Worth a Thousand Words: Brown Lady of Raynham Hall

Brown Lady of Raynham Hall ghost photograph, Captain Hubert C. Provand. First published in Countrylife magazine, 1936

Via Wikipedia, of course!

St. John Bosco's Ghost Story

This is a little reminder that tomorrow is All Saints' Day (formerly known as All Hallow's Day), without which we would not have Hallowe'en (formerly known as All Hallow's Eve).

Nothing like a saint telling a ghost story to both celebrate spookiness and also ... saintliness!

While a young man, St. John Bosco (1815-1888) and his friend, Comollo, agreed that whoever died first would return and give a sign about the state of their soul. Comollo died on April 2, 1839. The evening following the funeral, Bosco sat sleepless on his bed in the room he shared with twenty seminarians.

“Midnight struck and I then heard a dull rolling sound from the end of the passage, which grew ever more clear, loud and deep, the nearer it came. It sounded as though a heavy dray were being drawn by many horses, like a railway train, almost like the discharge of a cannon…While the noise came nearer the dormitory, the walls, ceiling and floor of the passage re-echoed and trembled behind it…

Then the door opened violently of its own accord without anybody seeing anything except a dim light of changing colour that seemed to control the sound…Then a voice was clearly heard, ‘Bosco, Bosco, Bosco, I am saved.’… The seminarists leapt out of bed and fled without knowing where to go. … for a long time there was no other subject of conversation in the seminary.”

The Ghost House

A melancholy poem by Robert Frost, via Amy H. Sturgis whose month-long count down to Halloween I have much enjoyed.

I dwell in a lonely house I know
That vanished many a summer ago,
And left no trace but the cellar walls,
And a cellar in which the daylight falls,
And the purple-stemmed wild raspberries grow.

O’er ruined fences the grape-vines shield
The woods come back to the mowing field;
The orchard tree has grown one copse
Of new wood and old where the woodpecker chops;
The footpath down to the well is healed.

I dwell with a strangely aching heart
In that vanished abode there far apart
On that disused and forgotten road
That has no dust-bath now for the toad.
Night comes; the black bats tumble and dart;

The whippoorwill is coming to shout
And hush and cluck and flutter about:
I hear him begin far enough away
Full many a time to say his say
Before he arrives to say it out.

It is under the small, dim, summer star.
I know not who these mute folk are
Who share the unlit place with me—
Those stones out under the low-limbed tree
Doubtless bear names that the mosses mar.

They are tireless folk, but slow and sad,
Though two, close-keeping, are lass and lad,—
With none among them that ever sings,
And yet, in view of how many things,
As sweet companions as might be had.

Yours is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World - Mike Aquilina

Yours Is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World by Mike Aquilina

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What has the Catholic Church done for humanity?

If you listen to popular culture today, you might get the impression that the Church is the universal enemy. The Church stands inthe way of progress. It exploits the poor. It oppresses women and children. It condemns everything that's good in our culture. And above all, it stands opposed to science and reason.

You've heard it all so often that, even if you're Catholic, you might half-believe it. But it's all wrong, and this book is going to show you why.

There are lots of books about great Catholics who have also been scientists, musicians, artists, or leaders--people who have done some good inthe world, even though they're Catholic. This book isn't like that. This book makes a much bigger and more startling claim: Everything about our modern world we think is good is there because of the Church.

The only reason we care about the poor is because Christianity has won. The only reason the rights of women and children are important is because the Church has made them important. The only reason we have science is because the Church taught us how to think.

This book is full of unbelievable statements like that. My hope is that, by the end of the book, you'll believe them all.

Yours is the Church that built up the best in modern culture. And yours is the church that has constantly defended the best against the horrors that rise against it. It's an exciting story, roaming up and down through two thousand years of history.

This introduction to the book gives a better overview than I could.

Aquilina covers various ways our civilization has benefited overall, and continues to do, from Catholicism's 2,000 years of cultural influence. Topics include: respect for women, the dignity of children, art, literature, music, charity, and more. He makes the points clearly by showing what pagan culture was like before Christianity, the influence of Christians on that culture overall, and then shows how our Christianity-infused culture is still shaped by that influence.

One of the things I liked best about this book is that Aquilina comes from such a positive point of view. As our priest often says, teaching from a positive point of view gets much further than stressing the negative continually. I have read many a book that sets out to refute the myths of what "everyone knows" about the Catholic Church. They may be effective for a few but they are often negative in tone which makes them difficult to read or care about if you are not fascinated by that particular topic. Aquilina's positive stance is evenhanded and makes one interested to see just how he's going to pull off the next "fantastic" claim.

Another thing that I really liked is that Aquilina doesn't sugar coat it when there is blame to be taken by the Church. I have never really been able to swallow defenses I've read of the later Crusades. Aquilina makes sure everything is put in perspective, such as making sure the context of an "inquisition" and the court systems of the times are covered, and then point out where blame is to be had. He does not leave matters there, often putting our own times in proper context in ways that open our eyes further. One of the most surprising instances for me was this bit of insight about the sex abuse scandals.

So our natural horror at child abuse--which by the way, is a good sign that our culture, for all its faults, may still be reasonably healthy--didn't come from the Greeks or the Romans. It came from the Christians. It was the Church that taught us to acknowledge the sacred rights of children as human beings.

The world judges Catholics by Christian standards now; the Christian victory has been so complete that it's practically invisible. When the babbling bloggers blame us for being Christians, they're really blaming us for not being Christian enough. Christian principles seem like part of the order of nature, laws as immutable as gravity and magnetism. But that's only because the Church succeeded, against all odds, in replacing what everyone thought was an immutable law of nature with a strange Christian idea--such as the notion that children are people too.

Although author Mike Aquilina is Catholic, his claims have been echoed to me recently from an unexpected source. Helping out with RCIA (classes for those interested in converting to Catholicism), subjects arose which prompted me to speak apologetically of how the Church has handled things such as the sex scandal.

Each time, one potential convert has spoken up saying, "Historically speaking ..." and setting the record in a larger historical context which makes it clear that shortfalls very often are not so much due to the Catholic Church as they are due to lapses on individuals' parts or even those of particular institutions within the Church (yes, Torquemada, I'm lookin' at you).

This particular "defender of the faith" comes from no particular religious background. His conversion began after visiting many of the cathedrals throughout Europe which then led him to begin reading history and noting the Church's place in it. I have to admit it has been refreshing to hear someone with no particular agenda comment on various contentious matters from a purely historical or statistical standpoint. Inadvertently, this person's casual remarks back up what Mike Aquilina states in this book. There is a lot of credit to be given to the Catholic Church that the world has become blind to ... and we can be proud of being part of this rich faith.

Happy Halloween!

Jack O Lanterns

From morganglines at Flickr, some rights reserved

"Hallowe'en in a Suburb" by H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937)

The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,
And the trees have a silver glare;
Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,
And the harpies of upper air,
That flutter and laugh and stare.

For the village dead to the moon outspread
Never shone in the sunset's gleam,
But grew out of the deep that the dead years keep
Where the rivers of madness stream
Down the gulfs to a pit of dream.

A chill wind weaves through the rows of sheaves
In the meadows that shimmer pale,
And comes to twine where the headstones shine
And the ghouls of the churchyard wail
For harvests that fly and fail.

Not a breath of the strange grey gods of change
That tore from the past its own
Can quicken this hour, when a spectral power
Spreads sleep o'er the cosmic throne,
And looses the vast unknown.

So here again stretch the vale and plain
That moons long-forgotten saw,
And the dead leap gay in the pallid ray,
Sprung out of the tomb's black maw
To shake all the world with awe.

And all that the morn shall greet forlorn,
The ugliness and the pest
Of rows where thick rise the stones and brick,
Shall some day be with the rest,
And brood with the shades unblest.

Then wild in the dark let the lemurs bark,
And the leprous spires ascend;
For new and old alike in the fold
Of horror and death are penned,
For the hounds of Time to rend.

Padre Pio's Ghost Story

Speaking of ghosts ...

Padre Pio told the story of being in the choir alone one evening to pray. He heard rustling and looked up to see a young monk dusting and straightening up the altar. When he asked who the monk was, he was told: “I am a brother of yours that made the novitiate here. I was ordered to clean the altar during the year of the noviciate. Unfortunately many times I didn’t reverence Jesus while passing in front of the altar, thus causing the Holy Sacrament that was preserved in the tabernacle to be disrespected. For this serious carelessness, I am still in Purgatory. Now, God, with his endless goodness, sent me here so that you may quicken the time I will enjoy Paradise. Take care of me.”

Source

Portrait of Padre Pio by Solomenco Bogdan
via Wikipedia

When the Night Wind Howls

Since Halloween is so soon, here's a nice spooky poem to set the mood. From Ruddigore by Gilbert and Sullivan.

When the night wind howls in the chimney cowls, and the bat in the moonlight flies,
And inky clouds, like funeral shrouds, sail over the midnight skies –
When the footpads quail at the night-bird's wail, and black dogs bay at the moon,
Then is the spectres' holiday – then is the ghosts' high-noon!

Ha! ha!
For then is the ghosts' high-noon!

As the sob of the breeze sweeps over the trees, and the mists lie low on the fen,
From grey tomb-stones are gathered the bones that once were women and men,
And away they go, with a mop and a mow, to the revel that ends too soon,
For cockcrow limits our holiday – the dead of the night's high-noon!

Ha! ha!
For then is the ghosts' high-noon!

And then each ghost with his ladye-toast to their churchyard beds takes flight,
With a kiss, perhaps, on her lantern chaps, and a grisly grim "good-night";
Till the welcome knell of the midnight bell rings forth its jolliest tune,
And ushers in our next high holiday – the dead of the night's high-noon!

Ha! ha!
For then is the ghosts' high-noon!

Things That Go Bump in the Night ... Halloween Cometh

This is from last year for two reasons. One, of course, I have no time but can't bear to let you spend the day before All Hallow's Eve without some suggestions for diversion. The links, therefore, are from previous years but the bloggers are all still out there so just see what they're offering this year to add to the variety.

Two ... it's all still good!

 Photo from Recta Ratio

Trick or Treating

Remember studies prove that eating sugar does not equal hyperactivity in kids. So said Nutrition Diva and I trust her. So let them have an extra Butterfinger or two.

Spooky Reading
When reading this Top 10 List of Vampire Novels some time ago, I noticed there were a few missing that I would have included. I'm not sure these are all top ten material but there are several on that list where the descriptions left me wondering if they really warranted that spot. So we'll just say these are good 'uns and leave it at that.

• Vampire$ by John Steakley
• Sunshine by Robin McKinley
• The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
• Already Dead by Charlie Huston
• Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan LeFanu predates Bram Stoker's Dracula by twenty years. A thumping good read although the strong hints of (vampire)girl-on-(human)girl action are quite surprising in a work that old. You can get the audio from the Classic Tales Podcast for a few more weeks.

We can't let the vampires have all the fun and you know that there are a few choice zombie books I am partial to.

• The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell
• World War Z by Max Brooks (which I have been meaning to reread) ... as well, Hannah brought home the prequel (of sorts) by Brooks ... The Zombie Survival Guide which I've been meaning to read but have heard is jolly good fun.

Ghostly goodness can't be ignored either.

• Johnny and the Dead by Terry Pratchett
• Odd Thomas (and the sequels) by Dean Koontz

If you don't roll the nonfiction way, here are two good 'uns with a Catholic flavah.

• The Rite by Matt Baglio (all about training to be an exorcist)
• Holy Ghosts by Gary Jensen (who discovered his house was haunted ... if you want an overview, here's a piece he wrote for Huffington recently.

Spooky Viewing (kind of)

We'll begin with the zombies this time, shall we? Keeping in mind that I don't like zombie movies unless they have a strong humorous side.

• Shaun of the Dead
• Zombieland: A true delight AND a movie that celebrates family (still chock-full of flesh-eating zombies). Hilarious though. Rule #4: watch this movie.

A hybrid which features what our family called "zom-pires" ...

• I Am Legend

Finally, yes, we are down to the vampire movies.

• Let The Right One In
• Angel ... yes, this was a tv show and not a movie but it has the right amount of humor leavening the monsterism throughout.

And that all leads us to a movie featuring all the spooky stuff but as a musical!

• The Nightmare Before Christmas

Lots And Lots Of Linky Goodness

• Julie O. has a zombie series going ... and says that a post on Zombie Theology is coming, so keep an eye on her place!
• Amy H. Sturgis has been counting down all month with a post a day. There is a wealth of Halloween enjoyment at her place.
• Recta Ratio has stored up years worth of interesting holiday stories, images, and Catholic goodness for celebrating Halloween.
  

  Bradbury has for me made October 20th a milestone, a day in which Halloween begins to be anticipated. Halloween, the eve of All Saints' and the build-up for the Catholic Day of the Dead, All Souls', has taken some hard knocks, mostly unjustified. Opportunistic modern wiccans and pagans, especially in Salem, have claimed as their own a holiday that has nothing to do with them and their New Age, and never did.
  
  The celebration of the day is Celtic and Christian. It is the dying time of the year, with the harvest almost all in now, and even the green leaves of summer suddenly blazing into brilliant color and then dropping to the ground. The days are growing notably colder and shorter. It is the appropriate time to recall our dead, to think about, and to pray for the all the dead. The merry season of Christmas lies ahead. But, as the liturgical year winds down over the next 5 weeks, let us pause to recall death. It is the first of the Four Last Things, after all.
  
  If part of thinking about it is reading old gothic ghost stories over a mug of mulled cider by candlelight in the privacy of one's study, or watching movies about ghosts, witches, vampires, werewolves, and monsters, or impressing the imagination of children by decorating a "haunted house" and handing out enough candy to make them spit out teeth the next day, or carving pumpkins in imitation of the Irish custom of the carved turnip of Jack of the Lantern, or burning leaves at night, there is no harm in it.

• The Anchoress is a fellow Halloween aficionado and has some good observations and tons of good links.
  

  The other thing I love about All Hallow’s Eve is the next day: All Saints Day. That is a holy day of obligation that I particularly love, because there is an intimacy to it. In blustery weather, usually damp and chill, the Catholics troop to mass and remember those who came before us. It’s like spiritually visiting the graves of our beloved. We remember the stories and remember where we have come from, and that helps us to remember who we are. It helps remind us that we want to keep walking the straight, narrow path that will unite us all before the throne!

• biblioklept (via Steven Riddle at A Momentary Taste of Being) has some really fun stuff.
  
  
  
  
  
• Catholic Once Again has some great posts about zombies (near and dear to my heart, as we know) and sorting out Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day

  Somebody asked me recently why Catholics like zombies. I wasn't aware we were known for that. (Though I was able to include an alarming number of Catholic/zombie links at the bottom of this post)
  
  If Catholics are drawn to zombies, and I'm not saying we are as a whole, it may be because we are willing to face our own mortality. We challenge ourselves to look death in the eye- examine our souls- do a preflight check to see if we're prepared for eternity with God.

Worth a Thousand Words: Cap'n Goldsack

Howard Pyle, Cap’n Goldsack, 1902

CAP’N GOLDSACK

Down in the yellow bay where the scows are sleeping,
Where among the dead men the sharks flit to and fro -
There Cap’n Goldsack goes, creeping, creeping, creeping.
Looking for his treasure down below!

Yeo, yeo, heave-a-yeo!
Creeping, creeping, creeping down below -
Yo! ho!

Down among the tangleweed where the dead are leaking
With the ebb an’ flow o’ water through their ribs an’ hollow bones,
Isaac Goldsack stoops alow, seeking, seeking, seeking.
What's he seeking there amidst a lot o’ dead men’s bones?

Yeo, yeo, heave-a-yeo!
Seeking, seeking, seeking down below -
Yo! ho!

Twice a hundred year an’ more are gone acrost the bay,
Down acrost the yellow bay where the dead are sleeping:
But Cap’n Goldsack gropes an’ gropes from year- long day to day —
Cap’n Goldsack gropes below, creeping, creeping, creeping:

Yeo, yeo, heave-a-yeo!
Creeping, creeping, creeping down below -
Yo! ho!

Via Howard Pyle blog where there is more information about this illustration and poem and, of course, much more about Howard Pyle.

Well Said: It is a great mistake...

From my quote journal.

It is a great mistake to think that God is chiefly interested in religion.

William Temple

Worth a Thousand Words: Mute Swan

Mute Swan

taken by Remo Savisaar at pildiblog

Remo's genius shines forth, doesn't it? As well as the natural beauty of the scene.

Novena for an Ordered Life

I picked this up from the Darwins some time ago. As I have mentioned and am going to mention regularly for at least a month, I'm very busy. This is an excellent novena for such times.

I myself haven't prayed it specifically as a novena, but have read it over slowly during prayer times as a meditative aid. And it has proven to be a wonderful reminder of what is really important. Which is a nice calming measure on its own as well as a connection to God's priorities rather than mine.

For Ordering a Life Wisely
St. Thomas Aquinas

O merciful God, grant that I may
desire ardently,
search prudently,
recognize truly,
and bring to perfect completion
whatever is pleasing to You
for the praise and glory of Your name.

Put my life in good order, O my God
Grant that I may know
what You require me to do.

Bestow upon me
the power to accomplish your will,
as is necessary and fitting
for the salvation of my soul.

Grant to me, O Lord my God,
that I may not falter in times
of prosperity or adversity,
so that I may not be exalted in the former,
nor dejected in the latter.

May I not rejoice in anything
unless it leads me to You;
may I not be saddened by anything
unless it turns me from You.

May I desire to please no one,
nor fear to displease anyone,
but You.

May all transitory things, O Lord,
be worthless to me
and may all things eternal
be ever cherished by me.

May any joy without You
be burdensome for me
and may I not desire anything else
besides You.

May all work, O Lord
delight me when done for Your sake.
and may all repose not centered in You
be ever wearisome for me.

Grant unto me, my God,
that I may direct my heart to You
and that in my failures
I may ever feel remorse for my sins
and never lose the resolve to change.

O Lord my God, make me
submissive without protest,
poor without discouragement,
chaste without regret,
patient without complaint,
humble without posturing,
cheerful without frivolity,
mature without gloom,
and quick-witted without flippancy.

O Lord my God, let me
fear You without losing hope,
be truthful without guile,
do good works without presumption,
rebuke my neighbor without haughtiness,
and -- without hypocrisy --
strengthen him by word and example.

Give to me, O Lord God,
a watchful heart,
which no capricious thought
can lure away from You.

Give to me,
a noble heart,
which no unworthy desire can debase.

Give to me
a resolute heart,
which no evil intention can divert.

Give to me
a stalwart heart,
which no tribulation can overcome.

Give to me
a temperate heart,
which no violent passion can enslave.

Give to me, O Lord my God,
understanding of You,
diligence in seeking You,
wisdom in finding You,
discourse ever pleasing to You,
perseverance in waiting for You,
and confidence in finally embracing You.

Grant
that with Your hardships
I may be burdened in reparation here,
that Your benefits
I may use in gratitude upon the way,
that in Your joys
I may delight by glorifying You
in the Kingdom of Heaven.

You Who live and reign,
God, world without end.
Amen.

Blogging Around: The Too-Busy-To-Post Edition

Luckily, these folks ain't too busy ...

• Terrapin: A Mystery - Jeff Miller has the review of a book I'd like to read.
• Darkship Thieves - Will Duquette has the review of another book I'd like to read.
• Light, Lovely Meringue Cake - The Anchoress has a recipe (and scrumptious looking photo) of a cake I'd like to eat.
• Monster Hunter International - another review by Will of a book I'd like to read ... it looks about the speed of what I can handle right now.

Sorry I've been gone so much. I should have a few goodies for you next week, just in time for Halloween!

I'm ready to tell you my secret now ...

... Scott and Julie both see dead people. M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense is the topic of discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find.

A super-busy day again, so this will be my only posting today. Sorry, but go listen to Scott and me discuss the movie! There's plenty of Catholic goodness within!

Ghosts of WWII

Ghosts of WWII: Photos of Soldiers Seen in the Streets of Modern Day France

PetaPixel has a series of Dutch historian Jo Teeuwisse's photos on display. Teeuwisse seamlessly blends old World War II photos of soldiers into those of the same locations in modern France.

Teeuwisse began shooting her then-and-now photos after finding 300 old WWII photographs on negatives at a flea market in her hometown. After having the images digitized, she visited the various locations shown in the photos (figuring that out is a feat in its own right) and re-photographed them from the same location and with the same framing. The two versions are then combined with careful blending in Photoshop.

Go to PetaPixel to see more. There are links to Teeuwisse's work there also, which is all under copyright. (The photo above is just a sample to get you to go look ...)

Via Joseph Susanka.

The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


So you've begun to get really busy at work and you're feeling stressed out.

Then you watched The Sixth Sense (by yourself, after dark) so you can discuss it on a podcast.

And finally, you just know you're going to have nightmares and possibly be afraid of the dark if you wake up having to make that trip out of bed ... based on the last time you watched that darned movie.

What do you do?

What DO you do?

You pull out your trusty copy of The Wind in the Willows, that's what.

This gentle, imaginative tale of small animals who straddle both animal and human behavior in the most charming way will pull you in and have you thinking of Rat's splendid picnic basket, Badger's den beneath the Wild Woods, or Toad's way of being infuriating while his friends love him anyway. It pulled me into that fantasy world as a child and does so again when I read it as an adult.

Highly recommended (after all Teddy Roosevelt can't be wrong ... and this book has his letter to the author in the introduction).

The Knox Bible (updated)

I am beginning that giant annual project today which leaves me a bit discombobulated and somewhat ... ok, a lot ... freaked out. All will be well and all shall be well and I know this is so. But the beginning is still a monumental task and so I am updating my review of The Knox Bible. See the update below.

The Knox Bible by Msgr Ronald A. Knox

It is unquestioned that for the past 300 years the Authorized Version has been the greatest single formative influence in English prose style. But that time is over …. When the Bible ceases, as it is ceasing, to be accepted as a sacred text, it will not long survive for its fine writing. It seems to me probable that in a hundred years' time the only Englishmen who know their Bibles will be Catholics. And they will know it in Msgr. Knox's version.-- Evelyn Waugh

I have been trying to get my hands on a Knox Bible for some time, ever since I learned of the existence of such a thing. An English translation done between 1936-1945 that strove to keep beauty while making all clear to the average Englishman ... translated directly from Latin Vulgate of St. Jerome, but while consulting the texts in Greek and Hebrew where needed. It sounded fascinating and possibly too good to be true.

Alas, Knox Bibles were nowhere to be found. Until now when Baronius Press has reprinted it in a nice serviceable edition ... sturdy-seeming but with lovely touches like ribbons, gilt-edging, marble end papers and more.

I have just begun to read but already have seen a couple of instances where the translation brought tears to my eyes when I read it aloud ... it struck a chord within.

UPDATE
As I sit daily and open this Bible up, I am struck by how readable it is.

Some of that is the format. Instead of having subheads telling us what we'll read, verse numbers at the beginning of sentences, and the formats we're used to ... it is in chapters and paragraphs. Just like a real book.

The verses are in tiny numbers on the outside margin. This sounds difficult, but as I've been checking this translation against others, I have found it is very workable.

Best of all, it leaves the reader free to just sit and ... read. As one would a regular book. I feel as if I can let the text hit me however it happens to for that moment, which surely is a good thing when we are trying to hear the Word in the words.

My biggest comparison with other translations was when I received it and sat down to look over the first couple of chapters of Genesis ... verse by verse ... compared with the New American Bible, the Revised Standard Version, the Douay-Rheims, and Robert Alter's superb translation. I didn't realize I had so many translations in the house until that moment. Which made me laugh. Bible geek - book geek ... it's pretty much the same thing at that point.

Reading them aloud, I read Knox's chapter 1, verse 2:

Earth was still an empty waste, and darkness hung over the deep; but already, over its waters, stirred the breath of God.

What is there in that to make me cry? I don't know but it touched my soul and I did. Something about that "stirred by the breath of God" was just so lovely and evocative.

You can imagine how I laughed, then, when reading my New American Bible:

and the earth was without form or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind was sweeping over the waters

A mighty wind? Hmmm ...

Of all the Bibles, Robert Alter's "won" the Genesis if I can call it winning. But the Knox Bible was a close second and it was often more beautifully put.

It also made me smile, when I read Genesis, chapter 2, verse 1:

Thus heaven and earth and all the furniture of them were completed.

There was something both amusing and also "right" about thinking of the animals, fish, plants, and people as "furnishing" the earth. It settled in my mind in a way that the other translations failed to do (array, hosts, etc.).

I read Knox's "The Englishing of the Bible" which is a collection of essays he wrote explaining his translation choices. He wanted language that would be accessible, beautiful, and timeless. He kept "thee" and "thou" because, as he put it, there were times when the "thou" would mean God and times when that same "thou" might mean man ... he didn't want his choices between "thou" and "you" to influence the reader. He wanted to leave that for the moment and the Spirit to decide. I do find "thou" awkward sometimes, but it always makes me think about Knox's choice and I think that is a good reason for the older language in it.

This morning I looked at Psalm 19 (18 in Knox's numbering):

SEE how the skies proclaim God's glory, how the vault of heaven betrays his craftsmanship! Each day echoes its secret to the next, each night passes on to the next its revelation of knowledge; no word, no accent of theirs that does not make itself heard, till their utterance fills every land, till their message reaches the ends of the world.

There is a dynamic quality in the day echoing to the night, to the night passing on its revelation, that makes me think of nature itself as crying aloud, "Cannot you see God? We are showing Him to you." (So much less eloquent than the psalmist or Knox, of course.) But I can feel it in the birds singing outside my window, in the wind blowing the puffy cloud along.

I continue to compare the translations and there is no perfect one. I love the RSV. Sometimes Knox's old fashioned verbs slow me down or the meaning is not as clear as another Bible. But that is not often so far.

It speaks to me. As does much of this splendid translation. I will be reading it every day.

Other readers' reactions:
The Anchoress: The Knox Bible is a Treasure ... who has some great excerpts.
The Hermeneutic of Continuity ... sharing memories of taking Knox's translation to class.

Worth a Thousand Words: Autumn Meadow

Herbstwiese (Autumn Meadow) by Edward B. Gordon

This is similar to the scene that greeted Tom and me when we emerged from our bird watching session at the Old Fish Hatcheries at White Rock Lake. The hatcheries must be the best kept secret in town. No bikes are allowed and the path immediately takes you into a grown over forest area where you feel as if you've entered another world. (As long as you ignore the occasional sound of traffic when you are on the fringes.)

The drained hatcheries are just big rectangles that were dug into the earth around 1910 and filled with water (and presumably fingerlings). These days they have been allowed to grow over and some have water (with turtles sunning themselves), some have all sorts of plants, and everything is much wilder than you have a right to expect in the heart of Dallas. The paths are kept just clear enough for walking though you still have to decide sometimes whether to go over or under huge tree trunks that have fallen.

As we expected, there were few birds since it is Autumn and they were not sitting around singing but busy migrating or eating, depending on their bent.

When we emerged, as I said, there were a few picnicking couples scattered on the well tended lawns nearby.

It was a really great way to spend Sunday.

Lagniappe: A Battle of Wits

From my quote journal.

I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed.

William Shakespeare

The Holy Family, Zombies, and Midrash: Unholy Night by Seth Grahame-Smith

“Joseph? Mary? My name is Balthazar. This is Gaspar . . . this is Melchyor. We don’t want to hurt you . . . we’re just looking for a place to rest. But, Joseph? if you don’t put that pitchfork down, I’m going to take it from you and stab you to death in front of your wife and child. Do you understand?”

Wanted thieves Balthazar, Melchyor, and Gaspar, disguised as wise men, show up at a little manger in Bethlehem with a huge star blazing overhead, looking for a hideout from the law. But when Herod's soldiers begin slaughtering the babies in Bethlehem, Balthazar (a.k.a. The Antioch Ghost) takes the safety of the Holy Family into his own hands. As fugitives on the run to Egypt, they must escape not only Roman soldiers but creatures of mythology and the occult. Everyone's either gunning for the Antioch Ghost with a price on his head or the innocent newborn who has such an unearthly effect on those around him.

Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) finally stops inserting his words into other people's writing and writes a book in his own words. And a fine job he does of it too. For a violent, gore-filled, action-thriller there are a surprising number of very human characters, many of whom we are meant to recognize.

Pontius Pilate appears as an ambitious young officer ambivalent about truth. Mary and Joseph struggle with how to reconcile the truth of Jesus as God with the reality of a baby who must be fed, loved, and parented. Above all, this is Balthazar's story, who has a complex story-line driving his actions and attitudes. We learn how he became the cynical Antioch Ghost and we wonder if he will find a more worthy goal than vengeance.

Above all, I was surprised to find myself eventually thinking of Unholy Night as modern midrash. Midrash is a traditional Jewish way of trying to understand the underlying spirit of scripture, sometimes connecting it to modern life, by creating parables. This allows for some imaginative storytelling as rabbis look for interpretations that are not immediately obvious but are nevertheless held within the original text.

Grahame-Smith lives up to the midrash ideal by both being respectful to his source material and also using his vivid imagination on a Biblical event that is wide-open to interpretation: Mary and Joseph's flight to Egypt with the Christ child. Among other things, the author is very good at opening new views on familiar subjects, such as just how horrible King Herod was. It brings to life the terrible things he did very much as I have read them in history books. One also gets a deeper understanding of the locals' simmering, resentful hatred of the Roman empire.

Narrator Peter Berkrot is a reader I haven't come across before but will be seeking out in the future. He conveys just the right amount of cynicism as Balthazar, menace and insanity as Herod, and innocence as Mary. I am not sure how this book comes across in print but I'd listen to it again in a heartbeat thanks to Berkrot's narration.

Grahame-Smith has delivered a story of Biblical proportions in Unholy Night: zombies, swarms of locusts, epic sword fights, outlaws, obsessed rulers, vengeance, redemption, and more are in this entertaining action tale. That he did it all while staying true to original material that can be unpopular reading these days makes him a writer I am going to seek out in the future. Highly recommended.

This review first appeared at SFFaudio.

The Ladies of Grace Adieu by Susanna Clarke

This is a collection of eight short stories that return readers to the world of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. As I enjoyed Simon Prebble's narration of Strange & Norrell, I returned to that format to hear these stories. Prebble shares narration duty with Davina Porter whose undeniable skill I enjoyed even more than Mr. Prebble's and that is saying quite a lot.

Since all but one of these stories were previously published elsewhere, they vary from mere fragments (The Duke of Wellington Misplaces His Horse) to retold fairy tales (Lickerish Hill). These are almost like some of the longer footnotes from Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, which often meander away to tell fully imagined stories before returning to the main narrative.

The one constant is Clarke's skill at conveying readers to a magical England in the style of well known 19th-century writers such as Jane Austen and Charles Dickens. Clarke has a dry wit which enlivens many of the tales and a good imagination for weaving attention holding yarns. I enjoyed all these stories quite a lot. If you are wondering whether to take the plunge into Strange & Norrell, these stories might be a good test of the waters.

Originally reviewed for SFFaudio.

Troy and Abed Airing Someday ...

I believe in October 19 ... I believe, I believe ...

Worth a Thousand Words: Visit the Zoo

1936, Hugh Stevenson

For the Federal Arts Program during the Depression

Via Animalarium who has lots more of these really wonderful posters on display.

Well Said: The Question

From my quote journal.

I don't think the question is, "Is the customer always right?" but rather, "Do you want to make your customer happy?"

Chef Thomas Keller

Which is, of course, the point of "the customer is always right" but somehow that seems to have been forgotten by too many in the service industry.

In One God: Professing the Creed for the Year of Faith

The Wine Dark Sea's series continues considering the creed phrase-by-phrase with "In one God" ... which is my contribution to the series as it turns out. Check it out at Wine Dark Sea.

Well Said: Temptation

From the commentary on today's Mass readings in In Conversation with God (Weeks 24-34).

Temptation in and of itself is not evil. It provides, in fact, an opportunity for us to show the Lord that we love him more than anything else. Temptation can serve as a means for our growth in virtue and sanctifying grace.

I forget this fact, but it is true that Jesus was led into the desert by the Holy Spirit, where He showed us how to deal with temptation. I forget that sometimes too.

I also like this quote from St. Thomas Aquinas which is used later in the commentary.

Temptation is nothing more than to be put to the test. When a person is tempted, it is his virtue that is tried.

A different way of saying the same thing, true enough. But it strikes me in a different way. So just in case it strikes you that way also, we have a two-fer today!

In Which Virgilia's prevision comes in handy ... or does it?

More of The Unforeseen at Forgotten Classics.

The Good Cook Series

Every cook should have a set of The Good cook series. To find out why, read my review at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Worth a Thousand Words: Sympathy

Briton Riviere, Sympathy, 1877

Via British Paintings. I may have featured this before (so many pictures, so many blog posts), but I just love the dog in this. As who would not?

Worth a Thousand Words: The Water Babies

"Oh, don't hurt me! cried Tom. I only want to look at you; you are so handsome."
Illustration for Charles Kingsley's The Water Babies
(New York : Dodd, Mead & Co., 1916), p. 140.
via Wikipedia

Well Said: Stories pull me back

From my quote journal.

I stray, and then mystories pull me back if I listen to them carefully. I have often been asked if my Christianity affects my stories, and surely it is the other way around; my stories affect my Christianity, restore me, shake me by the scruff of the neck, and pull this straying sinner into an awed faith.

Madeleine L'Engle, Walking on Water

I have to say that my own writing, even of the scribbling just to please myself sort, keeps me focused and open to God in a way that nothing else does.

Baldur's Gate: The Greatest Role Playing Game of All Time.

I concur.

Although my true love is the second game, Shadows of Amn, it hasn't been easy to find for Mac's updated systems. The thing that impresses me is that there are enough Baldur's Gate fans to make doing an updated version financially viable. It's been around for a long time.

Why dwell on this now?

Because there is an enhanced version of the original Baldur's Gate and the Tales of the Sword Coast expansion pack (which I never had) coming out very soon. With more characters and extra quests.

AND (because that's not enough ... it never is) there will be a remake of Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and the expansion, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal.

AND (because even that is not enough) there is a plan to make Baldur's Gate 3 after both enhanced editions are done. Of course this depends on how well these other remakes do.

I am willing to do my part. Just get that Mac OS X version out there and I will buy it.

Frankenweenie: "I went to see this hoping that this would be Tim Burton's return to his former glory."

The concept is simple and should be charming. When Victor's dog and best friend Sparky is hit by a car, Victor uses the town's frequent lightening storms to bring him back to life. But when his fellow classmates discover his secret, they all begin to bring their pets back to life with disastrous results. So part of the problem lies in the fact that what starts out as a Frankenstein spoof suddenly turns into a monster movie during the climax only to abruptly return to the Frankenstein plot.

But the problems are greater than that. ...

Double Exposure (Rose) weighs in on Frankenweenie. I also was crossing my fingers for this one but dubious. Read it all at Double Exposure.

On the other hand, I still am excited about Looper and Argo which have gotten top notch reviews ... we might even go to the movies to see one or the other (is seeing both a dream that could come true? We shall see...)

Worth a Thousand Words: Cross Waves

Cross Waves
taken by Remo Savisaar

I was listening to the soundtrack from Sunshine, Adagio in D Minor, by John Murphy. That background made this photo compelling. With or without music, I hope you find it equally so. I can practically hear the waves crashing and splashing, smell the salt air ... and so forth on to all those other cliches of being near the sea which are cliche because they are true.

Do click through to see the photo in it's original large format. It is even more splendid that way.

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

IN THE BEGINNING
A bit of birthday book-a-liciousness that I had no idea what to think of. As a kid I reread Beautiful Joe and Black Beauty with no problems, though as an adult I cringe from revisiting those tough stories. As an adult I love Watership Down, but my overall experience with animal POV stories is that they tend to be sadder than is my preference. Reading Alice Walker's comment on the cover somewhere that she cried like a baby (ok, I'm paraphrasing) made me wary. However, I trusted my mother, who gave me this, so I figured I'd dip a toe into this doggy tale.

BY THE END OF THE BOOK
This is a simply told tale from the dog's point of view. I am loathe to say much about it because that would spoil the story. It is a very quick read, because of the simplicity, and yet it grabbed me in a way that is difficult to describe. I found myself thinking about it when I put it down. Part of the appeal is the various situations the dog finds itself in which are intriguing in the details of the experience. More than that I dare not say except to reiterate that it is much, much better than you might think.

Worth a Thousand Words: Nankeen Lily

Nankeen Lily, via OBI Scrapbook Blog

Lagniappe: No Suicides and No Smoking

I have just finished listening to Chapter 24 of Moby Dick in the Moby Dick Big Read. Who knew Melville was funny? Not often, but in a previous chapter I was cracking up over the landlady:

"Betty, go to Snarles the Painter, and tell him to paint me a sign, with—'no suicides permitted here, and no smoking in the parlor;'—might as well kill both birds at once."

Year of Faith: Professing the Creed

In his Apostolic Letter announcing the Year of Faith, Pope Benedict exhorts us to find a way to publicly profess the creed: “Religious communities as well as parish communities, and all ecclesial bodies old and new, are to find a way, during this Year, to make a public profession of the Credo.”

Melanie Bettanelli has begun a series meditating upon the creed. She's divided it into 47 pieces and invited a flock of bloggers to help. I myself will be chiming in very soon. Just click the pieces of the creed at The Wine Dark Sea to go to each post through the year.

Well Said: The Woodsman or the Wolf?

From Double Exposure's review on The Woodsman, which I felt free to read in full, because I am never going to watch that movie. It contains excellent observations about fighting temptation.

In all our actions we are either the woodsman or the wolf and God help us if we are the wolf, because there are so few woodsmen left.

Worth a Thousand Words: At Breakfast

At Breakfast (1898). Laurits Andersen Ring (Danish, symbolism, 1853-1933).

This charming scene means even more when you know the symbolism it contains. Books and Art, where I found it, has some interesting information about that.

Celebrate the Year of Faith by Reading the Documents of Vatican II ... or the Catechism

Jeff Miller at Happy Catholic Bookshelf says:

The start of ”The Year of Faith” coincides purposely with the start of the Second Vatican Council 50 years ago. Much has been said about the false “Spirit of Vatican II” which was a purposeful misdirection to the texts of Vatican II. While I have read some of the documents and parts of others I haven’t read through all of them. So I figured this was an opportune time to correct that.

So I have put together an ebook containing all the Councilar Documents which I will read this year and make available for others.

I too have read a few of those documents, enough anyway to show me that they were grossly misinterpreted by some people. I always meant to get around to reading all the documents. This is a great reminder to do just that ... and Jeff's ebook formats make it easy. Download them at the link above.

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For this Year of Faith, Pope Benedict has encouraged you to study and reflect on the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Well, here’s an easy way to do it.

Simply enter your email address and – starting October 11, 2012 – you’ll start getting a little bit of the Catechism emailed to you every morning.

Read that little bit every day and you’ll read the whole catechism in a year. Cool, right?

Sign up here. Via The Curt Jester who always knows what's going on.

Educating the women who didn't learn cooking from their mothers ...

My review of The Kitchen Counter Cooking School is up at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Julie's exploring a tomb. Scott's lost contact but he's sure she's fine, just fine ...

It's October. Time for the scary stuff!

Scott and I discuss four H. P. Lovecraft stories: Dagon, The Statement of Randolph Carter, The Color Out of Space, and The Dunwich Horror. All at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Pope Benedict's Homily Opening the Year of Faith

Watch it right here.

If you have a PC, that is. It seems to want Microsoft Silverlight before showing the video.

I am lucky enough to have a pal who saved the audio of the homily and sent it to me.

Whispers in the Loggia has the homily for readers.

Well Said: The Truths That Shape Us

We all have an idea of a perfect love that we search for and, like Chiyoko, our search extends to all aspects of our lives. The film's blending of fiction and reality echoes our memories of our own lives. We may not remember the facts as they actually happened but we remember the truths that we learned from those experiences and it is those truths that shape us.

From Double Exposure's review of Millennium Actress. An interesting reflection on memory, truth, and love ... I need to watch that movie again.

Worth a Thousand Words: Die weisse Bank 2

Painted by Edward B. Gordon who has been delighting Happy Catholic readers for many a year with his delightful images of German life.

Three Items of Interest (Plus One)

ITEM 1: Catholicism Pure and Simple

It's no secret that I love Father Longenecker's writing. Catholicism Pure and Simple is no exception. I'll be doing a full review soon, but wanted to mention that it is out now ... and it's good. Really good. Here's the description which is really accurate ... and, now that I think of it, doesn't leave me with much to add. Never fear, I'll find more to tell you:

The Catholic faith doesn't have to be complicated. Fr. Dwight Longenecker shows how it can be Pure and Simple. Starting with arguments for the existence of God, this book takes the reader step by step through the basics of the Catholic faith. Without using churchy language, difficult theological concepts or confusing arguments Dwight Longenecker explains not only the truths of the faith, but how to embark on the adventure of living the Catholic faith today. He uses plain illustrations from ordinary life, and explains the faith without complex footnotes or intimidating references. Catholicism Pure & Simple is perfect for high school students, confirmation candidates, members of RCIA classes and anyone seriously seeking God in the modern world.

Item 2: FaithWorks!

This is a short, punchy weekly newsletter with articles on prayer, relationships, family, spirituality and service. Father Longenecker is writing this for the Year of Faith. It's just right for help with the practical practice of our faith.

Check out the latest issue and sign up here.

Item 3: One More Soul

One More Soul has created and published a very comprehensive challenge to the HHS mandate--"Obey Mandate or Scripture?" In this 24 page newspaper, over twenty authors explain why you should be very concerned about the Health & Human Services mandate and its requirement that virtually all health insurance plans cover the intrinsic evils of contraception, sterilization and abortion.

 These writers--including bishops, priests and a seminarian, doctors, lawyers, and economists--provide very readable and common sense explanations for why this mandate is evil in seven different ways. It is a must read for anyone who values their religious freedom, and the conscience rights of employers, medical personnel, and all Americans.

Cincinnati Archbishop Dennis Schnurr has granted "Obey Mandate or Scripture?" his Imprimatur, assuring that the newspaper is free of doctrinal or moral error.
We sell the publication in newspaper format, the entire piece is viewable for free on our website. We really just want to get the information out.

One More Soul is a non-profit dedicated to educating people on God's design for love, chastity, and marriage, with a focus on the blessings of children, Natural Family Planning, and the harms of contraception.

Read One More Soul here.

Plus One More Item: One Body, Many Blogs

When T.J. Burdick launched his blog back in 2010, he was puzzled by one question: how do you become an effective Catholic blogger?

Two years and many blog posts later, T.J. had few answers. So he began searching for help. He emailed a number of blogging friends and asked, "in your opinion, what are the 'ten commandments' that Christian bloggers should keep in mind?"

Ten Catholic bloggers responded with a diversity of answers. Some were deep, some pithy; some were practical, some spiritual. But together they provided T.J. a solid foundation for Catholic blogging.

Wanting to help others, T.J. decided to package all of this wisdom into a short, $1.99 eBook titled One Body, Many Blogs: A Guide for Christian Bloggers (eBook, 52 pages).

Brandon Vogt has a great review that includes much more information about this interesting sounding ebook with a solid list of trust-worthy contributors. Here is author T.J. Burdick's blog.

Lagniappe: Discipline must be maintained

A line that is oft-repeated by one of my favorite characters in Bleak House.

It's my old girl that advises. She has the head. But I never own to it before her. Discipline must be maintained.

Charles Dickens, Bleak House

Tandoori Pizza

Marinated chicken, mango chutney, green onions ... an amazing pizza. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Blog Tour and Review: A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy by Sarah Reinhard

Special things: Sarah is praying the rosary every day of the blog tour. Also, there is a Nook giveaway sponsored by Ave Maria Press. See below my review for both.

So many of the crosses I have are made heavier by my approach to them. Instead of just walking along and dealing with them, I spend energy complaining, dreading, and trying to avoid them. Rather than offer them to God or--better yet--rather than asking him to help me, I try to do it just like my toddler insists, "By myself!"

When Jesus carried his cross, it wasn't easy. But it did end. Our crosses aren't forever. If there's an aspect of your pregnancy that is a cross for you, turn to this mystery in a special way. Ask Mary to help you turn your focus toward the One who stands ready to help you carry it.

Full disclosure: Sarah is a friend of mine.

Second full disclosure: That didn't make me want to read this book.

Final full disclosure: When forced by the bonds of friendship to grudgingly read it, I loved it. Now, that's a good book!

This is not a "what to expect when you're expecting" book, although some of those elements are contained within. This book feeds the inner mother-to-be as well as reassuring her about the outward changes she encounters. Covering the pregnancy week by week, Sarah Reinhard discusses physical changes for mother and baby, but then goes on to reflect on a mystery of the rosary as seen through the lens of that stage of pregnancy. She then encourages the reader with a small faith-related task to focus on for the week and then highlights an element of the Catholic faith.

One Small Step

As Catholics, we begin and end every prayer with the Sign of the Cross. It's part of our faith tradition. this week, focus on the Sign of the Cross as a prayer in its own right. Trace a cross on your husband's forehead before he leaves for work (if that's too weird, simply do it in your mind), and tell him you are praying for him. For many husbands, seeing the discomfort of their wives at the end of pregnancy (and during labor and delivery) is a version of standing at the foot of the Cross. Ask Mary to remain close to you and your husband as you journey closer to meeting this baby.

Labor and Delivery, and Baptism both have their own sections with similar combinations of practical and spiritual guidance. A few sections contain features written by women with a unique experience of motherhood, such as The Unexpected Child or The Joy of Mothering Many. All of the book is imbued with Reinhard's practical experience and inspirational reminders.

Reinhard is reassuring, down to earth, and sympathetic without ever being sappy or unrealistic. This is a book that I'm going to be giving to many of my friends who are young mothers. Certainly I will be handing a copy to each of my daughters when they are at this point in their lives. Highly recommended.

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Be sure to enter to win a Nook (and any number of other goodies) each day of the tour over at Ave Maria Press.

To celebrate the launch of her new book, A Catholic Mother's Companion to Pregnancy: Walking with Mary from Conception to Baptism, Sarah Reinhard invites all of us to spend her blog book tour praying the rosary together. Today, she shares this reflection on the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, adapted from the book:

Jesus was the Son of God. He didn’t really have to obey the law, because he was the law giver.

In the Presentation, where Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the Temple to be presented to the Lord, we see him doing just what he didn’t have to do, though: obeying. It’s a word that’s not common anymore and it certainly isn’t popular (if it ever was). Being obedient is equated with being run-over or brainwashed. It’s not usually painted in a favorable way.

And yet, in the Presentation, we see Jesus’ example of obedience through his parents. They committed him to God, even though they knew he was the SON of God.

In our own lives, obedience is often subtle, sometimes even invisible. It might mean skipping a fun night out because of a family obligation or not watching a show because of a holy day Mass. It could be listening to the still small voice of God in your life, or it could be eschewing something that leads you to sin.

What does obedience look like in your life? Examine it this week with the help of a spiritual friend or advisor. Look to Mary and ask her for guidance.

As we pray this decade of the rosary, let's hold all those brave women who have said yes to difficult and challenging motherhood in our intentions in a special way. Don't forget, too, that we are praying for an increase in all respect life intentions as part of our rosary together this month. (If you’re not familiar with how to pray the rosary, you can find great resources at Rosary Army.)

Our Father . . .

10 - Hail Mary . . .

Glory Be . . .

O My Jesus . . .

"Everything that I can remember, I have told with perfect candor.

... if anything remains vague, it is only because of the dark cloud which has come over my mind—that cloud and the nebulous nature of the horrors which brought it upon me."

The Statement of Randolph Carter by H.P. Lovecraft ... read for us at Forgotten Classics by Will Duquette.

Worth a Thousand Words: Mute Swan

Mute Swan

taken by the brilliant Remo Savisaar

Well Said: God may look at us and say ...

From another of those "excerpts" that Jack McDevitt likes to put at the beginning of his series from 9,000 years in the future.

Intelligence and compassion are the heart of what it means to be human. Help others where you can. That is clear enough. But a Creator may well want us to open our eyes, as well. If there is a judgment, God may not be particularly interested in how many hymns we sang or what prayers we memorized. I suspect He may instead look at us and say, "I gave you a brain, and you never used it. I gave you the stars and you never looked."

Jack McDevitt, Firebird

Of course, those are the things that any believer should know already.

It takes internal conversion, and an ongoing conversion at that, for the faithful to keep their eyes on the big picture. If that is being done, then it translates into changes in behavior and love that anyone can see in their small actions.

So the question we have to ask ourselves is where are we failing in using what God gave us and where are we not experiencing an inner conversion? These are the questions that every Christian struggles with and occasionally can answer, before taking up the struggle again.

The Beckoning Fair One and Real Life Ghost Stories

Get 'em now at SFFaudio where my unabridged reading of the story is followed by Jesse Willis, Scott Danielson, and me discussing it ... and each telling about our own brushes with ghosts!

Weekend Joke

This one is in honor of the baseball playoffs. It never fails to make me laugh.

A man walks into a bar with a dog. The bartender says, "You can't bring that dog in here."

"You don't understand," says the man. "This is no regular dog, he can talk."

"Listen, pal," says the bartender. "If that dog can talk, I'll give you a hundred bucks."

The man puts the dog on a stool, and asks him, "What's on top of a house?"

"Roof!"

"Right. And what's on the outside of a tree?"

"Bark!"

"And who's the greatest baseball player of all time?"

"Ruth!"

"I guess you've heard enough," says the man. "I'll take the hundred in twenties."

The bartender is furious. "Listen, pal," he says, "get out of here before I belt you."

As soon as they're on the street, the dog turns to the man and says, "Do you think I should have said 'DiMaggio'?"

Why You Should Be Reading a Little Bit o' Lovecraft This Weekend

Because Scott and I will be discussing four of his short stories next week at A Good Story is Hard to Find.

And you know you want to find out why two good Catholics would love the lurking horror that is in these tales:

• Dagon
• The Statement of Randolph Carter
• The Colors Out of Space
• The Dunwich Horror

I recommend reading them in this order as the ethos and worldview build nicely that way.

Although I must warn you that I have had a nightmare about Dagon ... and he was invisible. So, there is that to consider.

Nonetheless, it is quite good fun and I'm excited that I was able to listen to the stories. Lovecraft's prose just rolls into your ear so beautifully.

6 Month Economic Forecast

I've done the accounting for our small firm for nigh on these twenty-three years. One of the interesting things is that we seem to reflect economic trends about four to six months ahead of the big business reports that show up in the newspaper.

If we're rolling in business and have built up a good cash reserve, months later the government is reporting a banner year for business and employment. If we're scraping for business, then about six months later we read a doom-and-gloom report from the Wall Street Journal.  I am not accounting minded and so even noticing this trend means it has to have been borne out repeatedly.

Suddenly, and I mean within the past month, almost none of our regular clients are paying their bills on time. There are always some people who pay late and some who pay on time. Like every business, we count on the "on time" customers to cover the ones who are slow. But now ...practically everyone is running into the 60-90 day overdue slot on all their bills. And my statements are being ignored ... I have  to call and put people on the spot to get those 60 days bills paid, which is also not usual. I've never experienced anything so sudden from so many at once.

Tom began checking around and found out we're not the only ones. There's a big slow down from everyone.

I'm don't keep up with any political economic plans or forecasts. We just keep working to pay the bills. But I'll tell you this from a purely practical standpoint ... whatever's being done now -- it ain't workin'.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Blue Cup

Joseph DeCamp (1858–1923), The Blue Cup, 1909 

via Wikipedia

This is just lovely in every way, the light and shadow, her expression, everything.

Well Said: Knowing how the world works

From my quote journal. Another of those great fake quotes with which McDevitt opens each chapter ... from books read 9,000 years in the future.

Barry would have been all right if he hadn't become a physicist. But all that nonsense about mass and energy got him believing he really knew how the world worked. And he didn't. He never did. And that's what got him killed.

Jack McDevitt, The Devil's Eye

A Movie You Might Have Missed: 32

A little something to get you in the Halloween mood.

 32. The Body Snatcher

Here's the real benefit of going to an actual video rental store. You walk in looking for I Walked With a Zombie because B-Movie Catechism and Zombie Parent's Guide both recommended this "Jane Eyre in Haiti" flick.

You leave with the double-feature dvd including The Body Snatcher because that's the only way it comes. I Walked With a Zombie was fine but short and rather light-weight. Go to the above linked blogs to read full reviews.

We looked dubiously at the art for The Body Snatcher. I could vaguely remember the Robert Louis Stephenson short story upon which it was based. What the heck, we had the rest of the evening so we started watching ... and were rewarded with a real prize.

In 1831 Edinburgh, Dr. Wolf MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) needs corpses for his students to learn anatomy. When young medical student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) is promoted to his assistant, he makes the acquaintance of cabbie John Gray who provides the corpses. After a sinister conversation about the hospital not having enough dead poor people to provide the need, it becomes clear that Cabman Gray (Boris Karloff) is all too resourceful about providing supplies for the school.

There's a subplot about a poor little girl who needs spinal surgery (the very thought of such a thing in 1980s Edinburgh should send shivers down your spine if nothing else does) but it is not important. The key is Karloff's fantastic acting as the sinister Gray. I never saw him as Frankenstein but fell in love with his portrayal of this jovially menacing character. Yes. Jovially menacing. That is just how good he was.

The atmosphere is appropriately dark and spooky, the subject ghastly, and the doctor provides a lovely study in habitual actions turning you into someone who will do things that you'd never have thought possible when you began practicing medicine. Directed by Robert Wise and produced by Val Lewton, this is a dream team combination that hits every point perfectly. Yes, even factoring in the sweet little girl needing surgery.

Highly recommended for any time but especially now that Halloween is coming up.

And if it comes with I Walked With a Zombie, that movie make a perfect atmosphere provider before you launch into the main attraction.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux

Matins : Arrest of Christ - The Annunciation

Jean Pucelle, 1324-1328

This is via French Painters where there are a wealth of images from Pucelle's fabulous creations of breviaries for private devotions.

I'm always fascinated by these sorts of books and wish something like them were readily available today. They combine the best of words and images to help draw you out of yourself and into an encounter with God. There is also usually a playful element that I really love, as witness from this closeup.

Lagniappe: A Little Flannery

From The Habit of Being.

At the Ga. Wr. Thing I asked [a participant writer] if he had any good students at Emory. No, he said in a severe voice, teaching writing is a fraudulent occupation. I thought, yes, and brother you would have been better off if you had been exposed to a little more of it.

Flannery O'Connor

Worth a Thousand Words: Summer's End

Taken by Dash at French Sampler where you will find some other stunning photos she took of Provence and the Italian Riviera in mid-September.