Now and Forever by Ray Bradbury

In some ways the most interesting part of the two novellas that make up this book are Ray Bradbury’s introductions. He explains that both “Somewhere the Band is Playing” and “Leviathan ‘99″ have their origins in his long ago days as a Hollywood screenwriter. These explanations hang on in the listener’s mind and provide insights and color for the stories that follow. ...

My review of the audio book is up at SFFaudio. Highly recommended for Ray Bradbury aficionados!

There Will Be Blood ... and Judgment

Blood and Judgment
by Lars Walker

After reading a great review for Wolf Time by Lars Walker I turned to the library to see what they might have by him. Turns out they had only one book ... Blood and Judgment.

A combination of Shakespeare, fantasy, time travel, and parallel universes, this is an action-filled book that manages to also examine relativism, political correctness, honesty in education, and many more issues of our time.

The story in a nutshell is that in the midst of putting on a local production of Hamlet, the entire cast is whisked off to the "universe" where Hamlet is real. It turns out that there really was a person upon who Hamlet's character was based. He and the actor playing Hamlet wake up having had their souls put in each others' bodies ... which are also in different dimensions from each other (so to speak).

If this sounds confusing, it accurately reflects my state of mind as I delved into the book. I really enjoyed the beginning when the author took enough time to introduce to some characters, allowed them to interact enough to examine ideas, and gave us background on motivations. However, once the dimensional "switch" took over, I felt as if just when I started enjoying a scene the author was grabbing me by the hand and telling me to "no more time for that; run over here and see this!" I am no expert but I believe that more time taken with the characters, as well as fewer characters and subplots would have been a plus. Or perhaps a much longer book in order to adequately allow Walker to discuss all the ideas therein. It did not need to be densely packed as Eifelheim but it simply was not fair to the author's concepts to handle them in a book this short. More importantly, this author has something to say about Christians and Christianity that needs more space and discussion so that it doesn't just "preach to the choir" but opens others' minds to the elemental concepts here.

I did enjoy this book. It just was not all that it could have been and the potential was clearly on display which became a frustration toward the end. I definitely will be on the lookout for others of Walker's books, hoping that they are not as rushed.

Worth a Thousand Words

Red-Backed Sandpiper, taken by Remo Savisaar.
Click through the link for more amazing photography.

Canadian Price Gouging

Quick background ... Schering-Plough is building a new factory that will open next year to provide that allergy-fighting wonder, Drixoral, to the yearning American masses. Many people besides us can testify that Drixoral works when most other products don't. In the meantime, Schering-Plough has shut down the only American plant that did manufacture Drixoral (the logic of this move escapes us), leaving us wandering blindly through pharmacy aisles buying whatever we can get our hands on that might work halfway well. Which is not much, let me tell you.

I turned to the internet and began buying Drixoral from Canadian providers because their Drixoral plant is working perfectly well and they are more than willing to exchange drugs for dollars (so to speak).

The average cost for a package of 20 Drixoral tablets - $11.99. Fairly comparable to the U.S. price of $9.99 that I was paying at Krogers.

Until last night.

Tom went cruising to make an order and found that those same 20 tablets are now $46.99.

Oy veh!

Assiduous searching can find a Canadian supplier here or there who is not making hay while the sun shines but they are few and far between. Far more are charging anywhere from $35 on up for 20 tablets.

Shameful.

How do you know when it's been too long since you've played the Set Game?

When it takes 5 minutes, 15 seconds to find all 6 sets.

Aargh!

I used to be in 2 minutes or less territory. Must play daily ... must play daily ...

Now This is Just What I've Been Looking For!

Introducing the new Bio-Optic Organized Knowledge device–trade-named: B.O.O.K.

BOOK is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It’s so easy to use, even a child can operate it.

Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere — even sitting in an armchair by the fire — yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc....

I. Love. This.

Read the rest at Coffee Klatch.

Worth a Thousand Words

57 Chevy Bel Air by James Neil Hollingsworth
Click through on the link above for more wonderful art.

Amazed by monsters ...

[...] Some remain unexplained. Some are laughable. Some are both. But they don't bother me at all. It's not that I believe in them. Or don't. But their existence would fit quite nicely into my view of things.

I just love the documentaries of monsters and mysterious beasts you see on the History Channel or A&E. I really do. You have the 50 year old pot bellied hunter standing in the woods recounting his tale of how he narrowly escaped death at the hands of a (insert monster here) and even though his camera was around his/her neck they just didn't think of it in time. If only, huh?

But then they cut to the man or woman in glasses and a sweater who, sitting in their air conditioned office at some local college, explain how this sighting could easily be explained away as the work of imagination (meaning a case of beer), or just fabrication entirely (meaning that ol' son of a gun is lyin' through his teeth.) Then they talk about how little chance there is that something exists which we don't know about yet.

I know it says something about me. Perhaps I have a strong anti-authoritarian streak in me but I almost always find myself siding with the beer swiller in the woods mainly because we agree on one underlying principle: We don't know nuthin'. We agree fundamentally that there's more to this world than we think we know. The beer swilling hunter can still be amazed. [...]

Plus they've had the fun of drinking the beer. Which any Catholic can understand!

Creative Minority Report uses Bigfoot et al as a springboard into the nature of faith. Nice. Check it out.

Worth a Thousand Words

The Cloisters (Vertorama), originally uploaded by Paul Cook Photography.
Found at Flickr Scotland.

We finally caught up on Lost

So it turns out that Hannah is taking one of our cars to college (we have managed to inherit a couple from Tom's mom as she gave up driving) and all her stuff fit into the car! And she drove herself so we effectively have an extra day at home. Woohoo!

Also, our email is down. Which is a pain to Tom who is dealing with our server, but nice for me as I am cut loose from a couple of obligations I need to send out to people.

SO, Lost ... only three months after the finale. Ha!

1. Long ago I thought the guy in the coffin had to be Locke. Then they faked me out enough so that I figured it had to be someone else from the slender group of possibilities. Dang! I was right the first time.
   
   
2. Ben. So why does he give a rip about The Island? He can't go back. Why does he care at all? Rose says it is about vengeance for Alex. Huh. His heart doesn't have those layers. There is something else going on.
   
   
3. It was nice to see Desmond and Penny get to have a happy ending. Though I will be very sad not to see Desmond anymore.
   
   
4. When they moved The Island they didn't mess around, did they? I don't know what I expected but for sure I didn't expect it to essentially sink below the surface of the water. Now, that was an interesting concept ...
   
   
5. I guess the fact that Locke had been visiting people was the reason Kate was telling Aaron that she was sorry while sobbing prettily. Because she must be planning on going back.
   
   
6. I liked Hurley and Mr. Eko playing chess. Even if I had to imagine Mr. Eko. And Sayid ... his "safe place" surely must be The Island, right? Because he's working for Ben now?
   

All Hail Your Cyborg Queen ...

... or so The Anchoress would have us believe as she chants vespers for us during the retreat.

Myself, perhaps I have been assimilated and am so cyborg-ish that I couldn't hear it. I think she sounds lovely and I love that she cared enough to do this for us.

And, yes, Anchoress, we can now put you in our iPods and carry you with us wherever we go.

Do go listen. It was a real treat for me.

Thank you, Anchoress.

Jeffrey Overstreet's Insight into Woody Allen's Newest Movie

As he broadens his geographical interests beyond Manhattan, Allen's understanding of love seems to be narrowing. His work should be taking him deeper into complex and revealing stories about the heart. Instead, he's becoming more and more preoccupied with the lurid and the lewd. In the end, like Cristina, he comes away knowing only what he doesn't want, never managing even a glimpse of what he, his characters, or his audience, really need."

Jeffrey Overstreet reviews Vicky Cristina Barcelona at Christianity Today. He does a great job, as always, in a comprehensive review.

However, the excerpt above really struck me as this is something I have been noticing as well. It is sad, really, as one would have hoped that Allen's horizons would have broadened over the years. Of course, Allen has always been bewitched by sex, oftentimes to the exclusion of broader visions. And there is that old saying ... there's no fool like an old fool.

Worth a Thousand Words

Amish Farm Stand
from Chez Pim who has been touring Amish country lately

Are We Remembering to Retreat?

The Anchoress is working her fingers to the bone, or so it would seem to me, to give us five or six daily helpings of good material for contemplation.

I would start you off with a favorite but I honestly have gotten something great from each of them. So go do a little leisurely wandering through the great writing over there.

Well, I do have a favorite but it is a personal thing ... The Anchoress used Rose's presentation intended as a starting point for prayer in this post. Scroll to the bottom for the link. I watch it every few months and always find it a good reminder about Jeremiah and the fire inside.

Worth a Thousand Words

Wang Meng, The Simple Retreat
Click through on the link to read more about the artist at Lines and Colors.

God's Labyrinthine Ways Or Finding Joy in Unexpected Places

One of the things that I possibly have mentioned but not really dwelt upon is that one of God's great gifts to Tom and me have been friends. Many, many friends. Not that we were unlikable or anything but in today's increasingly busy and isolated world it was difficult to find friendships beyond the superficial ones of fellow "school parents."

What makes this extremely obvious in my mind is that one year we held Sunday Soup Suppers for several months. It was an open invitation, which I sent several times to a large group of people. We would have open house from 5:00-8:00 with a kettle of soup and accompanying breads and cheeses for any families who felt like dropping in. We weren't looking to become best friends with people but merely to deepen the acquaintances we already had. It was surprising how very few people took advantage of the offer. Those who did seemed to enjoy themselves, as did we, but it was clear that this was a concept that just didn't fit into the lifestyle of the people we knew. We chalked it up to experience and moved on, wondering how anyone can find a community these days.

However, once I participated in the Christ Renews His Parish (CRHP) retreat all that began to change. Not only did I have my fellow "team" members of about 20 women who I got to know very well, but the people from the teams before and after mine were now among those "nodding acquaintances." Naturally, I became very close with a few of these people but went past the mere acquaintance stage with many others. The truly delightful part of this is that I likely never would have encountered most of these women outside the CRHP experience at that time. Many of them were young and single. Even the older ones (yes, around my age) were those I'd never even seen, which is not really surprising in a big parish like ours. Tom found the same thing when he went through CRHP in the session after mine, and then again, when he participated in the "road team" that helped the Ennis church begin the retreat in their parish. We didn't go into it for the "community," for the friends, but it was an unexpected side benefit that has enriched our lives immeasurably. God is so efficient in that way. What a multi-tasker!

It was friends from CRHP who asked if we had any interest in helping to bring the Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreat to our parish. We jumped at that chance for our own reasons (What marriage is so good it doesn't need enrichment? Answer: none). However, we soon were reaping the unexpected benefits of "community" and new friends once again in meeting couples that we likely never would met otherwise. As well, again we also were making scores of new acquaintances.

Whew!

Still with me? Because that's all background ... not even the main story (yes, it's one of those posts!).

Last night I had one of the most delightful encounters ever and was thinking back this morning to trace just how it came about. If I hadn't stopped to do that, the title of this would be something about how giving of yourself brings greater rewards than you can imagine. Also very true, but not the whole story as we shall see.

The Beyond Cana retreat ends on Sunday with everyone attending the 11:00 Mass together. On the way there, for a variety of reasons, primary among them that I was reading in the car (I know better than that but did it stop me? No!) I suddenly felt so terrible that I had Tom drop me off at the house. Both girls ministered very lovingly to me and after one dashed to the Central Market for pomegranate soda and quesadilla supplies, I began to mend. I recovered by afternoon and then faced the dreadful fact that I was going to have to attend the 7:30 Mass. There's nothing wrong with that Mass at all. It was my sheer laziness at not wanting to leave the house in the evening. However, Hannah was already going and I had no excuse not to, so there we were. Outside, she ran into my friend, Grace, who later emailed me about their conversation ... and took that opportunity to ask Tom and me to be the "married couple" for a panel discussion with some Boy Scouts for their Piux XII medal which is about vocations.

Well, who better suited to answer those questions on the fly than a couple who has helped to put on five marriage enrichment retreats? We agreed, not dreading it but not looking forward to it either. It was a way to help out these boys so that was fine, one more thing to put on our schedule and dutifully take care of.

We showed up for the panel and it was an agreeable way to spend the evening. The boys were intelligent and had some good questions (for which our Beyond Cana training was quite helpful in articulating the vocation of marriage). The other panel members clearly also were intelligent and well spoken. They had considered their vocations in terms of how they were living their lives and their faith. Especially interesting for me was when Brother Anthony, who will take his first vows in a couple of weeks as a Cistercian monk, responded about the difficulties and blessings about his vocation. He was not necessarily saying anything I hadn't heard anywhere else, but he had an inner passion and clarity that was riveting. Equally interesting, although much more meandering, was the friar who is a hospital chaplain and was much older. He had many good things to say about vocation as well, we just took a more scenic path getting there. And scenic is just fine. It makes life interesting.

The person I was most interested in hearing about, though, was Susan whose description was "transitional single." What the heck was a transitional single? Turns out that in this case, it is someone who focussed on career to the exclusion of considering marriage in the past, but now is open to the married life (if I have this right). She impressed me with her concise, well thought out, and complete answers.

Something that one of the panel moderators, my friend Grace, pointed out to the boys in concluding is that a common thread of everyone's conversation had been "community." That struck me as I had just been forcibly struck at Mass last Sunday by how many people I knew in the pews all around us. They were Beyond Cana couples, CRHP friends, and, yes, those "regulars" who always sit near us and who we now chat with occasionally due to long familiarity. How connected we were to community and how important it was in our lives. How good God is to bring us all together in worship to remind us that community, family, is a necessary joy.

After the panel was done and the cookies were being passed around, Susan approached Tom because she recognized his name as the person who prints out our parish newsletter, The Spirit. She mentioned that she is the new editor. I was instantly thrilled. For several years, that newsletter has devolved to the point of being a depository for out of date Girl Scout photos and the like. No one I knew read it at all. Then the June/July issue came out and I saw with delight that it had substantive articles, well written, and with depth that made me print it out to read. This was that person! Woohoo! (Go take a look at that issue in the sidebar for the link above ... we'll wait ... this woman is a brilliant writer who engaged me with St. Paul's life in the main article.)

She looked pleased and, as we began talking, I brought up a project I was working on that we could coordinate with each other. I gave her my card. Y'all will find this funny but my card has my phone number, email, the blogs, and my podcast. (Tom was tired of me constantly scribbling on the backs of old envelopes when I met people.) I was explaining away all the extraneous info and she asked about the podcast.

Then ... it happened.

I mentioned reading aloud China Court by Rumer Godden.

This was a hope beyond hope because no one I ever meet in person has ever heard of Rumer Godden. (It's a lonely world out there with just The Anchoress and me shoving Rumer Godden ... and Georgette Heyer ... in everyone's face all the time.) However, I am nothing if not loyal and stubborn so I still bring them up in conversation with people.

Her eyes widened, she smiled wider, and said, "Rumer Godden. She's so wonderful."

We sank into chairs and began talking books as fast as we possibly could.

We walked to our cars and still couldn't stop talking. One thing flowed into another, more connections were made, more similarities found. We finally tore ourselves away later into the evening. The one thing that we both made sure to do on the way out was to thank Grace for inviting us to be on the panel. In doing our duties by these Boy Scouts, and it must be noted, for our community, we had been given an extra gift that we would have otherwise missed. We don't even go to the same Mass. I barely recognized her as a lector from the few times we have gone to her regular Saturday Vigil Mass time.

It is such a wonderful thing when you "click" with a person in just a few minutes. Undeniably it is one of life's great pleasures. Something that leaves a smile on your face and your spirits high for long afterward. In a very real way, it is like falling in love ... that communion of souls that fills a gap we didn't know we had until then. What a surprise. What a joy.

And what a long route of coincidences it took to get me there. From CRHP ... to Beyond Cana retreats ... to feeling sick and attending a late mass ... to Hannah and Grace talking ... to Grace's need for married panel members. A long and winding road to be sure, in which this budding friendship is not the main point but surely one of the wonderful benefits along the way. Let me say it again ... God is so very efficient, such a multi-tasker. All for our good and, quite often, if we are open to it, for our joy.

These are the things that God has in store for us ... things that so often are beyond our imaginings ... things in which God knows we will delight and which He delights in giving. He is good. And I am grateful.

Days with My Father

Beautiful. Touching. Inspirational.

Real.

Take some time to admire the beautiful layout and photography, and most of all, the beautiful story of a father being told by his loving son.

Via Saint Superman.

Update: I also just saw the above blog being called perhaps the saddest blog I've ever read. Perhaps because I've lived with the idea of Alzheimer's for so long (my great-grandmother had it, my grandmother had it) that I've come to terms with the idea that it afflicts people the way it does? I looked at it as tribute from a son to his father, almost a celebration of the qualities he loves about his father, not the sadness of the father who often isn't (literally) himself.

In the News

A delegation of Episcopal priests from Fort Worth paid a visit to Catholic Bishop Kevin Vann earlier this summer, asking for guidance on how their highly conservative diocese might come into “full communion” with the Catholic Church.

Whether that portends a serious move to turn Fort Worth Episcopalians and their churches into Catholics and Catholic churches is a matter of dispute. The Rev. William Crary, senior rector of the Fort Worth diocese, confirmed that on June 16 he and three other priests met with Bishop Vann, leader of the Fort Worth Catholic diocese, and presented him a document that is highly critical of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

The document states that the overwhelming majority of Episcopal clergy in the Fort Worth diocese favor pursuing an “active plan” to bring the diocese into full communion with the Catholic Church. ...

I was pretty surprised to read the above story in The Dallas Morning News. For those of us who are interested, Get Religion tracks down the whole thing. Very interesting indeed!

Worth a Thousand Words

Georgia Girl by Karin Jurick
Click through the link to see more engaging art from a HC favorite.

If Ancient Rome Had the Internet ...

... lifted from Miss Cellania.

The destruction of Pompeii in 79 AD is the most viewed video at YouTube. The first comment is..."OMG so cool! Volcanos ROCK!"

Attila the Hun has his own MySpace page. Nobody ever rejects his "invite a friend" emails.

The domain "gladiator.rome" sells for the record sum of 1,000,000 denarii.

"Naked Cleopatra" is the top search term on Google.

Unfortunately, the Queen of Egypt dies an early death after misunderstanding IT's call to embrace an ASP solution.

Websites like "handsome-literate-male-british-slave.com" pollute the search listings thanks to generous commissions at the "slaves.co.rome" affiliate program.

Roman programmers moan about projects outsourced to cheap coders in Mesopotamia.

The Colosseum is renamed the eBay Colosseum, with free wireless hot spots outside the lions cage restaurant.

Nobody invents a spam filter good enough for the House of the Vestals.

An Inspirational Story of Love and a Prayer Request

There was no resentment whatsoever. While I know what they have experienced hasn’t been easy on them, you would never know it. Even Sam’s attitude, mind you he is only four years-old, was unique in and of itself.

After having spent a wonderful afternoon getting to know an amazing family, I drove off speechless. I have never in all my life met a family like them. I wonder if I ever will again either.

Tisha is the one who is going under the knife, not me, but as Jonathan told me their story, and as I looked into his eyes, I saw gratitude therein. Amazing gratitude. I shall never forget what I saw.

Little Sam Gappa has been fighting cancer most of his life. He is four. One would think that the burden that places upon a family and the child himself to be almost insupportable. However, that is not the case. The above excerpt was written by the husband of the woman who is donating a kidney to Sam. He is a witness to the Gappa's faith.

The Gappas are part of our parish and, although I have never met them, my dear friend Stevie keeps me updated on their progress. Here is a place where you can get her perspective on what it has been like to care for Sam throughout the ordeal.

Tomorrow, Sam gets his kidney transplant. The donor is a young mother of three young children. Go to Stevie's place, Wheelbarrow Manor, to read more about this inspirational story. I will borrow a bit of what she excerpted because I am so struck by the sheer love and generosity that makes Sam's transplant possible.

What kind of person would offer up a kidney to someone she doesn’t know? The kind of person who, too, has a four year-old son. The kind of person to whom God has been very good. The kind of person who believes in Galatians 6:10. The kind of person who believes in Romans 8:28. The kind of person who would hate to experience what Sam’s parents have experienced. The kind of person who has a respect for life.

The kind of person who is following her Master.

Please pray for all involved tomorrow as this kidney transplant finally happens.

Worth a Thousand Words

Monarch
by photographer extraordinaire, Hey Jules
(click through on the link for a larger look)

Ready to Go On Retreat?

The Anchoress is going on retreat for August and taking us with her.

So far The Anchoress has been sharing with us some of her best ... I will dare to call it classic ... writing which I remember but only dimly. It is good to see these pieces, whether for the first time or as a reminder of what is important.

Check it out!

The Faithful Traveler and the Miraculous Medal Shrine

Two of my favorite books are Catholic Shrines of Western Europe and Catholic Shrines of Central and Eastern Europe, both of which are subtitled "A Pilgrim's Travel Guide. I have often wished for as comprehensive a guide to the United States. Lo and behold, here comes The Faithful Traveler to fill that need, beginning in Philadelphia.

I am not much for watching travel DVDs, unless they are those that Michael Palin has done with clever commentary and an interesting theme (such as traveling around the world in 80 days). However, Diana von Glahn sent me a review copy of this DVD so I dutifully sat down to watch it, expecting to sample a bit and skip around before quitting. Unexpectedly I liked it so much that I watched the entire thing, including extras, and then told Tom he will have to watch. (He is much less resistant to this sort of thing than I am.)

First of all, Diana's screen presence is charming. She is serious about the subject yet there is always the hint of an underlying merriment that is most inviting.

Secondly, I didn't expect this to be a partial Catholic history class with plenty of fascinating information about the origin of the Miraculous Medal as well as about the Philadelphia shrine. Additionally, in order to make sure that viewers understand the concepts well, there is are brief explanations of Catholic concepts along the way (such as why Catholics venerate Mary or that the medal is not superstitiously viewed "as a good luck charm"). This means that the DVDs can also be passed on to nonCatholics who might have questions or be interested in the shrine. A nice touch.

The music is contemporary Christian but is not some of the sappy, overly sentimental stuff that I shrink from hearing. It is either upbeat or heartfelt, but good.

My only critiques would be that the information on the extras page is not large enough to read easily and that the word "amazing" gets a bit overused. However, as a podcast who has found that her favorite "make a noise while thinking of what to say next" word is "and" I can understand this tendency.

The Faithful Traveler website is loaded with information, including a blog that has many pertinent facts that would be helpful when visiting a location. You can see samples of the dvd or order it here.

Worth a Thousand Words

American Crescent Cycle

From The Art of the Poster, 1880-1918, Lawrence University Digital Collection
Via Lines and Colors.

How to Make Your Child a Gay Activist

Let's say you, like many Christian parents, have a child with strong and lasting homosexual longings.

Someone--maybe not Jesus, but Someone--definitely enjoys it when people who are trying hard to love one another and act well toward one another end up deeply hurting themselves and each other instead. Someone loves it when Christians trying to bear witness instead cause confusion, disappointment, and pain to those they love; when Christians, trying to support family values, destroy their own families. Someone enjoys it when Christians, seeking to love and support their children, hurt those children deeply.

How do you help that "Someone"? How do you make it as hard as possible for your child to accept Christian chastity and humility, rather than seeking solace in gay pride?

Let's begin at the beginning....

Brilliant. From Eve Tushnet ... I'm not sure I got the link right but scroll around toward the top if I didn't.

Watch Out Beijing ...

... Engrish.com has their eye on Olympic signage. Can't wait to see what turns up.

Worth a Thousand Words

La Sainte Chappelle, Paris
Shown here with permission from Ian McKillip.

Click through on the link above to see more of his splendid art.

A Little Useless Information

It is a very sad thing that nowadays there is so little useless information. -- Oscar Wilde

KEITH • Originally, someone named Keith was from a specific place, a town in Scotland on the Isla River. First used as a surname, it became popular as a first name in the 1800s.

The Word Origin Calendar

Proud Mom Moment

Hi Rose-

Congratulations! You have been admitted to the Pilot Program for this year. Your essays were impressive and communicated a strong passion for learning and filmmaking. ...

Nice to see that Rose's college recognizes how brilliant my child is!

This pilot program is one that admits only 24 students. They will work together on core film classes. The film school is trying to see if this will be a better way to guide freshmen through what now takes quite a few different classes.

Should be interesting!

Quick Book Review: No One Sees God

No One Sees God: The Dark Night of Atheists and Believers by Michael Novak goes on sale today. I cannot comment too much since I got my copy of the book last week ... and, as everyone around here knows we've been putting on a retreat lately.

However, I did take the time to read the introduction and first chapter, which are my test of whether I will keep the book around at all. (That's a defense mechanism designed to leave me any time at all to read book of my own choosing.) I was hooked by Novak's honest, respectful approach to how to discuss faith with atheists. It went to the top of my nonfiction stack and will be picked up very soon, after which I will do a proper review.

In the meantime, please read Steven Riddle's review. I trust him completely and this review simply whets my appetite to dive into Novak's book. Steven begins thus:

In a word--superb. A quick review of this book shows that it is the same tightly reasoned, compassionate, engaging call to conversation and, it is to be hoped, conversion from one believer to other believers and non-believers. Mr. Novak's theme in the book might well be summed up in this excerpt:

from No One Sees God
Michael Novak

In my own life, I have tried to keep the conversation up between the two sides of my own intellect. The line of belief and unbelief is not drawn between one person and another, normally, but rather down the inner souls of all of us. That is why the very question stirs so much passion. I have known people who declaim so passionately and argumentatively that they do not believe in God that I am drive to wonderment: Why are they so agitated, if, as they insist, God does not exist? Why then do they pay so much attention? Some of the greatest converts, in either direction, are those who wrestled strenuously for many year to maintain the other side

Now go read the rest of the review and then pick up the book.

Informative: The Vatican and Harry Potter

Mark Banks writes to let us know:

You may remember some months ago the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano published an article on Harry Potter that received a lot of coverage both in the Catholic and Secular press. Well, with the generous help of an Italian friend I’ve managed to translate the original articles from Italian into English. The two essays that constitute the article make for interesting reading and I thought you might like to mention them and/or provide a commentary on them on HC and CMR. Clearly there’s a lot of interest in Harry Potter throughout all ages, but these essays might be of particular interest to parents still unsure how suitable the books (and films) are for their children.

Find the article here.

I am eagerly looking forward to printing this out and reading it. Much thanks to Mark for taking the initiative to make this translation available.

I would like to add that Soul Food Cinema is not only an attractive site, it is a venue for Catholics to air their opinions in essays about movies. Take a look at just how many good ideas Mark has posted that can serve as a springboard into a thoughtful essay. If you are at all interested in films and faith but don't want to have your own blog, I encourage you to take a look around and think about contributing.

Inspirational: "God gave me the opportunity to just talk, and I passed. It wasn't convenient to me at the time..."

I should say at this point that the lady was obviously homeless. She wore a sweater inside-out on a warm day and looked a bit dirty. About this time I noticed that some of her teeth were blackened.

"No, I'm not." I thought she meant to ask again whether or not I was a minister of some kind. "I'm just here on business for a couple of days. I'm from Dallas..."

"But how can I stay in touch with you?"

"I'm from Dallas. You can't really stay in touch with me." I admit I was getting a bit edgy at this point. We were approaching my hotel. The last thing I needed was a homeless woman, with what appeared to be some mental health issues, hanging around my hotel each evening waiting for a chat.

Mark's honesty touches a nerve in me ... and, I suspect, in some of you too. Go read it all.

Worth a Thousand Words

Hallelujah by Karin Jurick
Used with permission ... click through on the link to see more delightful art.

Signs and Mysteries

Mike Aquilina's newest book and I can tell you it is simply fantastic. How do I know this? I didn't work on the cover but I did lay out the inside of the book. Gorgeous illustrations from Lea Marie Ravotti and, as always, Mike Aquilina writes simply but brilliantly. I couldn't keep from reading part of it as I worked and can't wait to have my own copy to read all the way through. Here's part of the description.

Imagine the dangerous life of a First Century Christian. You've embraced your newfound faith in Christ but fear the risk of persecution or death at the hands of the pagans living around you. Then a trusted friend tells you about some of Jesus followers who secretly meet. He whispers into your ear, Look for a fish carved into the entranceway to the burial chambers beside the Via Tiburtina. You smile in gratitude.

Comparatively, modern society is awash in those same Christian symbols that kept early Christians safely connected: they appear on churches, bumper stickers, mugs even mints and stuffed animals. Yet, we are often ignorant of the origins of these symbols having lost the urgency of our spiritual ancestors hostile environment.

Noted author Mike Aquilina conducts an intriguing tour of symbols that guided the first four centuries of the Church's existence. He explains how Christians borrowed pagan and Jewish symbols, giving them new, distinctly Christian meanings. Recover the voice and urgency of our spiritual ancestors symbolic language and discover the impact the symbols still have.

Black and white illustrations by Lea Ravotti of artifacts uncovered throughout the Middle East beautifully complement the text, showing the variety of contexts in which they were found and the range of skills displayed in their execution.

Now go to Mike's place to see the first review which has him very pleased indeed. There are other good ones at Amazon.

Read my comments and excerpts here:

• Incorporating History Into the Sacraments
• Christ is ... a Dolphin?
• What You Didn't Know About That Fish Symbol

One Little Glitch in the System and Blogs Become Spam

Much thanks to The Anchoress for my prayer request for our marriage enrichment retreat when Happy Catholic was marked as a spam blog on Friday. The retreat was a fantastic success and ten more couples have re-energized their marriages and have the tools to continue enriching their lives together. Thank you for the prayers!

I've seen a few conspiracy theories out there (thought of a few myself, to be truthful) and am happy to see that Blogger reports their recent rash of "spam blog" notices as a software glitch.

You Are Not Spam

You knew that already, and now we do too. We have now restored all accounts that were mistakenly marked as spam yesterday. (See: Spam Fridays)

We want to offer our sincerest apologies to affected bloggers and their readers. We’ve tracked down the problem to a bug in our data processing code that locked blogs even when our algorithms concluded they were not spam. We are adding additional monitoring and process checks to ensure that bugs of this magnitude are caught before they can affect your data. ...

Goin' Retreatin'

Tom and I are on the presentation team for our parish's Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreat. It begins tomorrow morning and so I'm outta here.

While I'm gone, take a look over at The Anchoress's online August retreat which begins tomorrow. I think it is going to be great!

You can also see what I've marked to read ... here:

Mailbag ...

Jeff S. writes to let us know:

TIME magazine has an interesting profile of three priests in Northern Ireland attempting to balance their faith and clerical duties with a multi-million dollar recording contract with Sony BMG. Lots of interesting issues here. They sound like they only have good intentions.

Worth a Thousand Words

The Rabbits' Christmas Party -- The Departure
From BibliOdyssey where there are many other good things to be seen
by clicking through on the link above.

Light, shadow, summer, city ... creativity

Thanks for the link, Marcia!

Showing God's Grace Among Us, a review of Audrey

When you read the pages that follow you will see how Audrey was privileged to have that heightened sense of God's presence, and how that led her to do things "here and now" (learning her French verb tables, doing a sacrifice to console Jesus...) ... But the most winning thing about Audrey is that she doesn't lecture you. She just seems to invite you to sit down on that hospital bed beside her, she cuddles up to you like any little girl her age, and with the simplicity and depth of her actions she invites you and shows you how to love more sincerely, more simply, more completely. ...

I am sure you will enjoy reading about Audrey, and I am also sure that something in this book will change you.

Father Anthony Bannon, from the introduction to Audrey

I told Chris Cash from The Catholic Company "surprise me" when he wrote asking what book I'd like. He did. I inwardly groaned when I received Audrey -- True Story of a Child's Journey of Faith. One look at the title tells us that we are looking at a story about a "holy little one" who surely has died from some lingering illness or other. I was falling prey to the standard preconception (imagine that! my besetting sin, surely) about how holiness is shown. Never having a connection with St. Therese of Lisieux, her story nevertheless flashed through my mind and I resigned myself to reading a saintly, "too good for this world" story. However, I'd agreed to read and review the book so I picked it up and prepared to soldier on.

"Audrey" exposed me to a sort of holiness I'd never seen so well expressed as in this book. As recounted in a series of vignettes, we see how Audrey naturally expressed God's grace in her life from the time she was a small child. Her parents' repeated mystification at this in their faithful but normal family, her siblings' lack of a similar gift, and Audrey's own very human nature all serve to emphasize just what a gift of God this was. Gloria Conde's skill at unveiling Audrey's joie de vivre and growing faith are apparent as we, too, come to see and believe Audrey's self-sacrificial love for Jesus, her pouring out of herself in prayer for others even as she suffers physical pain.

Perhaps most telling of the fact that Audrey's faith is God's doing, is her mother's sudden realization that the most famous child saints she could think of had all suffered trials from illness. Following this presentiment came the painful diagnosis of leukemia. It is then when we see Audrey's faith blossom and how others in praying for Audrey are actually blessing themselves. I was especially touched by her small brother's satisfaction in being allowed to suffer for his sister when he is chosen as a bone marrow donor. His mother perfectly captures the feelings of a heroic boy tilting at dragons for Audrey's sake. As well, in the midst of pain and suffering, we are not allowed to forget Audrey's human side. The practical joke she plays on a nurse soon after being put into a sterile bubble makes us laugh and remember that Audrey is still a child with high spirits that cannot be quenched.

Told in an unsentimental style, Audrey's story contains great grace, courage, and faith. It is one that I highly recommend to others, especially if they, like me, cynically doubt a small child's holiness except as a reflection of others' sentimental projections. Audrey is the real deal. This morning I found myself asking for her intercession for a special intention as well as thoroughly enjoying thinking of her getting to know our two children in heaven. I will not soon forget her story ... or her prayer from shortly before she died.

For mothers who have lost a child, so that they will understand that this child of theirs is a small servant of Christ in heaven.

Father Bannon was right. This book has changed me. Thank you, Chris, for choosing better than you knew.

This review was written as part of The Catholic Company product reviewer program. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Audrey - True Story of a Child's Journey of Faith.

Worth a Thousand Words

Peaches and Dragon (No. 2) by Duane Keiser
Shared by permission. Click through on the link above to see his other amazing art at his website.

You Can't Always Get What You Want ...

... the two big lessons I learned that day are lessons that God has been teaching me over and over and over again in this situation:

1. Just because you don't think a prayer was answered, doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't answered -- the answer may have been in a form you weren't expecting.
   
   
2. Answered prayers are easier to see when looking at the world around you through a lens of love.

A few months ago I had cried out to God for help. I was overwhelmed with all that I had to do as a mom of three children in diapers, and felt like I was quickly going to reach a breaking point if I didn't get help soon. It was shortly after that that a group of neighborhood pranksters started ringing my doorbell and running, causing me to get even closer to said breaking point. Not only was my prayer not answered, but now I had even more problems! I thought we were never given more than we could handle -- was God not listening to me?!

What I see now, of course, is that when I was looking out for the prayer to be answered, I was basically waiting for my phone to ring with someone announcing that I'd won a lifetime unlimited gift card to the best housekeeping service in town. In typical fashion, I wanted it all to work out in a way that would allow me to continue to be withdrawn and self-sufficient, my problems being solved while I remained within the safe and predictable confines of my home.

What I am beginning to get through my head (slowly!) is that God very often answers prayers in a way that brings us closer to our fellow human beings. ...

Jen is writing about that which I have learned ... and which I then forget and must learn again. God is full of surprises, he knows better than I do what I need, and I am pretty short sighted.

Go read all of Jen's post and be sure to click through to the related links. I have been thoroughly enjoying her experiences with the neighborhood girls. I was especially delighted when they were allowed to hang out with her after Jen had been declared "off limits" previously.

What if there were no stop signs ... and a major corporation was charged with inventing one?

I wish I could say that this couldn't happen. As someone who has working in advertising way too long I'll just say ... it's funny because it's true.



Along the lines of "what if Microsoft packaged the iPod," a favorite of mine which I know that y'all want to see again, right?

A "Rocky" Critic Responds

My toss-off surprise at how much I enjoyed Rocky hit a real nerve ... I post it here to give the other side a voice. Thanks to Jay for speaking up! Somehow I feel that Scott Nehring probably agrees as he and I quite often disagree on movies.

The uncritical adoration of the movie Rocky is one of my pet peeves of the fans of popular culture. Average people feel that life is so harsh that they adopt patently bogus heroes and products that they would never accept in other parts of their life. This is especially true in sports movies. To wit: Rocky is a horrible movie, that is loved by people starving for "uplifting underdog stories," but the same people would never accept such treacle in the lives, books, non-sports movies, or non-fiction.

Rocky is horrible because it is so fake. Most true film fans have hated the movie for this artifice from the first day of its release, and not just in hindsight of better boxing movies (Fat City released two years before Rocky is a much better dramatic and authentic movie) for tangible reasons:

• The boxing choreography is so fake, World Wrestling Federation workers think it could use some work. The gloves clearly do not hit bodies, the exaggerated reactions and head flailing, the lack of jabs or even a typical first round of "feeling-out" and circling by the fighters... it is all stomach turningly inauthentic.
• Philly boxer as underdog, why not use the story of Joe Frazier?
• Stallone cast himself in the title role purely out of vanity and career advancement. He is a horrible cinema boxer, and is way too short to have been cast as a heavyweight. It really shows in the fight scenes against Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), a real professional athlete/heavyweight boxer size. In real life, Apollo Creed would have literally killed Rocky Balboa on this size differential alone. When people pointed this out to Stallone for the sequels, he artificially enhanced his body type with steroids and human growth hormone. Again, Rocky is worse than WWF. But Stallone was still way too short to be cast as a heavyweight fighter.
• The screenplay, which earned Stallone an Oscar, is amateurish. Very amateurish. The first 70 minutes is way to slow and talky... and talky in a way that was not convincing. The words coming out of Rocky Balboa's mouth in the scenes with Adrian are artificially profound for a character that in the exposition of the movie is clearly established as being a brutish mob collector, a loser, showing signs of being punch-drunk.
• The music is a joke. Movie music is supposed to support the action on screen, not overwhelm or be better than the images. Obvious, overblown, too loud, unsubtle music is not good movie score.

Overall, the movie industry has spent the past thirty years trying to obliterate the inexplicable popularity of Rocky. Every boxing movie since Rocky is superior, and a couple are heights of cinema art. Scorsese made Raging Bull to show the true brutality of boxing, boxers and boxing culture (with much better music and much better cinematography and tremendous boxing choreography). Downbeat at times, yes; great movie art, absolutely. Ron Howard made the great Cinderella Man to correct Rocky and Raging Bull (authentic details of life pre-Depression and in the middle of the Depression, brutality of boxing, music that supports the story, the underdog story of a decent Christian man unerringly doing decent things throughout the film staying in character, tremendous boxing choreography, correct body types for the era). This "Cult of Rocky" has corrupted actual sports culture: movie and sports fans now only relate to underdogs, and not excellence or decency. Even if the underdog is visibly inauthentic.

In response, I do not necessarily disagree with much of what Jay says as I don't know a thing about boxing and don't care. Face it, that is much of the moviegoing public, hence part of Rocky's appeal. The movie is not about boxing really. As Jay points out, it is the story of an underdog who has taken the low road every time. Rocky's trainer points this out bluntly. What appeals is that when Rocky is given a chance (yes, an unbelievable chance but this is the movies so that is part of the deal sometimes) it spurs him on to fulfill his potential.

Has it been done better? Yes, undoubtedly and in many more genres than boxing movies. As we all know, many more genres than sport movies have showed us that tale. As well, it clearly should have been edited better. It would have been nice to have some of the redundancy in dialogue cleared away. And, yet, that is also what made it seem more real. Because people are redundant and stagey in real life conversation sometimes, especially when they are ill at ease as Rocky quite often is.

I have to agree about the large musical numbers, which are now dated as well as over the top. However, if one goes back and listens to the music aside from that, one finds that the music is, if anything, understated with piano being merely a support for the mood of various scenes ... and then only when desired.

Believe me, when I say that I am not a die-hard Rocky fan. I saw this in the movies when it came out. Haven't seen it since nor any of the following Rocky movies. I fully expected to see an overdone, cheesy movie that we would mock for being in any top 100 list. That is why I was surprised. It is not the best movie ever, however, as I said before, like an indy movie with a big marketing budget.

If it makes you feel any better, Jay, it did make me want to watch Cinderella Man ... and I have never been interested before. So perhaps you could look at Rocky as a "stepping stone" movie if that helps at all.

Now, on a very loosely related subject ... who else has found Carl Weathers (who played Apollo Creed in Rocky) to be absolutely hilarious in Arrested Development?

Tobias Fünke: Do you see me more as the respected dramatic actor or more of the beloved comic actor?

Carl Weathers: Whoa, whoa, whoa. There's still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you've got a stew going.

Tobias Fünke: Yes, that's fine, but I would like to focus on my acting, Mr. Weathers. I did give you my last $1, 100.

Carl Weathers: Let me tell you a little story about acting. I was doing this Showtime movie, Hot Ice with Anne Archer, never once touched my per diem. I'd go to Craft Service, get some raw veggies, bacon, Cup-A-Soup... baby, I got a stew going.

Tobias Fünke: [pause] I think I'd like my money back.

UPDATE
TO has some good comments about Rocky and reality in movies.

Book Review: The Shack

The Shack is a book I was peripherally aware of but never intended reading. It is one of those "inspiring" Christian novels that seem to be always floating out there in conversation and on blogs. I rarely am interested in them as they usually have both sloppy writing and sloppy theology. (Hey, let's tell it like it is ... we hoe a Catholic row 'round here!)

Then a friend told me how much she liked it and lent me her copy.

Essentially, The Shack is the story of a family that has suffered the tragedy of having their six-year-old daughter kidnapped and murdered by a serial killer. They are suffering from all the reactions one can imagine, from intense sadness and guilt to extreme anger with God for allowing this to happen. Mack, the father, finds a mysterious card in the mailbox one day. It appears to be from God and invites him to come to the shack where the last evidence was found of his daughter, a blood-stained dress. When Mack gets there he encounters the Trinity in a Narnia-style adventure that strives to inform about God and our relationship to Him.

With one eye open for things that would lead me away from Church teachings, I plunged in. This is clearly a book written by someone who has not studied the craft, but who is passionate about how we can better be in a relationship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I found much to praise, inspire, and ponder in the first two-thirds of the book. The author's own obvious enthusiasm is communicated to the reader in an imaginative setting that helps the reader to grasp a bit better the Trinitarian God, Jesus as fully human and fully God, and our relationship to God as humans. At times this dips far enough into sentimentality while making a point that it leaves the reader wincing. However, overall I was intrigued and swept up in the way that love and relationship with God were being expressed and explained to Mack. I especially enjoyed the personification of the Trinity and that of Wisdom. (On a side note, I would be very curious to hear from any well-catechized Catholics who have read this and could comment on how this view of the Trinity falls into line with Catholic teachings.)

There were some glaring problems in the last third of the book, however. One such problem is in the author's lack of honesty in story telling when Mack finally asks Jesus about his daughter's fear and suffering at her kidnapper's hand. In a story that is supposedly about how one deals with true evil in the world, the answer glossed over any semblance of reality in a fashion that practically screamed "I can't answer this so let's just not deal with it." The author lost a golden opportunity to do some real good in giving people a chance to wrestle with this issue.

Additionally, when Mack leaves the shack and reenters reality, the family's story is sped to a satisfactory conclusion a la, "a shot rang out and everyone fell dead." As the essence of the book is found in the shack this can be understood but it left a somewhat unfinished feeling for this reader.

However, as I was not expecting much literary virtue from the author in the first place, my main problems came from the divergences between his representation of Christianity and mine as a faithful Catholic. The book suddenly takes a turn into an almost New Age mentality and I'm not just talking about the night scene where Mack is given the gift of "true sight." There is a repeated disdain expressed especially by Jesus for churches and religion as "institutions" and "buildings." Jesus tells Mack at one point of his love for his bride, the Church. He then explains that he isn't talking about what people call "church" but about every person who believes and has a relationship with him ... including Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus. While I am on board with the idea that other faiths have relationships with God (as is the Catholic Church), as a Catholic I know that we have Jesus present with us in the Eucharist. This is not simply symbolism but true presence, body and blood, soul and divinity. That is the entire reason for the Church and for any Catholic church building in the first place ... as a meeting place with Jesus in physical form. Even taken from the Protestant understanding (as I am aware of it) this is a clear disdain for the church as "community," which is what God has been talking about for a good portion of the book. Despite the "broken world" explanations given to Mack, one winds up with the feeling that if we would all waft through life just loving God and being all that we can be, then eventually we'd all wind up holding hands and singing together.

Once I read The Internet Monk's review and discovered that the author is of the "emergent church" persuasion much more about the problems I had became clear. I encourage you to read the Internet Monk's review which reflects much of my own reaction to the book. Here's a bit, but please go read it all.

Young is not a master of elegant prose (though his descriptions of the indescribable are well done), but he is wonderfully passionate about the love of God. This is a book that will leave certain aspects of the Gospel indelible impressed on the reader: the nature of the Trinity, God’s personal love for us, the meaning of trust and forgiveness, and the constant creative presence of the Holy Spirit. Young takes many chances, and while not all of them pay off equally, those that do are pretty magnificent. ( I can’t remember setting in a classroom and being moved to tears by a novel before, certainly not one in the “Christian” market.)

Those inclined to look for emerging church error or general heresy won’t be disappointed, and I am sure Young enjoys some of this theological and traditional mischief. I’d recommend putting up the doctrine gun for the duration of this book, and letting the story entertain and explore. This isn’t a confession or a catechism, but it is something a lot of people will read and absorb. It is difficult to not be drawn into the central character’s “Great Sadness,” and the transforming experience that sends him back into the world a changed man is one all readers will find themselves envying. If you can read this book as what it was meant to be, and not as a chapter of someone’s Systematics, it will work on the level we most need such a story: our own sense of intimacy with God.

Internet Monk's review

I did enjoy this book and definitely am going to reread it, if for no other reason than many of the things in it are true and inspiring. However, this is a work of fiction and the reader is warned not to swallow the author's occasionally dubious theology whole and adapt it as their own. As the Internet Monk says, it is a work that can help inspire our own intimate relationship with God. If we take that message and actually use it in our prayer and daily life, not merely read it and feel good, then The Shack can be of great use to any Christian.

Update: The Paragraph Farmer has an excellent review that answers my questions about where this book falls in comparison with Catholic theology. Do go read it if you are interested in this book.

Worth a Thousand Words

Big Morning Sun
Shown by permission of Visual Thoughts, where you will find many other gorgeous photos.

A Rediscovered Movie

Rose rented Rocky from the library.

You know, I don't think I have watched that since I saw it at the movies.

It was such a hit movie and the main clips (and songs) so ingrained in our popular culture that I'd forgotten what it was really like. These days one would call it a little indy movie that had big marketing dollars behind it. It was refreshingly good and the music when the two big songs weren't blasting was quietly and perfectly done with a bit of piano ...

Rose was astounded that it was so good.

A wonderful surprise.

Who I'm Praying for Today ...

Bogusza Nina (from The Crescat)

• Saint Superman
• My friend C, who has lost her job and is taking care of her sister while she goes through chemo therapy. And, of course, for her sister's health.
  
• CB's health and good recovery from her bypass surgery
  
• Mike and Kristy and their unborn baby
• Tammy's friend, Alice.
  
• My special intention
  
• Lisa's grandmother's health and for her family
• The Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreat
• Our priests and clergy
  
• Abortion providers, Lord open their eyes and hearts
• Strength, joy and peace for oppressed Christians in China, Asia, and the Middle East. Also that their oppressors may have their eyes opened to the truth.
• Plus a whole lot of previous intentions mentioned here and for the intentions mentioned around St. Blog's Parish.
  

Updated daily. Check comments box for requests others may have added.

Worth a Thousand Words

A bruidhinn air a fon! from Flickr Scotland
which I recommend you visit to see many other gorgeous photos.

"What will you do when both kids are gone?"

[meaning, gone to college...]

My usual answer to that is a blank stare and then, "We'll have fun!"

Of course, it is more complicated than that. Isn't everything?

Thinking of moving Rose to college (Hannah gets moved to A&M the week before) gets different reactions at different times.

The funny thing is that those sudden realizations always surprise me.

For instance, talking with Tom's brother and sister-in-law on Saturday, they mentioned that no one ever wants to go on a vacation in October. This was in reference to getting people together to share a beach house in Galveston next year.

I thought, "Well, of course, because of school." Then like a jolt of electricity going through me, I realized that we actually could go somewhere in October if we wanted!

Not that we will have the freedom from work and certainly not the money, what with two kids in school. But we could. We are no longer tied down by the school year in that way.

So that was a glorious moment of freedom beckoning.

On the other hand, this morning I stopped at the grocery store on the way to work. Loading up on freezer bags, Glad wrap, and aluminum foil, I had an impulse to grab a couple of packages of brown paper lunch bags. You know, so Rose would have them for school lunches.

Then it hit me. I don't need to buy those any more. It was a strange feeling to stand looking at those paper bags and be fighting back a few tears. (In fact, it is crazy that I am typing this and fighting some tears right now.)

So the moments of future possibility are balanced by the price to be paid in missing loved ones.

Which is why it is very important for me to live in the here and now. My imagination is altogether too good at taking over ... I have to keep it on a short rein.

The Grammar of Love

Because love is quite often not about feelings, Another Espresso Please shares these home truths with us. Once again, I praise God's wisdom in making the family our learning ground on both sides of the equation, for husbands and wives, for parents and children. This is a hefty excerpt but there is more so do go read it all.

... And because I am so dense, God had to send me MORE children to teach me this.

So He did. And I learned. It was not easy.

I learned that when you are overwhelmed with the change of family, from three to five children and all of them young enough to be very needy...love becomes stretched. Or it seems like it does, or did. Not necessarily stretched in an immediate 'bring them into the cushion of my embrace'...but can be stretched in the sense of "oh my goodness, how do I do this and I'm not FEELING any flutters or torrents of emotion, unless you count the flutters behind my burning sleepy eyes and the tears about to flood!"

And I cried. And I was shocked and despairing at my utter failing.

As a mom. As a person. I didn't love enough, somehow, I thought.

I didn't FEEEEEEL the feelings that they say you are supposed to feel, I thought.

I wasn't being lifted. I was sinking, I thought.

I wasn't really.

I was learning, and growing, and loving.

Thank God, literally, for the graces bestowed on the sacrament of marriage.

Instead of wondering what was wrong with me, or worst of all, scoffing it all off my husband smiled at me, unconcerned, although of course, concerned.....

I would follow him around the house, carrying one or two of the babies, saying, "Yeah, I know, I love them...but, it's so much, so much to do.....will I feel it? Will I love them enough????"

Because I knew. I found out - how shallow and needy I am (still).

Because it was about me.

He would smile at me. Then he would take one and hold her.

And he said, "Just DO for them."

"Huh? Are you not watching me, that's what I'm doing!"

"That's right. That's just right" he would smile.

And when he would see my eyes about to pool over, and me look at him in dismay, he would remind me, "DO for them, the feelings, the depth of feeling, will come. That's what makes the truest love. DO for them. Don't worry. Do for them." ...

A Place to Report Email Spam Related to Child Pornography

A reader was good enough to alert me that there actually is a place where you can report email spam related to child pornography.

I get a LOT of spam on my work email account -- they use Yahoo business service. Too many of them are porn spam.

But this evening I received a spam advertising Web sites for child pornography. I won't go into details of what it pitched, but it listed 5 Web sites with Russian domains.

I was so disturbed by this, I couldn't just delete it (which I do with the rest of the spam). After some research, I discovered that it is possible to report cases on even email spam related to child pornography.

In case anyone else might receive this kind of spam, I thought it would be good to at least let them know it can be reported.

The CyberTip line of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children will collect reports of child pornography spam.

I applaud this reader's initiative. I am fortunate enough to not have this sort of thing coming through our email filters but I know it is an increasing problem so am happy to be able to tell about this resource.

Angels and Subways

Jane shares another angel story ... one that any mass transit users may want to keep in mind.

Only Aggies Would Pull This Off ... at World Youth Day

Of course, Aggie Catholics is on the job showing us that you can count on Aggie Catholics to be everywhere. Hilarious. And very cool...

Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog

Joss Whedon's latest brilliant venture.

Go. Watch. It.

NOW!

An online 3-part mini-series/musical. First 2 parts are up now, third premieres on Saturday. And it is only going to be up through Sunday. I've only watched the first act and it is hilarious.

I am going to either have to either pay the season pass fee at iTunes or ... I hear tell of a possible dvd. I must have it!

For more eloquent talk about his new favorite supervillain of the year, read Jeffrey Overstreet's praise of Joss Whedon and this venture.

Explicit Language Warning
I just watched Act II and there is an explicit word used, completely unnecessarily in my opinion ... the whole thing is still a hoot but anyone bothered by offensive language probably will want to skip this one.

Worth a Thousand Words

Paso Robles Vineyard by Belinda Del Pesco.
Click through the link for more gorgeous art.

Pedestrians in Chicago

You know, we wondered why so few drivers ever even glanced at Chicago pedestrians ... meaning us last week when we were attempting to use crosswalks ... much less slowed down for them OR stopped. A timely story shows it isn't the lack of laws but the same old story ... "Aha," we said when spotting this in our paper this morning (though just try to find it on the DMN website ... so here is the link to the AP story at Yahoo):

CHICAGO - So why did officer Grace Delgado try to cross the road? To remind motorists that they must stop whenever someone steps off the curb into a crosswalk.

In an unusual undercover operation, Delgado posed as a pedestrian on a busy street while fellow officers waited for drivers to barrel past her in violation of a law that requires them yield at crosswalks, even if there is no stop sign.

Chicago this year joined a growing number of big cities and small towns that are sending officers into traffic to make motorists pay more attention to pedestrians.

"People, they don't care," said Delgado, whose bright pink baseball hat and orange blouse made her especially tough to miss. "It's 'Get out of my way.' The whole mentality is 'Get out of my way.'"...

Thank you Dallas Library ... and Andrew!

Hannah's movie-loving pal, Andrew, exhorted Rose to check out the library's movie offerings. Exhorted is exactly the right word and he was so adamant that she actually did what he told her. She told me that they had a huge number of movies.

Now, I had seen people checking out movies but they were usually older ones and, therefore, I wrongly thought that the selection was not very good. Picking up Rocky and Jaws dvds for Rose, I suddenly thought of television series that we never had enough time to finish before our two days' rental was up.

Calloo, callay! My requests for Arrested Development (season 1) and Battlestar Galactica (season 2.5) are "active" and will soon be winging their way to my nearest library.

Excitement abounds!

(Yes, I realize I am easily pleased ... which I consider to be a good thing!)