So You Stopped The Apocalypse. What Are You Going to Do Now? Reviewing "Mercury Rises" by Robert Kroese

Finch went on, "If these people spent as much time trying to develop a written language as they did making up deities, they wouldn't be in this jam. they've got rain gods, cloud gods, sun gods...I've documented three hundred different deities so far, and I'm not even close to covering them all. At this point there are probably more Tawani deities than there are Tawanies."

In fact, the Tawani only had seven gods and goddesses in their pantheon; the remainder they had made up just to screw with Horace Finch. Finch had made it his mission to debunk their mythology, one deity at a time, and the Tawani had cleverly responded by manufacturing an unlimited number of deities. At first it had been an enjoyable diversion, but as Finch showed no sign of tiring his debunking, it had become something of a chore. More worrying, they were on the verge of running out of natural phenomena that could be used as an excuse for supernatural intervention. Lately they had devised gods of acid indigestion, night sweats, and chafing, respectively. ...

In truth, they had started inventing deities in an attempt to determine whether Finch could tell the difference between a real god and a fake god, a test that he decisively failed in their eyes. ...

The Tawani had also concluded that anyone who wanted so badly to believe that the gods did not exist must have done something very evil in their sight.

This sequel to Mercury Falls picks up after journalist Christine and rogue angel Mercury have stopped Armageddon from happening. And it picks up in Babylon around the time of Noah where we see just what Mercury's relationship with Tiamet was and why she's so interested in ziggurats. Following a dual timeline, we get the long ago backstory and the ongoing new attempt to destroy the world, where a few new characters get added to the mix.

This is clearly a transitional novel and Kroese is working toward a third book that will pull everything together where we eventually will see who is really running things in Heaven, whether free will is integral or a mistake, and if there is an ineffable plan that will leave Earth in one piece. I sped through this book which was almost as entertaining as Mercury Falls. Sometimes though, as Stephen Tobolowsky termed his role in Heroes, we feel as if we are still stuck in Act I. We've seen everyone try to stop the end of the world before. The dual timelines do not always transition gracefully and the number of characters left me sometimes feeling that the story was choppy.

Make no mistake, I still enjoyed reading this book. Kroese is clever, witty, and makes many good points about the people on both sides of religious belief (as we see in the excerpt above). I'm looking forward to seeing what the third book in the trilogy brings as Christine, Mercury, and the gang hopefully can finish their task of putting the kibosh on an immediate apocalypse.

This book was provided through the Amazon Vine program.

Heavenly Habits: Cardinal Virtues

I'm going to rerun this look at the virtues mostly for myself, but also for anyone else interested. I see that I had two separate series which ran in 2006 and 2008. Yes, it's time to get back to basics on these.

Despite God’s help and our best intentions we often fall. We often turn down the wrong road, whether accidentally or deliberately. There is, however, a frequently overlooked way that we can strengthen ourselves and increase our odds of success in following Jesus. Of course, we cannot do this without God’s grace, but just as athletes train for both strength and muscle-memory, we can do the same for our souls. We can train ourselves by striving to acquire the virtues.

A virtue is a habit that perfects the powers of the soul and disposes you to do good. Catholics believe that divine grace is offered to the soul, because without God's help, humans can't do good on their own. Grace, which is God's intervention, bolsters a person's soul. providing the necessary oomph to do the right thing, that is, if the recipient recognizes its value. Catholics believe that virtues prepare and dispose people so that when the grace is offered, people readily recognize, accept, and cooperate with it. In other words, God's grace is necessary, but virtues make it easier to work with.

Traditionally, the cardinal virtues number four ... The root meaning of cardinal is cardio, which is Latin for hinge. These four virtues are the hinges on which the rest of the moral life swings:

• Prudence
• Justice
• Temperance
• Fortitude

The four cardinal virtues are also called moral virtues to distinguish them from the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love (charity), which are given to the soul at Baptism.

Catholicism For Dummies by John Trigilio

Now there's a way of looking at it that isn't common, at least to me. What habits can I cultivate to make it easier for me to recognize and receive God's grace? I like that.

A great book to read on this subject, and on that I should reread is Back to Virtue by Peter Kreeft. Along with talking about virtues, Kreeft lines up specific virtues and Beatitudes as antidotes to each of the seven deadly sins.

Next we'll look at the four virtues separately. First up: Prudence.

Satan's Whiskers

What happens when you choose cocktails for their seasonal names?

Find out at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Reviewing "Jesus & Muhammad: Parallel Tracks, Parallel Lives" by F.E. Peters

Afterthoughts: The New Testament and the Quran

There are two different epistemic systems at work in the New Testament and the Quran. With the Quran the secular historian starts with the investigative premise that it is the voice of Muhammad he is hearing through the received text. The Muslims who were responsible for transmitting that received text, and perhaps the very earliest believers who created the Quran as a text, believed no such thing. They heard the all but immediate voice of God. The sounds may have come forth from the lips of Muhammad but he was merely enunciating and not creating them.

In the case of Jesus, the historian, whether Christian or not, recognizes from the outset that he is dealing with texts that had human authors, whose very names stand in fact at the heads of the texts that constitute the New Testament as certainly as no one's does at the head of the Quran. The investigative premise is that the texts, particularly the Gospels, report the teachings (and describe the acts) of another human personage, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. The Christian immediately adds that this same Jesus was also the Son of God and so what was proceeding from his lips was the reported speech of God. It was not, however, The words of Yahweh heard and reported by Moses from Sinai or the words of Allah pronounced by Muhammad in Mecca and Medina were God's reported words; what proceeded from Jesus' lips was a revolutionary new discourse, the words of a man-God, a human voice with the gravity of the Divine.

I received this book just about a year ago and, what with one thing and another, it took me a long time to read it. However, I always came back to it because the premise was so interesting and the facts so engrossing.

F. E. Peters examines and compares the historical profiles of Jesus and Muhammed to show us, from a historian's viewpoint, what we do and do not know about them. I actually am not exactly sure why the author wrote the book because he does not really draw any conclusions. However, I'm ok with that, as will be revealed at the end of this review.

What Peters does is directly compare pieces of Jesus' and Muhammad's lives and ministries. The reader learns what historical context Jesus was born into and then the context for Muhammad, the infancy narratives for Jesus and then Muhammad, the words of Jesus and then Muhammad, and so forth. In each case, Peters considered sources, the historian's point of view, and the believer's point of view.

The book jacket says that Peters finds surprising similarities between Jesus and Muhammad. I was disinterested in "surprising similarities" and more interested in learning facts. Specifically, I was interested in learning about Muhammad from an unbiased source, if such a thing exists.

I already am familiar, of course, with Jesus' life and identity from both a secular and Catholic point of view. Part of the test for Peters, naturally, was to see how his presentation of Jesus matched my own expectations. Since I knew next to nothing about Muhammad, I couldn't judge the truth of what I was being told other than to judge the truth of what Peters said about Christ. If he proved trustworthy there, then I felt he'd be equally trustworthy on Muhammad's behalf.

I was impressed because the author was dispassionate in delineating history versus belief, while always being quite respectful of believers. This is not a quality we often see in historians speaking about religion. Usually they are rooting for one side or another. I commend Peters for doing such a clear job of research and writing.

The painstakingly objective way he wrote about what Christians believe about Christ,  led me to believe that I was being allowed as unbiased a look as I have ever been shown of Muhammad and how his followers have developed his words into the Quran and the Sira. And that was precisely what I was after. Highly recommended for those who would like similar enlightenment.

Blogging Around: Another Random Edition

6 Inspiring Tales of Friendship in the Middle of Brutal Wars: "right in the heat of battle, sympathy and simple human kindness breaks through." I knew most of these but not all. Each is inspiring and worth remembering. (Language warning, this is a Cracked.com story.)

The Year of Faith: "The Holy Father has written a new apostolic letter for the induction of the Year of Faith. The Year of Faith will start on 11 October 2012, the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. As always this is well-worth reading as is everything from our catechist-Pope." Via The Curt Jester.

12 Year Olds Embodying Something Greater: "And you know what? Instead of making the scared newly 12-year-old boy walk a block home in the dark, imagining flesh-eating zombies in shadows, every single boy offered to walk him back to his house.

Together." A wonderful story from Rambling Follower.

Toast: A Coming of Age Story - the movie. A review that makes it sound much more interesting than the book ever did ... and I love Nigel Slater's cookbooks.

Robert Downey, Jr. Asks Hollywood to Forgive Mel Gibson: “I asked Mel to present this award for me for a reason,” he said. “When I couldn’t get sober, he told me not to give up hope and encouraged me to find my faith. It didn’t have to be his or anyone else’s as long as it was rooted in forgiveness. And I couldn’t get hired, so he cast me in the lead of a movie that was actually developed for him. He kept a roof over my head and food on the table and most importantly he said if I accepted responsibility for my wrongdoing and embraced that part of my soul that was ugly – hugging the cactus he calls it — he said that if I hugged the cactus long enough, I’d become a man.”

An astounding story of mutual good will and forgiveness. It is so unlikely that I had to click around and make sure it wasn't a spoof when I read about it at Why I Am Catholic. Frank not only provides links to stories but his own take on this remarkable tale, which is one for all Christians.

Worth a Thousand Words: Trick or Treat

The fabulous Virginia on a Halloween past

from Amy H. Sturgis, whose parents own Virgina

Click through to see other costumes including this year's.

Who knew Armageddon Could Be So Funny? Reviewing "Mercury Falls" by Robert Kroese

He carried the ketchup bottle to the breakfast nook and popped open the lid. Time to do some serious damage, he thought. But there was only about half a bottle of ketchup and, and he wanted to make it count. He didn't want to just make random blotches of ketchup. It should be something meaningful, someting offensive. Something that would make the owner really want to get rid of the carpet. A satanic symbol, he thought. Yes, that's it.

[...]

... As a new transfer, however, Nisroc hadn't yet attended Lucifer's seminar on Branding for the New Millennium, and was thus starting from scratch.

He had heard that an upside-down cross was sometimes used, so he started with that, carefully drawing perpendicular ketchup lines on the carpet. He was rather satisfied with the result until he realized that he had drawn it upside down from the perspective of someone in the kitchen -- when viewed from the front door, it was a normally oriented cross. Now what?

Actually, anyone who's read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett knows that Armageddon can be extremely amusing. What's truly wonderful is that Robert Kroese takes the concept to California and makes it funny all over again, in a completely different way.

Christine reports on end-of-time cults for a Christian newspaper. And she's having new linoleum installed in her breakfast nook. Her boss's obsession with the apocalypse results in her being entrusted with a locked briefcase about which she was told, "take it to Mercury." (Her boss is putting off new flooring.)

Mercury is a cult leading, ping-pong playing, Rice Krispy treat eating ... angel. He is maddeningly blase about the rapidly approaching apocalypse, although he is happy to be friends with Christine. After Christine encounters a very sulky Antichrist -- who lives in his mother's basement playing computer games -- she becomes determined to save the world. With hilarious results. And flooring.

Kroese's plot pulls together a varied cast of characters and scenarios with wonderful pacing for excellent comic effect and a story that had me staying up late and reading at breakneck speed. I laughed out loud more than once and pestered family members by reading funny sections aloud (which happened a lot). Kroese liberally skewers both religious and nonreligious, but is always solidly on the side of common sense, humor, and a good story. And flooring.

Harry's belief that he was guided by the voices of angels that only he could hear was, surprisingly, one of the least unreasonable of his many absurd beliefs. For example, he also believed that God created photosynthesis before He created the sun and that all of the world's animals had once taken a Mediterranean cruise together. Having convinced oneself of those unlikely propositions, accepting the notion that one is hearing the voices of angels is pretty much a cakewalk. 5

5 People of a "scientific" bent have been known to ridicule those, like Harry, who believe unlikely notions such as the idea that the Universe was created in six days and that the first human being was formed by God breathing into a lump of clay. It should be noted that the latest scientific theories entail that (1) all of the matter in the Universe was once compressed into an area smaller than the point of a pin; and (2) life came about when a chance collision of molecules accidentally lined up three million nucleic acids in exactly the right order to form a self-replicating protein.

Weekend Joke: The Ultimate Cat Tree

From the brilliantly funny Doug Savage

Reviewing "At the Still Point: A Literary Guide to Prayer in Ordinary Time"

A Prayer That Will Be Answered

Anna Kamienska (Polish, 1920-1986)

Lord let me suffer a lot
and then let me die

Allow me to walk through silence
Let nothing not even fear linger after me

Make the world go on as it always has
let the sea continue to kiss the short

Let grass still remain green
so a little frog could find shelter in it

and someone could bury his face
and weep his heart out

Make a day dawn so bright
it seems there is no more suffering

And let my poem be transparent as a windowpane
against which a straying bee hits its head

This unusual devotional is a book after my own heart. Sarah Arthur has thematically arranged classic and contemporary fiction and poetry to look a little deeper at the worship inherent in the words.

Designed for use in Ordinary Time, themes range from "Seeking God's Face" to "Quarrels with Heaven" to "Rending the Veil." Readings are taken from such diverse fiction sources as The Wind in the Willows and Mansfield Park, and from poets spanning the Italian Christina Rossetti to Enuma Okoro, a contemporary Nigerian-American.

I must admit I've had this book since the beginning of Ordinary Time and now we are approaching the end of it. I haven't written a review until now because, to tell the truth, I do not know how to do it justice. However, I will try.

The daily readings pull one into an almost inadvertent practice of Lectio Divina*. It makes me slow down, look outward for God and inward for my self, and brings me to a place I haven't been before.

I usually am not drawn to poetry and the daily immersion leaves me feeling as if I've stepped out of real time when I'm done reading it. It shakes me up mentally in the best possible way. It is transformative, even if I can't label the transformation ... which, now that I think of it, may actually speak to the authenticity of the "shaking up" that these meditations carry for me.

I do wish that the publisher had provided room for the daily scripture readings instead of simply putting the reference. I, for one, am too lazy (yes, I said it and it's true) to go look up the references. It may have taken a few more pages but would have made At the Still Point a complete devotional. However, that is a small point and certainly one that is easy to remedy, if only I overcome my laziness with a bit of forethought in having a Bible to hand.

I hope that this book does well because I would really love it if Arthur did volumes for Advent, Lent, and Easter. Definitely recommended and not just for Catholics or Christians but for all spiritual seekers who love transformation through words.

Called to Be Saints

Christina Rossetti (English, 1830-1894)

The lowest place. Ah, Lord, how steep and high
That lowest place whereon a saint shall sit!
Which of us halting, trembling, pressing night,
Shall quite attain to it?

Yet, Lord, Thou pressest nigh to hail and grace
Some happy soul, it may be still unfit
For Right Hand or for Left Hand, but whose place
Waits there prepared for it.

Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or "holy reading," and represents a traditional Catholic practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to increase in the knowledge of God's Word. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray and even sing and rejoice from God's Word, within the soul.

Flannery O'Connor's "Awe-ful" Stories

I wrote this biography for all those people who have heard they’re supposed to be getting some spiritual meaning out of O’Connor’s stories but just can’t get there. Your remarks get close to the heart of what O’Connor is doing in these awful stories (awful, you’ll remember, meant ‘filled with awe’ or ‘awe-inspiring’ before it meant ‘terrible’; I’m drawing on all those meanings here).

Author Jonathan Roger's post makes me really, really want to read this book. Via Brandywine Books.

Chocolate Marshmallows

Rose and a friend got busy last weekend and made an unusual treat for us ... which you can read about at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

World's Longest Book Meme? 48-55

Part 6 and the final piece! Picking up from before ...

48. What would cause you to stop reading a book half-way through?
Mrs. Darwin said it well:usually the rare case of my coming to the conclusion that reading the book is itself morally culpable. I have a pretty broad leeway on this, especially where science fiction is involved, so it doesn't come up much.

49. Do you like to keep your books organized?
I have different bookshelves and bookcases devoted to genres and within those try to keep an authors' books together as much as possible. Other than that I don't alphabetize or organize. I like to have a random factor so that I am surprised by books I wasn't looking for. That leads to some of my most pleasurable rereading.

50. Do you prefer to keep books or give them away once you’ve read them?
I keep 'em.

51. Are there any books you’ve been avoiding?
Confessions by St. Augustine. (To be fair, I've tried to read it three times and hated it. So now I just avoid it.)

52. Name a book that made you angry.
The Ladies of Covington Send Their Love.

53. A book you didn’t expect to like but did?
Silence by Shusako Endo. Also The Silence of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux.

54. A book that you expected to like but didn’t?
Changes by Jim Butcher.

55. Favorite guilt-free, pleasure reading?
The Dresden Files ... right up to the aforementioned Changes.

Want to Help Change a Life?

Ironic Catholic's putting out the call ... to help them answer their call to adopt adorable Alex from Eastern Europe.

Click through to see Alex and donate to the adoption fund. Prayers are always good, but prayers accompanied by $5 or more are even better.

Friends, you know from a previous post that we are thick in the middle of living out a call to adopt Alex, a beautiful 5 yr old child of God who lives in Eastern Europe and is stuck in a (VERY) basic care institution simply because he has CP. Some people have asked what they can do to help change Alex's life. And the first thing we always say is pray for Alex's protection. Children with special needs are in pretty dire straits if they are orphaned in this country: no school ever, primitive care, limited treatment for their diseases or disabilities. While we have recent information that he is doing OK, considering, we'd very much like it to stay that way and pray for his protection every morning and evening.

But the second reality is that international adoption is not cheap at all. No one I know has $25,000 cash lying around. While we are in a better situation than we could have expected financially, we could really use help with the pre-travel expenses associated with this adoption. For example, sic needs to renew his passport ($110). We need to pay for all these documents to get apostilled ($3-10 a document, and there are what, 20 documents?). Paying to Fed Ex materials to this country so that they will actually GET there in less than three months ($200-300?). Paying for super special fingerprints for the USCIS ($720--yes, you read that right). We will make it happen. We've nearly paid for the home study and promise trust (that's over $4000). But could we use help? Oh yes, we can, trust me. We're pretty frugal folks--one older minivan for the family, lots of clearance back rack clothes shopping, well-versed in bean-based dishes, and vacations involve camping because it's cheap--but pinching pennies only goes so far.

Blogging Around: The Random Edition

The Zombie Preparedness Center ... only Ace Hardware takes zombies seriously. Via Strange Herring.

6 B.S. Myths You Probably Believe About America's "Enemies" ... from Cracked (do I need to put the language warning in here? Ok, I'll put it ...)

14 Wonderful Words with No English Equivalent ... from Mental Floss blog. Via ten thousand words.

World's Longest Book Meme? 41-47

Part 5 comin' atcha! Picking up from where we left off ...

41. The longest I’ve gone without reading.
I must have had times when I haven't read, but I can't think of one. Ever.

42. Name a book that you could/would not finish.
Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I just lost interest after reading about a third of the book.

43. What distracts you easily when you’re reading?
Lately I've had more trouble with that. Could it be the famous lack of concentration we've been told is fostered by too much internet/social media distraction? I think it might be. However, when I'm immersed in a great story I find that I sacrifice all sorts of usual distractions in order to read as exclusively as possible. So in those circumstances, practically nothing distracts me easily.

44. Favorite film adaptation of a novel.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Thank you Peter Jackson! It wasn't perfect but it was probably closer than anyone else would have gotten.

45. Most disappointing film adaptation?
I am terrified it is going to be World War Z. For movies already made: Ron Howard's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Never have I hated a movie more. What a travesty.

46. The most money I’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?
I suppose it is the last set of books I bought for the Elements of Faith book club where a lot of people like me to pick up the next few months' worth of books for them. Gosh, that was over $300. I tend not to spend too much on myself for books at one time. You can hide the amount you're spending if you do it in dribs and drabs. Mostly because I'm spending so much time trying to NOT buy books ... I buy books the way some people hit bars. They're an addiction.

47. How often do you skim a book before reading it?
Almost always. Mostly because I pick up most of my books from the library and I hate to put them to the trouble of tranfering a book

Finally someone is thinking about the real victims ... the poor zombies.

8 Zombie Apocalypse Survival Strategies (For Zombies)

At Cracked ... language warning.

Netflix Changes Their Mind ... Again.

Netflix Writes Me Again. I May Have to Change My Email Address.

The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle ... at SFFaudio

We read, we discuss ... and this time, it seems, we even kinda almost argue ... of many things: Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax-- Of cabbages--and kings-- ... or to be more precise of the yellow peril, the cold war, cows and Moties and evolution ... and whether pigs have wings.

Come by and listen to the conversation.

10 Funniest Movies

I'm reading Between Heaven and Mirth by James Martin where the author assures us that God wants us to experience joy, to cultivate a sense of holy humor, and to laugh at life’s absurdities—not to mention our own humanity.

Hey, I'm already there. Which is why this is a book-and-reader match made in heaven, right?

He's got a blog tour going on and I'm up for October 24th, but I'm pretty sure it's not going to take me that long to read it. As with all things Martin writes it just flows ... plus there are jokes on practically every page.

He just put his top 10 funniest movies in a footnote, which naturally made me ponder what list I'd give. Mine is in no particular order because I'm not sure I could choose between these. Though they are in the order in which they came to mind ... which must say something about my preferences. Except for Life of Brian which came to mind because Martin's list begins with his favorite, Monty Python and The Holy Grail (which I also like very much ... but not as much as these).

1. Life of Brian
2. Shaun of the Dead
3. Young Frankenstein
4. The Castle
5. Ghostbusters
6. Tootsie
7. It Happened One Night
8. Victor/Victoria
9. A New Leaf
10. Singin' in the Rain

Runners up (because I can't bear not to mention them):

1. To Be or Not to Be (original)
2. Some Like It Hot
3. School of Rock
4. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Gil Chesterton, Herb Wells, and a Whole Lotta Steampunk: Reviewing "The Emperor of North America" by John McNichol

The Emperor of North America by John McNichol

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

If Gilbert Chesterton and Herb Wells were best friends in a steampunk universe when they were 17 and had a crazy adventure involving airships, robots, flying cities, Pinkerton men, a mysterious female nemesis, Gil's true love, a couple of courageous young lads who double as inventors, and much more ... then you would have this book.

It grabbed me in a most unexpected way as you may be able to tell from the fact that I picked it up yesterday morning to read something different and early that evening found myself on page 300. I polished it off this morning. It's an adventure a minute but with time here and there to consider a few deeper things in life ... before being whisked off to another phase of the adventure.

Who is it that is after Gil and never quits trying, using all the forces that money can buy, to get their hands on him? And why would anyone be interested in a young journalist?

What a great time this book is ... all those disparate ingredients may make it sound chaotic but the author just keeps sending you further on the adventure and it all makes perfect sense at the time it is happening.

In the final analysis, I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend it. There are strains of Catholic worldview that are shown as part of various characters' moral fiber and others are shown espousing different views that are set in opposition. I didn't find these to be preachy or moralistic, and they were not the main focus of the action, though they definitely motivated actions. As with all things of this nature, your milage may vary.

I would say that although I enjoyed the mash-up of real and fictional characters, toward the end it did become a bit wearying to have every single major character be referential. It would have been nice to have a few main characters be solely of the author's creation. Perhaps in the next adventure he will venture into that new world. He has it in him and must merely be not afraid. I, personally, also did not like the back story for Gilbert's parents. It would have been nice to have something be what it appeared on the surface and see how that affected a character as well. To have those sorts of simpler characters encounter the over-arching conspiracy would have been refreshing.

However, as I say, I really enjoyed the book. It is those few problems above that kept it from being a five-star review for me. But they are small things indeed. It's a fun ride and one that left me interested in the first book of the series which I haven't encountered yet and whatever adventures McNichol sends Gil and Herb on in the future.