web at all. The strands vanished, except for the parts of the web that were coated with the sticky stuff. They caught and reflected the sunlight. The scientists were taken aback when they saw that the spiders were not leaving some strands uncoated so they could navigate their webs.
They left them uncoated because they were painting—with sunlight!

The strands that had sticky stuff, when hit by the sun, when viewed through the ocular system and light spectrum visible to an insect, took on the outline of flower petals with the body of the spider in the center of the web becoming the pistil of the flower. It was not science. It was art. And perhaps something more.

A spider has different eyes than an insect. It sees a different world. It is painting something it doesn’t know, that it can’t see, and can only comprehend for itself as a potential dinner. It recreates this painting over and over again. If the spider succeeds and creates the illusion of a flower, she’ll catch a moth and will live. If not—she dies. So the finer artist survives.
What a continual mystery and wonderment creation is. It is discoveries like this that stretch my mind, delight my soul, and make me connect with God in a whole new way.

Still Swingin' at Christmas with Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite

Like every family, we've got our standard Christmas albums that begin rotation around this time of year. Admittedly I put it off at least until the middle of  December but if I don't get Christmas music going by then I wind up in a distinctly Grinchy mood by the time the big day rolls around.

As I pointed out a few years ago, our rotation leans heavily on Ella Fitzgerald, the Rat Pack, New Orleans, and Bing Crosby. Never discounting our possible all time favorite, Ringo Starr.

Every year we pick up a new Christmas cd and this weekend we picked a winner that is already livening our house. Last year I had discovered Gordon Vernick's Jazz Insights on iTunes. Poking through past episodes I was intrigued to hear his two-part special on Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's take on the Nutcracker Suite. Swingin' ain't the word for it.

The Nutcracker Suite is some of Tom's favorite Christmas music and he also loves the Duke so I don't know why it took me this long to remember to look for it.

It is simply terrific. I don't know how they did it but this solid jazz take keeps the original classic front and center while still managing to be unique in its own right.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Weekend Joke: Han Solo in the Confessional

Han: “Forgive me, father, I have sinned. My last confession was before I did the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs.”

Priest: “But parsecs are a measure of distance, not time.”

Han: “What?”

Priest: “Never mind. What do you need to confess?”

Han: “I shot first.”
There are more Star Wars confessions at Acts of the Apostasy and they are all hilarious.

For those who want more, The Curt Jester provides.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Scott and Julie realize they're not cut out for the cloistered life ...

... after reading In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. Catch our discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast!

Chastity is for Lovers by Arleen Spenceley

Chastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a VirginChastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin by Arleen Spenceley

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For some people, the chaste life can raise a daunting question — a question a friend and fellow blogger brought up once in an interview: “Do you ever worry that one day you’ll wake up and discover you are forty-five, still single, and past your sexual prime?”

I don’t. In order to worry about that, I would need to believe the purpose of sex is pleasure and that we all better get some while the gettin’ is good. I don’t believe either of those things. I believe that whether a person ever has sex isn’t that important. What’s more important is why a person has sex, and in what context. But because I don’t worry about passing my sexual prime doesn’t mean I don’t worry at all. I do worry sometimes, but what I worry about is whether I write about this stuff with enough clarity. If I don’t, and a couple of decades from now I’m still a virgin, I’d guess many people who’ve read what I’ve written will call my single life “proof” that the chaste lifestyle doesn’t work. But the goal of saving sex isn’t marriage. The goal of saving sex is saving sex (not putting it off, but redeeming it). Some people who save sex get married and some don’t.
I'm not the target market for this book but I know lots of young women who are. That's what made me flip through the book. I kept coming across sections that caught my attention and made me want to know the rest of the story. I finally realized that I was going to have to read this book even if it wasn't aimed at me. Which says a lot about how personable this author is. And, let's face it, if I knew people in the target market then I needed to know what this author's saying because it could come up in conversation. Such are the times in which we live.

This point was underlined just a week later when I was at a big party. A friend and I began talking about our daughters, which led naturally to discussing their dating and marriage prospects. A Catholic mother, she confided that one of her daughter's biggest struggles was that she was a 29-year-old who continually was being embarrassed or annoyed by having to defend her decision to remain a virgin until marriage.

"Say no more," I told her. "I will bring you a book that she's going to love."

That made me move from flipping through to reading with interest before I passed the book on. It was just as good as I'd thought. It was funny, interesting, sensible, and written with clarity and grace. I'd also say that you don't have to be Catholic to like it. Most of it is going to be something that any Christian interested in chastity is going to relate to.

Definitely recommended.

EXTRA
Read Sarah Reinhard's interview with Arleen Spenceley at the National Catholic Register.

NOTE
This was a free review book. I read it in spite of that. Liked it (a lot) anyway.

Worth a Thousand Words: Poster for Victorien Sardou`s Gismonda

Poster for Victorien Sardou`s Gismonda
starring Sarah Bernhardt at the
Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris
Alphonse Mucha, 1894
Via WikiArt
There's just something about Mucha.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

Dickens-Mania: The Pickwick Papers and more

The Pickwick PapersThe Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As I continue my discovery of Charles Dickens I thought it would be interesting to go to the book that brought him original acclaim. This was combined with a desire for light reading, which every commenter agrees is what one gets from The Pickwick Papers. I also read G.K. Chesterton's commentary on the novel which points out that, for a comic novel, it has a great deal of truth about people especially after Sam Weller's character is introduced. This goes hand-in-hand with the fact that monthly publication sales really picked up after that point in the story as well.

I traded off between the print and audio versions, as needs dictated. I listened to David Timson's narration which was simply outstanding. I used the Wordsworth print edition because, not only is it inexpensive, it includes the original illustrations, has a good type size, and the book stays open when I leave it on the counter. My needs are few but important.

I was simply astounded at how many seeds of future novels and themes were contained in the Pickwickian adventures. Since I've only read a few of Dickens' novels, I can only imagine how many of these will continue to "echo forward" as I read more of his books.

I was also surprised at how steadily the story line picked up as he went along and at how compelling I found it. I was simply unable to put it down, to the point of reading 3/4 of the book in a week (admittedly I'm a fast reader and it was Thanksgiving weekend so there was a lot of spare time for obsessive reading).

I wouldn't recommend it as the first Dickens book to try but I can definitely say it is worth reading for those times when a lighter book is desired.

NEXT UP


Our Mutual FriendOur Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens


Having finished The Pickwick Papers with great enjoyment, I now turn to the opposite end of the spectrum with Dickens' last finished novel. I enjoyed David Timson's reading of Pickwick so much that I am going to be accompanying the print edition with his audio. It is exorbitantly expensive but I waited until my monthly Audible credit came up and so, in a sense, it was free.

I'm ready for something more complex and have been eagerly anticipating this book.

First Surprise: I didn't realize this was going to have such an emphasis on reading and books. I'm in the very early chapters but already it is too blatant to miss, from the girl who wishes she could read, to the brother who loves it, to the Boffins who celebrate having extra income by hiring someone to read books to them every night. How interesting ...

Worth a Thousand Words: Forty-Four Hands. Twelve Hundred Udders.

Photo from Eating Asia.
Creative Commons 2.0 license
This photo accompanies a fascinating piece about milking during cheese season in Anatolia. Don't miss it.

Well Said: Distraction and prayer

Sometimes I think I should just try to set aside some time to be distracted and then prayer will intrude.
Jeff Miller (The Curt Jester)
Jeff was being funny but there is a lot of wisdom in what he says. My spiritual director is always making me return to finding a time to simply contemplate without any reading material or other "props." This is completely frustrating.

However, when I am in the backyard, cup of coffee in hand, watching nature and allowing my thoughts to roam, God can intrude in the most surprising ways. Mind you, I always begin with a verse or idea of prayer in mind. It is just that distraction seizes hold and, in a way, that allows God more room to work than when I have my own rigid ideas of how the prayer time should go.

Not always and not often. But He is there amid the distractions, just as Jeff says.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Well Said: Organized Religion

Yes, organized religion is a crutch. You mean you didn't know that you are a cripple?
Peter Kreeft, Practical Theology
Well that is to the point.

And what is most to the point, I never thought to look at it that way. Yes. Yes, I am a cripple. Every time I put my crutch down, thinking I can hobble along well on my own, I find I am soon limping and then crawling.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Well Said - Advent: Letting Go and Going Deeper

Winter preserves and strengthens a tree. Rather than expending its strength on the exterior surface, its sap is forced deeper and deeper into its interior depth. In winter a tougher, more resilient life is firmly established. Winter is necessary for the tree to survive and flourish.

Instantly you see the application. So often we hide our true condition with the surface virtues of pious activity, but, once the leaves of our frantic pace drop away, the power of a wintry spirituality can have effect.

To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defects, flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections stand out in bold relief. But only the outward virtues have collapsed; the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened. The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real, solid, enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.
Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home
This quote seems like one more gentle reminder of a truth I've come face to face with in the last few weeks. I have been reading Father Dysinger's introduction to lectio divina again. I have found over the years that I practice my own unique form of lectio but anchoring myself occasionally in traditional instruction is always good. I find the above theme is echoed by Father Dysinger.
THE ART of lectio divina begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply, to hear “with the ear of our hearts” as St. Benedict encourages us in the Prologue to the Rule. When we read the Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the “faint murmuring sound” which is God's word for us, God's voice touching our hearts. This gentle listening is an “atunement” to the presence of God in that special part of God's creation which is the Scriptures.

THE CRY of the prophets to ancient Israel was the joy-filled command to “Listen!” “Sh'ma Israel: Hear, O Israel!” In lectio divina we, too, heed that command and turn to the Scriptures, knowing that we must “hear” - listen - to the voice of God, which often speaks very softly. In order to hear someone speaking softly we must learn to be silent. We must learn to love silence. If we are constantly speaking or if we are surrounded with noise, we cannot hear gentle sounds. The practice of lectio divina, therefore, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God's word to us...
Perhaps it is simply appropriate to the season, to that looking forward in Advent to the One who comes to complete us, to fill that empty "God-shaped" hole in our hearts.

All I know is that in the letting go, the taking up again of lectio, I am finding a quiet peace that is the perfect antidote to the rushing of Christmas preparation. Indeed, it makes the Christmas preparation simpler and calmer, despite the fact that I am doing nothing different than usual ... on the outside, that is. On the inside, I am listening ...

Monday, December 1, 2014

In which we prepare to live the dream ...

... caravaning around Europe searching for fairy tale origins. Beginning a new book at Forgotten Classics, Heidi's Alp: One Family's Search for Storybook Europe by Christina Hardyment, read with special permission by the author.

Well Said: We are all divorced from life

We are all divorced from life ... Why, we have come almost to looking upon real life as an effort, almost as hard labor, and we are all privately agreed that it is better in books.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
This is even truer today than it was when it was written.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Virgin in Prayer

Giovanni Battista Salvi da Sassoferrato (1609–1685), The Virgin in Prayer
via Lines and Colors

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Well Said: The world approves and allows for nearly everything

The world approves and allows for nearly everything. To the squandering of time or fortune or one’s heart, and even to the most blatant acts of foolishness and guilt, it closes its eyes, smiles, or applauds. On the other hand, do not try to consecrate some of yourself or your time or money to God's cause. Such a way of living your life is not pleasing to this superficial world, which considers itself to be deprived of all you give to eternal things and to your brothers and sisters; it will not tolerate such theft. The love of God is the only eccentricity the world does not and will never accept.
Elisabeth Leseur
I never would have thought of turning one's talents or resources to God as "theft" from the world, but that is a powerful point of view. And it rather helps explain some of the vehement responses from the secular world to the religious one.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

"How I Pray" Series

 How I Pray is a new series from Thomas L. McDonald at God and the Machine blog. Each Monday he features a different Catholic who tell about their practices and experience of prayer.

It's an interesting series and it's disquieting to consider how inadequate my answers would be. In that way it definitely inspires me to shape up my own prayer life. Of course, there are also some very inspiring thoughts in the posts that go above and beyond examining my own inadequacies!

So far we've seen from McDonald himself, The Curt Jester, and now Jimmy Akin. Fingers crossed he gets Dean Koontz to contribute!

Worth a Thousand Words: Second Dream of St. Joseph

Second Dream of St. Joseph
by Daniel Mitsui
It's no secret that I really love illustrations of Biblical scenes done in Asian style. It's also no secret that I really love Daniel Mitsui's work in general. And it should also be no secret that I'm a real fan of St. Joseph.

So when I saw this new work of art I naturally wanted to share it with as many people as possible. After you have enjoyed the work at first glance, see what the artist tells us is included that you might have missed.
It depicts, in a Japanese style, the second dream of St. Joseph, in which an angel (traditionally identified as St. Gabriel) warns him to flee into Egypt with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Christ Child. In this work, I especially imitated the style of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, a late ukiyo-e master. I referenced his series of woodblock prints 100 Aspects of the Moon for many parts of my drawing.

St. Gabriel holds a fan containing a vision of the Flight into Egypt and the Miracle of the Cherry Tree. I attempted to convey a sense of otherworldly urgency by having the angel’s robes and hair blown by a strong wind that affects nothing else in the picture. St. Joseph sleeps in the stable of Bethlehem, next to the gifts of the Magi (in antique Chinese vessels). The text is from Emile Raguet’s Classical Japanese New Testament translation of 1910, and says Gabriel and Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him.

Monday, November 24, 2014

Well Said: Try Monotasking

One thing everyone should do more of is: just drive while you’re driving. I have a custom license-plate holder. It says: “Try monotasking.”
Bill Nye, WSJ interview
Ain't that the truth? We could apply that to our regular lives also. We'd be happier and a lot of things would get done better.

Worth a Thousand Words: Nature's Creation

Nature's Creation
taken by Remo Savisaar

Friday, November 21, 2014

Julie and Scott make it to within ten paces of the Emperor.


Will they take action? Which way will the candles blow?

Episode 96 of A Good Story is Hard to Find is our discussion of Hero, a 2002 movie directed by Yimou Zhang. Come and listen!

Worth a Thousand Words: Aladdin and Princess Badoura

Aladdin and Princess Badoura. Detail.
By Himmapaan
I foresee that my wish list is going to expand to include anything including Himmapaan's illustrations. Simply superb.

Emmaus Road's 20% - 50% Off Thanksgiving Sale

From Emmaus Road Catholic publisher comes this notice:
Save 20% to 50%

A Special Thanksgiving Offer

We have created a special page for our friends to enjoy great savings on a choice selection of Books, ebooks and Gift items. The sale prices are in effect now through December 5th.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Worth a Thousand Words: Japanese Bantam

Japanese Bantam
by Himmapaan
I'm a sucker for roosters so this caught my attention. I love this naturalist style.

Well Said: Pilgrimage and a blessedness rooted in "the act of seeing"

To the pilgrim Dante, Beatrice explained that the purpose of all human existence is to see God; love itself is a means leading to this end. In analogous fashion, the Holy Years—times particularly dedicated to God—perfect the means and lead to the end. An indiscreet love that, according to Peter Chrysologus, nonetheless has the "ardor of piety" drives millions of people to undertake the pilgrimage to Rome, and at the end of the pilgrimage they want to see something; they have made the trip in order to taste, here on earth, a blessedness rooted in "the act of seeing." This is the logic of the system of great signs that accompany the life of believers—the sacramental system, that is; and it is the logic of pilgrimage, which is a "sacrament" of the individual's search for God.
Timothy Verdon, Art & Prayer
Somehow this makes great sense to me. Connecting the pilgrim's need to "see," to be in a place and experience in the flesh all the art, architecture, sounds, smells, and everything physical ... with the sacred.

Perhaps it is deeply rooted in what I love about Catholicism. The Church takes every chance to connect our bodies and souls with the divine. Pilgrimage takes that experience of finding the sacred through those things at mass and allows us to link it to the wider world, to the other physical things which God has given to help us "see" Him. Fascinating.


NOTE:
Of course, I am drawn right now to pilgrimage meditations because of the proposed pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Diana Von Glahn, The Faithful Traveler. We can't go if enough people don't go with us. Surely that is part of the physical experience for a pilgrim? Fellow travelers on the way? Who bless you, who get in your way, who make you think, and who may carry God's message to you. If you think you might be interested in journeying to "Come and see" the Holy Land, check out the link. And sign up!

Blogging Around: Fun Stuff Edition

First Look at Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell for the BBC


I didn't know they were doing a BBC miniseries but if anyone can do this book justice it will be the BBC. The photo doesn't exactly match my mental image of Strange & Norrell but, on the other hand, I instantly knew who was who. Which is good enough actually.

As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride

I definitely want to hear Cary Elwes' book in audio since it features the heavy hitters from the movie reading the parts about themselves. Brandywine Books has more about the book as well as a link to an article which helps whet your appetite with tidbits.

Turning Corners Into Art

Joseph Susanka has a heads up for an artist on Instagram whose specialty is photographing corners. Which results in some gorgeous art. I myself found the images on his website more compelling than Instragram but then Instagram ain't my thing. Check out Joseph's post for samples and links.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

These Just In: Interesting New Books

These are books that passed the first chapter test. Some are enticing me in spite of myself. Naturally that means that although I haven't read them yet I wanted to give you a heads up in case they entice you too.

The Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life TodayThe Ancient Path: Old Lessons from the Church Fathers for a New Life Today by John Michael Talbot and Michael Aquilina
In the 1970s, John Michael Talbot was new to the Christian faith and developed a habit of looking to the Church Fathers, including St. Ambrose, St. Jerome, St. Augustine and Gregory the Great for guidance. This book tells the story of how these men helped Talbot through spiritual and professional challenges throughout his life, and how these ancient Christians are relevant to the lives of modern believers today.
I'll be participating in the blog tour for this book. They had me at Aquilina. Then they threw in the Church Fathers and John Michael Talbot whose music, I'll be honest, I've never listened to. However, I'm friends with one of his longtime friends (the main deacon in our parish) and so am interested in his story. Plus, when flipping through I could see his memoir intertwines with the Fathers' stories in a way that just pulls me in.


Then Comes Baby by Greg and Lisa Popcak
Greg and Lisa Popcak lend readers the benefit of their twenty-five years experience in parenting and marriage and family counseling to help them navigate the earliest years of parenthood. They recommend rituals, routines, and tips on how to manage feeding, fatigue, and finances and how also to prioritize marital bonding and faith life, suggesting that setting the pattern early will pay dividends later ... while seeing these everyday experiences through the lens of Catholic teaching on the purpose of family life.
To be honest, I'm not going to actually read this whole book. However, I loved the Popcak's Just Married book and that gave me the impetus to flip through this one. I saw so much common sense displayed, combined with sensible Catholic grounding, that I resolved to buy two more copies to give to some young mothers I know.



Practical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas AquinasPractical Theology: Spiritual Direction from St. Thomas Aquinas by Peter Kreeft
Here are 359 pieces of wisdom from St. Thomas's masterpiece, the "Summa Theologiae," which ... have helped Kreeft in the struggles of real life, to live in the real world, to grow closer to the Lord, and he hopes they will do the same for his readers. After each passage directly from Aquinas, Kreeft provides brief spiritual commentary to help explain it and apply it - practical, personal, existential, livable thoughts. He has framed these readings as answers to questions that people actually ask their spiritual directors. Each answer is taken word for word from Aquinas.
I've been noting Jeff Miller's (The Curt Jester) progress with this book at Goodreads. Though he is a fast reader, this book's been taking him a while. I've never been interested in reading Aquinas and Jeff's slow progress wasn't inspiring me to get a copy of the book, though I am a Peter Kreeft fan from way back. Then, lo and behold, a review copy came in the mail.

And it happened. Kreeft laid a zinger on me on the very first question ...Yes, organized religion is a crutch. You mean you didn't know that you are a cripple? ... and I was hooked. These bits of Aquinas aren't easy. They require slowing down, mulling them over, and really thinking. It's been a while since I've had to do that. But they definitely look worthwhile. I'll be working my way through them at a rate of one per day. So in about a year I may be a little wiser. And maybe (fingers crossed!) a bit closer to heaven.



Chastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a VirginChastity Is for Lovers: Single, Happy, and (Still) a Virgin by Arleen Spenceley
Seasoned journalist and self-professed “happy virgin” Arleen Spenceley offers a mature, funny, and relatable vision of Catholic teaching on chastity for young adults. Chastity Is for Lovers provides perspective on a variety of topics—the difference between chastity and abstinence, how virginity is an affirming and valuable life choice, how the word “purity” can be harmful in ministry settings, how to date well, and why sexual self-control is the best form of marriage preparation—and gives single adults the best possible chance to find true love. She carefully avoids using language that shames readers and instead presents a view of chastity that is joyful and positive.
I'm not the target market for this book but I know lots of young women who are. That's what made me flip through the book. I kept coming across sections that caught my attention and made me want to know the rest of the story. I finally realized that I'm going to have to read this book even if it isn't aimed at me. Which says a lot about how personable this author is. And, let's face it, if I know people in the target market then I need to know what this author's saying because it could come up in conversation. Such are the times in which we live.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas illustration/cut-paper
by Himmapaan
Continuing our weeklong look at Himmapaan, we jump ahead seasonally. Look through the art featured at the linked post above and then go to the Amazon listing for The Night Before Christmas and look at the reader uploaded scans. That end pop-up has to be seen to be believed.

Well Said: The One Who Says "Come and See" to Pilgrims

Antoine Lafréry, Visit to the Seven Churches of Rome, 1575
This image of pilgrims going from one church to another highlights an important connection: that between prayer and visibility. Every journey undertaken in a spirit of prayer leads in fact to something visible: a mountain, a grotto, a temple, seven churches. On arrival, the pilgrim's experience is structured through rites nicely calculated to satisfy his desire to see something: processions, the exhibiting of relics, the veneration of images. Interesting, in this respect, the language used by the Florentine Giovanni Villani, present in Rome in 1300 for the first Jubilee, who tells us that "for the consolation of Christian pilgrims, every Friday and solemn feast day, the Veil of Veronica was exhibited" — the veil bearing the imprint of Christ's face, that is. But this rite served for "the consolation of Christian pilgrims," because human beings yearn to see God and are thus consoled in seeing his image. That is the connection: images presented to pilgrims at journey's end console them. Like the first disciples, pilgrims set out in response to One who says, "Come and see" (John 1:39a), and in Veonica's Veil or some other relic—as in the architecture and art they find on reaching their destination—they contemplate his face and behold his abode under the form of images.
Timothy Verdon, Art & Prayer
I never thought about the images at the end of the pilgrimage as being the "consolation of pilgrims." Or about connecting the end of the trip to the invitation to "Come and see." This is something I must reflect upon.

NOTE:
Of course, I am drawn right now to pilgrimage meditations because of the proposed pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Diana Von Glahn, The Faithful Traveler. We can't go if enough people don't go with us. Perhaps that is also the consolation of the pilgrim? Fellow travelers on the way? I know that often it takes someone else to point out what should be blindingly obvious to me. If you think you might be interested in journeying to "Come and see" the Holy Land, check out the link. And sign up!

After yesterday's horrific attacks in Jerusalem I almost removed this post which I had prepared yesterday. However, Diana got a note from a friend there who said that they need the tourism trade and that pilgrims are generally safe. This made me think about pilgrims through the centuries who we often forget braved physical danger in their quest to see where Jesus walked. And it puts me in touch with them in a more real way than ever...

In which we vacation in a very foreign land -- the past!

An audio sampler of The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England by Ian Mortimer ... at Forgotten Classics podcast. Enjoy!

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Well Said: Pilgrimage and Spaces of Prayer

... the pilgrims who, still today, ascend this "holy staircase" on their knees to glimpse beyond the grate the untouchable space of the "Holy of Holies" are people who have come from afar to mount the stairs that have been moved in order to see relics brought from elsewhere and a portable icon. In this case especially it is clear that the "space of prayer" is that which pilgrims themselves define as they relive in their hearts the passion of One who presented himself as the new "temple" and personal "holy place" of all who believe in him, Jesus Christ.
Timothy Verdon, Art & Prayer
As you know I am supposed to go on a Holy Land pilgrimage with Diana Von Glahn next spring. I say "supposed to" because participation thus far is very low and we may not have enough to fill the tour, in which case it is off.

I'm not sure why there is low participation because of all the people I'd want to travel with, Diana is tops on my list. Outside of family that is. Let's get real, after all.

Seriously though, anyone who's ever watched her Faithful Traveler show knows how great it would be to have her company anywhere, much less on a pilgrimage. If you are at all interested, I encourage you to check out the pilgrimage and sign up! The deadline is in January so we have time to fill it up, but not if everyone hangs back too long.

At any rate, I have been thinking about what a pilgrimage means in terms of travel so much that I'd forgotten what author Timothy Verdon points out above. Physical space is important to prayer and to pilgrimage. But it is what the pilgrim brings in their hearts which defines the "space of prayer."

Isn't that what God reminds us of again and again? It is what is inside us that defines the import of what  comes out of us, whether actions or words or any other physical element.

I have no great revelations to share based on this. But I ponder it.

Blogging Around: Diving Deeper Edition

This Just In — The Pope is Catholic

Which means he's not easy to define when you want to slap labels like conservative or liberal on him. As should be the case for any Catholic living the Church's teachings and following Jesus. GetReligion takes a look at the AP's Vatican correspondent's latest piece which someone summed up thusly:
Francis is a RADICAL – no, no, sorry about that–he is now a conservative who sounds just like Benedict -- NO, WAIT -- he really is a liberal at heart, but he is being FORCED by those evil, evil right-wing conservatives to cave--he is at WAR with his own CDF chief (you know, the one he re-confirmed -- but never mind) -- AT WAR, I TELL YOU!
This isn't news to many of us, but if you've been believing the main media headlines then this piece is a nice lesson in how to logically read a news story.

The Most Wrong Thing on the Internet Ever

Darwin Catholic points to a great review which will have Catholics and historians everywhere saying, "Finally!" At least those who know more about history than what "everyone knows." The book is God's Philosophers which I now want to read.

The review is by Tim O'Neill who is an atheist but one who cares passionately about truth. Which is my kind of atheist. One look at his piece Cartoons and Fables - How Cosmos Got the Story of Bruno Wrong made me want to kiss him. It was that very episode of Cosmos which made me vow never to watch again and also filled me with a deep distrust of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Anyone who gets the facts that wrong is trying to do so. And it makes me feel I can't trust him to tell me about science either.

Thinking About Interstellar

Now that I've seen the movie, I felt free to read the reviews and articles I'd been saving so I didn't encounter spoilers. The two that resonated most deeply and were the most interesting were both from Tor.com. The headlines sum up nicely and they are definitely worth reading. Beware: here there be spoilers.
  • Why Do We Reject Love as a Powerful Force in Interstellar? (Speaking about the science fiction community's reaction to parts of the movie. I don't know what they were expecting. Didn't they all watch Inception?
  • To Explore is to Take Care of Us All
    Because really, there will always be a time of crisis, won’t there? There will always be a need for caretakers and there will always be a need for explorers. They are, in fact, an inclusive concept. Exploring is caretaking and caretaking is exploring and Interstellar brings us a story about a family that boldly asserts the need for humanity to keep caretaking and exploring.