Blogging Around: "The Week's Greatest Hits" Edition

If you follow my Google reader in the sidebar you'll have seen these, but of all the great posts in there, these are the ones that caught my interest most. One for each day from August 3-7:

Great Movie: Souls for Sale (1923)

In the 1920s, the golden age of silent films, millions of Americans bought tickets every week to see movies like "Souls for Sale." It isn't on any list of great movies I've ever seen, possibly because hardly anyone had seen it for more than 75 years. When it has played over the last few years on Turner Classic Movies, it's possible more people saw it than in all the decades since it was released in 1923.

This is a prime example of the mid-range entertainment Hollywood was producing so skillfully at the time. Filled with actors who were then stars, fast-moving, entertaining, with a spectacular circus action sequence at the climax, it is drama, melodrama, romance and satire all at once -- wrapped up in a behind-the-scenes look at how a desperate young woman fell into the movie business by accident and became a star.

From Roger Ebert. A movie that I will be seeking out.

Ellen DeGeneres at Tulane

This is a deceptively powerful little speech by Degeneres; it is a challenge to go deep.

The Anchoress shows Ellen DeGeneres' commencement speech at Tulane which is both funny, affecting, and true. Well worth the time to watch and ponder it, whether we agree with everything she believes or not.

Apostolic Visitation of Women Religious - The Questions
The title pretty much says it all in this informative piece from Catholic Key Blog. For all the protesting done by various religious folks, this questionnaire looks very straight forward. If they can't answer these well then there is definitely a problem that needs looking into ... as the end of the piece shows.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

... In other words, I wanted to be part of the ancient faith in England, and it seemed right that the way to do this was to be 'a Catholic in the Church of England.'

I mentioned this in passing to Abbot Leo and he gently stopped me, "You know, I think it's marvelous that you want to be Catholic, but we Catholics define what being a Catholic is rather differently than you do."

"Yes?" I replied.

"Well, we think that at the heart of being Catholic is obedience to the teaching of the Holy Father."

"But I am obedient to the teachings of the Holy Father!" I protested. "In fact, it seems that I am more of a faithful Catholic than most Catholics I know! I follow the Pope's teaching in my marriage, I follow the teachings of the Catholic church in my celebration of the liturgy, in my prayer life and in my doctrinal and moral beliefs. I am obedient to the teachings of the Pope."

Abbot Leo smiled, "Yes, but what about the teaching of the Pope that to really obey the teachings of the Pope you have to be in full communion with him?"

Well, if Peter was the Rock, then I was between a Rock and a hard place.

It is early in the day to name a favorite from today but it is also hard to see how anything can beat Fr. Longenecker's post Father Leo and Me. I believe this will be going into my quote journal.