Temptation and the Road to Redemption: The Surprising Honesty of "The Good Wife"

Spoilers abound below.

And I'm paraphrasing any dialogue.

As I have said before, we continue to be pleased with The Good Wife. The writers continue to produce interesting, suspenseful courtroom drama each week within a larger story arc of the "good wife" of the cheating, convicted politician.

This week the show rose to new heights while intelligently examining honesty within marriage and religion, in my opinion.

First, in Peter Florrick's attempt to reenter the political ring, he approached an influential African-American pastor for help in winning back the black female vote. What he found was an uncompromising Christian who refused to overlook a man's soul in order to curry political favor. It was refreshing to see Pastor Isaiah not deliver platitudes and not back down.

He told Peter, "Your marriage is in trouble. You don't believe it but it is. You are sleeping in separate bedrooms. You aren't repentant for what you did and your wife knows it." That is when I sat up, pointed at the TV and turned to Tom, saying, "YES! He says he's innocent of the fraud but he's never said he's sorry about the prostitute" (with whom he slept multiple times before being caught.)

To be fair, this isn't the first time I've said this and Tom doubtless is tired of hearing me say it. Now, if I feel that way, just imagine how Alicia Florrick feels. However, I digress.

It was equally refreshing to see Peter respond honestly instead of saying what the pastor would want to hear when asked, "Do you believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to save your soul?" Peter said, "I don't even know what that means."

Pastor Isaiah said, "Do you want know what it means?" Peter said, "No!"

Now, that is honest. As is Pastor Isaiah's next question, "Do you want to change?"

That strikes to the heart of the issue. Why would anyone be attracted to faith unless there was something in their own life that they wanted to be changed? Peter's rather confused response leaves the door open for further conversation. As Alicia found when she returned home, things went rather further than Peter probably expected.

What we don't know is if Peter is stringing Pastor Isaiah along, although I'd bet on Pastor Isaiah for knowing when someone is taking him for a ride. As we see later, Peter doesn't seem to be lying. We are told that there are follow-up conversations with the pastor. After Alicia has seen a small cross in Peter's room, she asks, "Are you becoming religious?" He says, "I don't know."

Again, that rings true to me. As does a later conversation when he tells her with increasing enthusiasm that, "I want to change. I want to change inside" while he thumps his heart. Been there. Feel it.

The writers didn't take the easy way out with platitudes and stereotypes. Kudos. Future developments in this area are going to be interesting.

Second, is Alicia's relationship with Will, her boss and former college sweetheart. We know they're attracted to each other although, along the lines of restraint that are the hallmark of the excellent acting on the show, they haven't done more than give us an expression on their faces every so often.

When Will was at his lowest point, you just knew he was going to give in and plant that kiss on her. What was unpredictable was whether she was going to return it, which she did ... the whole time I was saying (more like, shouting aloud), "No, NO! Don't do it. DON'T!"

So I was quite relieved when she broke off and left the building ....

... and quite upset when she was returning ...

... and quite relieved when she didn't find Will ...

... and quite upset when he found out later that she'd returned and went to talk to her about the fact that she'd been ready to pursue the kiss if only he'd been there.

What an emotional roller coaster -- I hated it.

However, it set up a interesting dilemma. Anything that might develop along those lines would be a deliberate decision, not a moment of weakness that she and Will give in to as would have happened this week. It provides a parallel for her decisions to possibly travel the road that Peter did in deliberate unfaithfulness. I like to think that she has too much integrity for that route (and Will too for that matter). It is especially interesting when Peter is pursuing internal change that may lead to personal and marital redemption.

Of course, this is the writers' skill displayed for us in setting up the tension of these conflicting and contrasting character developments.

We do not often get honesty and fine writing like this on television. The two shows I can think of off the top of my head are House, which after six seasons is still a treasure, and Bones, which although much lighter in approach doesn't flinch at examining difficult questions.

Here's hoping for much more of the same from The Good Wife.

Stand Up for Life in our Health Care

If you live in the United States and haven’t yet done so (or haven’t done so recently), take action on the health care debate.

• First, learn why the U.S. bishops insist that the current Senate legislation must be defeated.
  
  
• Next, go to www.usccb.org/action to email your senators and representatives.
  
  
• Support Bart Stupak and his remaining Democratic allies in resisting the Senate bill.
  
  
• Learn more at American Papist.

Said so perfectly by Steven D. Greydanus at his blog Decent Films that his reward is having me rip it off to present to you.

Now, please don't delay. Do this now.

I say, "Oo." You say, "long."

A music video for tea lovers.

No, really! Go see!

A Flood of Mercy and Joy, with a little bit of Happy Catholic in the mix

I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Pat Gohn for her Among Women podcast. Actually, the pleasure was in the lots and lots of talking we both did. Frankly, at this moment, I can't remember just what was in the interview and what was just "between two women" (ha!).

I can't listen until after Easter, but you can hear it now. Three spots to pick it up:

• At her blog
• At her website
• At iTunes

Thanks Pat!

Updated: The Best Part About The Anchoress's Being a Writer ...

... is that she has a notebook from which she sometimes unpacks snippets for us ...

Priest: ‘I think I’ve lost my faith.’
Cardinal Cushing: ‘Don’t flatter yourself; you’re just bored.’ --Sermon
=============
We are not meant to ’succeed’ at Lent, but to fail and know our dependence upon Grace.
=============
Know-it-all-son: I don’t pray; I don’t need to because God knows all.”
Me: But even Jesus prayed…

Even a blog writer winds up with snippets around. Mine are on note cards, jotted in my so-called journal which is really mostly cryptic notes and lists of what I'm reading at the moment. And, of course, quote journals. Lots and lots of quote journals.

UPDATED
I sent Cardinal Cushing's comment to our priest and he responded that he had heard it years ago but a bit better and perhaps a bit kinder. That made me go to Google, where I found this version, which was the one he remembered.

Cardinal Cushing had an interview with a young priest who said to him, 'Your Eminence, I am losing my faith.' The Cardinal said to him, 'Meaning no disrespect to your intellectual attainments, but you and I are too dumb to lose our faith. The great heretics like Martin Luther lose their faith. You and I just get bored!'

Breaking Point ...

... part 3, which completes this novella, is now up over at Forgotten Classics along with probably the coolest podcast highlight ever.

Also over at Forgotten Classics, though in a separate post is a list of my favorite LibriVox readers ... just in case you want to check on books by sound as well as by content.

A Biology Blog for the Non-Specialist: A Life of Life

Finally, an explanation of photosynthesis that makes sense. Perhaps because it is done a bit at a time, very carefully. Here is the piece that began to break it open for me.

The light wave which we rode almost a hundred million miles from the sun has ended its journey by colliding with a tiny molecule inside the cell of the grass, called chlorophyll, where its energy will be harnessed for the plant to use. Light itself is a form of electromagnetic energy, and some organisms are capable of converting that energy into chemical energy which they can use. The chlorophyll molecule itself is embedded in a membrane surrounding a fluid-filled space known as the stroma, somewhat like the skin of a balloon surrounding its air-filled interior. All around us light waves are crashing into the chlorophyll molecules, and the energy carried by these molecules is causing things to happen: molecules are changing shape, being broken, being built, and many tiny hydrogen protons are being moved across the membrane from the outside to the inside.

Go to A Life of Life and read from the beginning. Just read a post a day. There aren't too many and the entries are short. We begin by hurtling with a sunbeam (an electromagnetic light wave) from the sun and slamming into the dim, watery world of a grass cell. I cannot tell you how much I have been enjoying these brief but illuminating posts.

This 'N' That: the mega post

Greenville Avenue St. Patrick's Day Parade
I turned on the computer Saturday morning and surveyed the DMN home page that comes up with a sleepy eye before coming alert with a shriek. How could I have forgotten? I don't actually have an objection to the parade itself but we live four blocks (four loooong blocks) away and my grocery store is right next to the parade route which means no parking ... all day long.

Hasty ablutions, quick consulting with Tom who said that if there was no parking he'd drop me off and pick me up, and made it by 8:30 to the Central Market which, blessedly, had security personnel this year turning away anyone but customers. The store was still fairly full of green garbed runners and families as they stocked up for various things but true shoppers were few and far between.

Zoe, Wash, and The Big Morning Walk
We went ahead and walked to the parade with the dogs later that morning. Wash, laid back as always, accepted any and all "drive by" patting. He did not, however, approve of other dogs that he saw. This, evidently, was his parade and sharing with other dogs was not approved. Much barking and lunging ensued periodically.

Zoe, much more intense and skittish, didn't mind the dogs but both longed for and distrusted various hands thrust in her direction. Eventually she relaxed and a good time was had by all. Except that during one of Zoe's skittish episodes, she went one way and I the other ... the result a sprained ankle. Darn. Had to sit around all day after that. Well, if I must, I must ...

It is amazing how many people have Boxers. They all come out of the woodwork when we take Zoe and Wash anywhere, telling many a tale of childhood companions or current canines who are home reclining in luxury on couches.

Floats
Tom liked the interpretive spirit showed in the flag for the Texas Irish Bicycling Team above. See how they have taken the Irish flag, remade it in the Texas flag design and used a shamrock instead of the Lone Star. Nicely done.

I was surprised at how elaborate some of the floats were. Also at how many there were ... the parade just kept going and going and going. My favorite was one that I couldn't figure out the sponsor for until it went past. In the front sat an aged man with a somewhat solemn countenance. The other people on the float weren't throwing beads but were simply waving. It was beautifully decorated with artistic symbols and I wondered if perhaps it was for a local restaurant. Then I saw the sign on the back. Of course. The local Hare Krishna temple from lower Greenville. I liked the spirit that had them joining in the "neighborhood" parade. Albeit a gigantic neighborhood. The news said that 80,000 people attended. Greenville is a long road, but still ...

Watching
Despite what I read in some places, television still has some excellent entertainment value ... yes, even on the plain old networks. One must be discriminating, but, then, when must one not be discriminating?

• House, M.D.: the last episode, Private Lies, was interesting in our household because the patient was a blogger. The sort of blogger who tells all, and I mean all. Partway in, I told Tom that I could identify too much with her because what I really wanted to know was her daily hits. (so sad, so true...). The true theme for the show was exploring connectedness and privacy. As always they did a nice job of exploring different aspects of these through the various story lines, although I have a very hard time believing that Chase didn't always know that he is adorable. Especially with that soft Australian accent. Most interesting from the blogging aspect was the question of how a blogger treads that thin line between truly blogging and being themselves and turning it into performance art. I would venture to say that anyone who has blogged for long has seen how this could happen. Whether a blogger crosses that line (and it can happen multiple times, back and forth) I think depends on their main purpose in blogging. And even then it can become a difficult issue occasionally.
• Parenthood: tried the first episode of this. Run far, run fast, but do not waste your time on this. It fell prey to the desire to please everyone by resolving all the issues with a smile and a big hug. When the crusty father went over to give his crying grown son a big hug, we knew nothing was redeemable there. Or perhaps we just know the movie too well. Jason Robards' character never would have given in that fast. It was all too, too fake ...
• The Good Wife: this series just gets better and better. Now that the husband is home on house arrest, various other subplots are being spun out. That is less interesting, frankly, than the weekly cases that are being tried and the law firm's constant quest for money to keep afloat. The strengths are in the fact that much of the response is underplayed by different characters which leaves us open to interpret and think about issues a bit more than other shows. Parenthood writers could learn a lot from watching how this show handles emotions and plot development.

Reading

• The Jupiter Myth - Lindsey Davis: Out of new fiction I wandered to my bookshelves and discovered that I hadn't perused Lindsey Davis in some time. The Jupiter Myth was one of her books that I most enjoyed as it combines a look at life in ancient Londinum with a well conceived mystery that is investigated by her wise cracking, cynical detective, Falco. As well, a few old friends from the series are roped into service.#15.
• Alexandria - Lindsey Davis: Marcus Didius Falco and family are on vacation in Alexandria, cadging lodgings off of his uncle. As a known agent of Emperor Vespasian he gets co-opted to investigate when there is a murder at the great library. This is carried off with the usual flourish of family detail, historical knowledge and pure fun and sass that Lindsey Davis brings to her series. However, the true solution to the murder was almost thrown in as an afterthought which I found most unsatisfactory.#17
• The Demon and the City - Liz Williams: Much more Demon Zhu Irzh-centric, this is the second book in the series begun in Snake Agent. Detective Inspector Chen is on holiday in Hawaii leaving Demon Zhu Irzh holding the fort when the feng shui goes terribly awry in Singapore. Naturally this means mighty plots are afoot to take over earth ... this time from Heaven (based loosely on Chinese mythology). Also a cracking good yarn. Liz William's twist on Chinese mythology intersecting with our world makes a weird kind of sense for anyone who knows even the littlest bit about their concepts of heaven, hell and the gods. #18
• How to Disappear Completely - Myke Bartlett. Urban fantasy at its best, this audiobook has hints of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere without being derivative. Quite a feat and one that Myke Bartlett pulls off perfectly. "Part film noir detective story, part fantasy adventure, part East End gangster tale, How to Disappear Completely concerns Theo Braithwaite, a failed actress and worse waitress, becoming involved in an unseen world populated by history's rejects and runaways from a secret society known as The Footmen. A stranger to London, waiting for life to come and find her, she is instead found by a part-time thief called Kilbey Salmon who, along with his rockabilly-obsessed partner, is attempting to eke out a living stealing things that have already been stolen and finding people who don't want to be found." Only available as an audiobook, but truly worth your time. #20
• The Mysteries by Lisa Tuttle: An American detective living in London is approached to find a young woman who disappeared. Although this is a mystery, it is largely an intersection of "what if" the Celtic myth of people being kidnapped into faerie lands were true. Told from the weary detective's point of view, the story takes on also the flavor of his knowing such things are possible but feeling a sense of personal failure over the people who much more legitimately disappeared in his own life (his father, his girlfriend). A quick read, not elaborately detailed, yet still an attention grabber and one that left me thinking about the story when I had to stop and do other things. #21.
• Night Train from Memphis by Elizabeth Peters: Elizabeth Peters is, I believe, this author's real name. She also writes under Barbara Michaels. The joke inherent in this knowledge is that Barbara Michaels writes romantic mysteries while Elizabeth Peters makes fun of the genre while still writing legitimately romantic mysteries. This is where she gets to have a bit of fun. My favorites of her Elizabeth Peter's series are the Vicky Bliss books. This is the last of the series, as to my everlasting regret Ms. Peters has focused on Amelia Peabody who I find deadly boring except for the very first book of that series.
  
  This book combines country and western with Egyptology, searching for the lost treasure of Troy, a variant of the English country house murder (carried out on a barge floating down the Nile), and, of course, true love with a scoundrel who has a heart of gold. No wonder I enjoy rereading this book. #23.
• Precious Dragon by Liz Williams: Williams almost has too many characters doing too much in too many situations here. However, she pulls it off. I love Mrs. Pa's character and enjoyed the discovery of what lies at the bottom level of Hell, although I found the sudden craziness of the Emperor of Heaven rather too much. I still enjoyed it overall though.
  
  Rereading this I rediscovered that she suddenly develops a linguistic twitch partway into the book. Or perhaps that is simply where it forced its way into my consciousness. At any rate, once you have noticed that she uses "given" every three sentences or so, it becomes so very annoying that it is difficult forcing one's way past it. Where was the editor? Dozing? Or perhaps in love with that phrase. Given that I am not, one might take it as a given that I was unable to force my way through the next book in the series, The Shadow Pavilion. Especially given the fact that not only is Williams using given sometimes three times in a paragraph, she crammed even more characters in more situations into this one. Nope. I'm not going along for that ride. #24
• Fallen Rain by Barry Eisler: Recommended by Matt. American born, half-Japanese, John Rain is a professional hit man with a strict set of rules for his targets: no women or children, only principles in a dispute. He specializes in "natural causes" deaths and has just pulled one off while giving us a bit of back story. Interestingly as the story goes on through fascinating twists and turns, we are not asked to find John a sympathetic character. We learn more of his story so that his life's work makes more sense but the character does not work to become likable. I like that since he's a hit man ... seems more "real" that way. Although he seems so American in his thinking that i tend to forget he looks Japanese and sometimes have to remind myself and "fix" my mental picture when that is important to the story, as it sometimes is. #25
• Shapers by Robert Chase: Reread this for the first time since I read it originally. Robert Chse has created a truly innovative alien species and we are thrust into his universe willy nilly along with the protagonist ... who is an amnesiac recovering from a space ship crash. What is his goal? Who is he really? And how do we understand the Shaper species and their human "herds?" Fascinating and says much about what it means to be a human being, as do all his books. I had forgotten just how strong a statement this book makes about the value of life and the power of the human spirit. Highest recommendation, with the warning that it can be a difficult book to grasp. Just go with the flow the first time through.#22
• The 13th Hour by Richard Doetsch: Can't remember where I found this book reviewed ... possibly SF Site ... but I was intrigued by a book that is written backwards and where the time travel is only within a prescribed amount of time in a person's life. However, it soon became rather tedious to see this poor fellow have to repeatedly work backwards every hour or so. This is nothing that good plotting or good characterization couldn't have overcome. Too bad this book so consistently skimmed the surface on both. #26

technorati test

U82W5HZ2RX8U

Let that be a lesson to you, old chum

He who lives by the RSS feed, sees nothing amusing in the sidebars.

Not only mine, in which amusing content changes every weekday, but that of others. I must admit that, having fallen into the RSS feed habit myself, I have missed for some time seeing the broader horizons.

If I hadn't pulled out of RSS for a moment and wandered over "in person" (so to speak) to martha, martha then I'd never have seen the truly wonderful Batman quote in her sidebar.

Then I never would have gone looking for others.

And then none of us would be sitting here right now laughing at this ...

Robin: Where'd you get a live fish, Batman?

Batman: The true crimefighter always carries everything he needs in his utility belt, Robin.

You are laughing aren't you? Yeah, me too. Remember, old chum, stop and smell the roses (or view the blogs in their entirety).

Looking Up

This does not really do justice to the full white I see when I look up but it was the only photo I could find online that came close. Our pear trees are in full bloom. (Rose will be happy she isn't here as the scent I barely notice is abhorrent to her.) Truly gorgeous.

“Look around. You can’t tell who was conceived with wine and roses and who was conceived on a street corner.”

It wasn’t a day for writing. It was a day for processing all that I saw and heard at a United Nations conference the day before. The first session that I attended was conducted by a panel of eight women and one man who were conceived in rape, and in one case, incest. These were the very people whose conception is held out as the ultimate justification for legalized abortion. Executing the child for the father’s crime.

Powerful writing and links from Coming Home in Conceived in Rape: God is My Father.

Bishops Elect Deshotel and Seitz for Dallas

I like it. I like it a lot.

Whispers in the Loggia says both were named as co-auxiliaries to Dallas' Bishop Farrell and I couldn't be happier.

I don't know Bishop Elect Steitz, about whom good stories are being told, but I am very familiar with Bishop Elect Deshotel who used to fill in at St. Thomas Aquinas long ago.

Specifically I can never be grateful enough for his answering the call to the priesthood. It was he who heard my first face-to-face confession during the CRHP retreat that I attended six years ago. I kid you not, I don't remember specific words but I do know that I felt Jesus Himself speaking through him ... kindly, insightfully, and with words of healing. That confession was a key moment for me personally and ultimately the main reason (among so many) that I was called to attend that retreat.

• Here is the diocese's announcement.
• Here is the bishop's blog which not only has posts about the bishops-elect but also announces that Dallas will be welcoming home 3,000 new Catholics at Easter. Thanks be to God ...

In which the crew faces more threats from the aliens ...

... Breaking Point, part 2, is up at Forgotten Classics.

It's All Downhill from Here

The flowers began to wither under the rigorous interrogation.

Time for some midweek humor to lighten things up. Let us turn to Unhappy Hipsters which Shrine of the Holy Whapping, where I found the link, points out adds "silly captions to pretentious, underbuilt, overdesigned interiors and exteriors ripped from the headlines of modish living magazines." And does a fine job of it too ...

The bathroom had been the source of an acrid odor for months,
but now emitted a strange, vaguely toxic glow. This didn’t bode well.

The Principle of Subsidiarity

The principle of subsidiarity holds that a larger and greater body should not exercise functions which can be carried out efficiently by one smaller and lesser, but rather the former should support the latter and help to coordinate its activity with the activities of the whole community.

Source

This principle has been named to me via three different sources in conversation, reading, and email within the last three days.

Although I felt I understood it in context each time, I figured I'd better be sure I really knew what it meant. I approve of this principle. Although my search for the definition brought up references to Catholic social principles, business, and the European Union ... all three of my original instances were in reference to parish life.

Just in case anyone else out there has been bombarded with subsidiarity, I thought I'd pass this along.

In the desert ...

... it is difficult there, spare and unrelenting. But there is a sort of peace and beauty that comes from having your soul scoured clean by the whirling sands.

The Crescat reminds us that it is still Lent. I need no reminder this year. But in a strange way I am grateful for that scouring. Perhaps I am in the eye of the storm to be experiencing such peace. I realize how very imperfect I am. I realize just how superhuman, how supernatural it was for Christ to undergo what He did in His passion and to do it so perfectly. I realize how grateful I am that we have His example, simultaneously perfectly human and perfectly divine, to follow and not only that of our fellow men, imperfect as we all are.

Is it peaceful here because it is real, because we can see so clearly when stripped away from the extraneous trees and landscape of regular life? I do not know. But I begin to feel an understanding of the desert saints that I never have before.

This 'n' That

Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) is writing and directing a Doc Savage movie!
Sez Rose. Isn't that enough? It was for us ... we both love Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Doc Savage. Ok, here's more.

The Great Prayer Project - End Abortion
From my inbox comes this link for what seems an excellent project:

The Great Prayer Project - End Abortion is simply this, starting March 25, 2010, we hope to have one continuous year of prayer to end abortion. The way we plan on achieving this objective is by allowing individuals to sign up for 20 minute time slots and pray for an end to abortion during that time period.

Pulp Fiction in Motion Graphics
More properly, a choice bit of dialogue in type ... perfectly done and hilarious. Remember, we're all about type. However, remember this is from Pulp Fiction. Practically every other word is explicit so don't click through if that's gonna bother you.

It's Like Roy H. Williams Knows My Life
Such as here, where people add up 2 and 2 to get 14.

Violent crime in America declined each year from 1993 to 2004. Then just about the time the iPod became popular in 2005, violent crime began trending upward.

CONCLUSION: iPods cause violent crime. Or at least that was the conclusion of a 2007 report published by The Urban Institute, a research organization based in Washington. (I swear I’m not making this up.)

Bad advertising strategies stem from just such logic: “Since one event precedes another, the first event must be the cause of the second.” This fallacy of logic is so common it has a Latin name: Post hoc, ergo, propter hoc, "after this, therefore, because of this," referring to the mistaken belief that temporal succession implies a causal relation.

Most business owners look around, observe their circumstances and then try to make sense of it all. Their thoughts and plans are guided by what they see. But any scientist will tell you correlation and causation are not the same thing.

Which also can relate somewhat to that iceberg thing I mentioned last week.

He does it again here.

Not once did they ever say, "Wow. Thanks for caring enough to share that with us."

I knew the bands were delusional. I just never realized that I was, too.

Strangely, I never quit advising people. In fact, I made a career of it.

But a good friend told me something that has saved everyone a lot of pain. “Unsolicited advice is abuse,” he said. So I no longer offer unsolicited advice.

Which is a lesson I most definitely am trying to learn.

Read them both. Or listen if you like. I prefer the podcast but it is Lent, after all, and I am still fasting from spoken word podcasts. Which leads to the last bit of this 'n' that for the moment ...

I Read a Lot More Books When I'm Not Listening to Podcasts All the Time
Yes, I know. Obvious. But its fun to rediscover the fun of whipping through a book every day or two. I've also rediscovered the many ways you can prop books in our kitchen for reading while washing dishes, cooking meals, and so forth. That's why I have bookweights in several rooms of the house, not to mention one at work.

Addictive personality? Tell me something I don't know. At least the Dallas Public Library has an excellent selection so we don't go bankrupt. So far I've still managed to keep my resolution of not buying any new books in 2010. It has been touch and go a couple of times but I've held on.

Here is what I'm reading now. Here is what I've read so far this year. My numbering on when I read some of them is a bit erratic as I found some duplicates, but that's not the point really.

Books I'd Like to Read to You

Oops, meant to post this at Forgotten Classics ... you can catch the list there if you're interested.

Who will reach the Breaking Point?

Part 1 of our new book, Breaking Point by James Gunn, is up at Forgotten Classics. It is a science fiction novella and being read for the SFFaudio Annual Challenge.

Plus a new podcast highlight ... yes, even if I'm not listening to 'em during Lent, I can still dish the dirt on which ones are good to try out.

This Just In: The Language God Talks (on science and religion)

I wasn't aware that best selling author Herman Wouk (The Caine Mutiny, The Winds of War) wrote nonfiction and, more to the point, precisely the sort of nonfiction that I love to read ... about faith and God.

I am intrigued so far by my preliminary dip into this very readable book. Certainly, I'll have to look for his previous books on the subject later, but I am happy now to have the opportunity to read his latest work, described thusly:

"More years ago than I care to reckon up, I met Richard Feynman." So begins THE LANGUAGE GOD TALKS, Herman Wouk's gem on navigating the divide between science and religion. In one rich, compact volume, Wouk draws on stories from his life as well as on key events from the 20th century to address the eternal questions of why we are here, what purpose faith serves, and how scientific fact fits into the picture. He relates wonderful conversations he's had with scientists such as Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Freeman Dyson, and Steven Weinberg, and brings to life such pivotal moments as the 1969 moon landing and the Challenger disaster.

More on this work later, I'm sure.

First Friday Fast for an End to Abortion

A twelve-week old fetus baby in the womb.*

It all began here in Dallas -- in our home town, where we raise our families, where we go to church, where we live, and love, and learn, and work.

We are three bloggers who also live in the Dallas area. We are deeply committed to ending abortion in this country. To that end, we have committed ourselves to the following: On each First Friday for the next eleven months, we will fast and pray before the Blessed Sacrament for an end to abortion. This year's commitment will culminate at the annual Dallas March for Life in January of 2009, where we will join our bishop and the faithful of this city in marching to the courthouse where Roe was originally argued.

Original Joint Announcement

In addition to unborn babies and their families, I will be including all those who work to end abortion, as well as the souls of those who work for abortion in my intentions. Also included will be solid catechesis for all Catholics as that is a key issue to most of the misunderstandings on both this issue and others in the secular world.

For your reading and information, here is an excellent article Why Conception? by Michael from The Deeps of Time. Highly recommended.

*I used to be among those who believed the secular propaganda that a 12-week-old baby was just "a blob of cells." Even after coming to the truth, I never knew just how vividly untrue that was until seeing this image, via Father Dwight Longenecker, who points out that 89% of abortions take place in the first twelve weeks. No wonder pro-abortion activists protest ultrasounds for mothers who are seeking counseling. This is unmistakably a baby.

Look First to the Iceberg in Your Own Eye ...

... and then you will be able to remove the ice crystal from your brother's eye.*

The Art of Manliness has been running a good series designed to help us boost our resiliency. This is part 4 but it doesn't suffer from being read as a stand alone article.

Have you ever reacted to something with an intensity of emotion that didn’t seem to match the circumstances of the event? The logical part of your mind is telling you that’s it’s not that big of deal, but you still feel really angry/hurt/depressed/anxious, and you can’t seem to turn off the emotion.

These kind of “overreactions” can leave us feeling pretty frustrated. They hurt our relationships and keep us from making progress in our lives. Not only do they lead us to dwell on things longer than we should, but we end up making poor decisions in this emotional state. These kinds of incongruous reactions keep us from responding resiliently to our problems.

So what causes these mismatched reactions? A collision with an iceberg, an iceberg belief to be precise. Water is pouring in your hull, but atop the deck you don’t really understand what has happened. All you know is that you’re sinking-fast.

This article does a great job of helping all of us to begin to identify those iceberg beliefs ("iceberg beliefs are fixed and frozen ideas about the world that we hold deep within us") and learn how to work through them.

*With apologies to Matthew 7:5.

CSA!

We're getting closer to the first pick up in our share of a local farmer's produce ... read about our CSA subscription at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

As seen on a church sign nearby

Thanks to Laura, who travels a different route around town than I do ... and, yes, it is going into my quote journal.

Honk if you love Jesus.
Text while driving if you want to meet Him.

She speaks eloquently for cat owners everywhere

Truly it is a heroic act to pill a cat, as the often hilarious Crescat illustrates. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I went one better by just ripping it off.

Friday Litany: Litany of the Precious Blood (new version)

The revised version of the litany from last week. I think each has something good to offer for prayer and contemplation. Also found at Catholic Youth Networking.

Litany of the Precious Blood From the 1991 Enchiridion of Indulgences

Lord, have mercy Christ, have mercy Lord, have mercy God our Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us. Response: be our salvation. Blood of Christ, only Son of the Father, Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word, Blood of Christ, of the new and eternal covenant, Blood of Christ, that spilled to the ground, Blood of Christ, that flowed at the scourging, Blood of Christ, dripping from the thorns, Blood of Christ, shed on the Cross, Blood of Christ, the price of our redemption, Blood of Christ, our only claim to pardon, Blood of Christ, our blessing cup, Blood of Christ, in which we are washed, Blood of Christ, torrent of mercy, Blood of Christ, that overcomes evil, Blood of Christ, strength of the martyrs, Blood of Christ, endurance of the saints, Blood of Christ, that makes the barren fruitful, Blood of Christ, protection of the threatened, Blood of Christ, comfort of the weary, Blood of Christ, solace of the mourner, Blood of Christ, hope of the repentant, Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, Blood of Christ, our peace and refreshment, Blood of Christ, our pledge of life, Blood of Christ, by which we pass to glory, Blood of Christ, most worthy of honor, Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. V. Lord, You redeemed us by Your Blood. R. You have made us a kingdom to serve our God. Let us pray: Father, by the blood of Your Son, You have set us free and saved us from death. Continue Your work of love within us, that by constantly celebrating the mystery of our salvation, we may reach the eternal life it promises. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Movies of the Mind for Modern Times - Audiodrama Podcasting

The script called for snow, and it was snowing.

"I wanted light and fluffy," said the director, Fred Greenhalgh. He was talking about the cozily muffled acoustics, not the pretty view. "This is perfect," he said. "Roll 'em!"

Windshield wipers slapping, a car whooshed to a stop at an old schoolhouse in this coastal city, now home to a theater company. Letting the car door slam as he got out, Bill Dufris, playing a cop in Brattleboro, Vt., said, "I'll do my best," and crunched up the wooden steps to a make-believe crime scene.

Overhead, a sea gull screamed. "I could hear that," Mr. Greenhalgh interrupted. "This is supposed to be Vermont." Thinking that inland Brattleboro shouldn't have sea gulls, he called for another take. Mr. Dufris got back in the car, drove around, slammed the door, and delivered his line again: "I'll do my best." Somewhere in the harbor, a foghorn blew.

"Cut!" said Mr. Greenhalgh. His sound man turned off his digital recorder. "The joys of recording on location," Mr. Greenhalgh said. "OK, one more time."

A 26-year-old with blond bangs and a goatee, the director was busy dramatizing a detective story. Not for the screen. For the iPod. The book it was based on—"Open Season" by Archer Mayor—begins with an image: "The snow lay before our headlights like a freshly placed sheet…" But Mr. Greenhalgh had no camera. His job was to translate the book into sound.

An interesting article from the WSJ. Anyone who hangs around with me at Forgotten Classics already knows about them but it is nice to see audiodramas getting some ink in a mainstream publication.

More ghostliness, more denseness, the RIGHT theory and true love ...

... all in a super-fantastic, extra long episode as we finish The Uninvited with a flourish at Forgotten Classics. Plus some news, some comments, and some photos of Hawaii. Get it while it's hot!

More Books and Another Show

Catching up with some very good books I've read thus far in 2010.

• Cleek, The Man of Forty Faces
  I listened to the Librivox recording done by the marvelous Ruth Golding. Cleek is a bad man who goes right for the love of a good woman. As well he is perhaps the cleverest detective I have ever read of, putting M. Poirot's little grey cells to shame while indulging his idiosyncratic love of flowers and nature. This allows for many short, quirky mysteries with the overarching theme of how Cleek hopes to redeem himself enough to approach his true love with honor. A wonderfully entertaining story from the turn of the century of mystery, chivalry, and intrigue. #10


• Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado
  Sandra Bullock's sister finally couldn't take Hollywood any more after running her famous sister's production company for years. She turned to her true passion, baking, and has a wonderful voice in this book about her life as a baker. A thoroughly enjoyable book that holds up standards without judging everyone around her by them, which these days is increasingly rare in the food writing world. Also, this is one of the few baking books that I have read recently to excite my imagination and interest me in trying some of the recipes. I have baked for long enough and read so many baking books that such an achievement is rare indeed.
  
  On an aesthetic note, we shall return to my pet peeve ... the layout is lovely but the type is huge. Huge. I always suspect that the publishers were trying to achieve a certain number of pages without adding to the content when I see that. Or it is a style and, if so, one that I hope will change soon. #11
  
  
• Genesis: Translation and Commentary by Robert Alter
  I read this a bit every day and was blown away by Alter's translation and notes. Reading both for morning reflection and prayer AND as prep for eventually reading Genesis on my podcast, with commentary from various sources, one of which will be this book. No translation and commentary I have read has so vividly brought alive this scripture. The commentary is cultural and literary rather than religious, just fyi, but that simply enhances it for the reader who already has a religious grounding. The introductory article about scripture from a literary standpoint as well as how modern translation tends to explain rather than accurately translate is almost worth the price of admission alone. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. #12


• Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
  Took a flyer on this when I was given a Barnes and Noble gift card and they didn't have a single one of the six current books I was seeking. It carries the reader into the heart of living in Paris with young American Elizabeth Bard who is having an extended affair with a young Parisian who sounds like a truly wonderful fellow. Her attacks of angst over not having a career or achieving enough or that her Parisian dreamboat is too happy can become rather annoying especially considering she is living what most people would call the epitome of a dream. However. She is young. And the entire book is not like that, thank heavens. In the end I found most enjoyable, despite the occasional bouts of angst. Quite a fun, light read, especially the parts about her mother adjusting to the Parisians. #13


• Paul Among the People: The Apostle Reinterpreted and Reimagined in His Own Time
  My review is here but the short story is that if you can take some realisitc looks at how what culture was like among the Greeks and Romans in St. Paul's day, then you will have a much better understanding of this apostle's message of love and equality as expressed in his letters. Highly recommended. #14

The Show: WWII in HD
Just when you thought that you could not possibly see (or endure) another World War II documentary, along comes this series which makes the war much more immediate and personal than before. Some of this comes from the fact that almost the entire thing is in color and, although I am sure that it was restored, there is the feel of watching your family's home movies.

The other reason is that we come to know twelve people as we follow them through their part in the fighting that took place. We hear excerpts from letters and diaries of many characters ranging from a celebrated journalist immersed with troops in the Pacific to an army nurse in Africa to an Austrian immigrant who joined before the Pearl Harbor bombing because of his first-hand experiences at the hands of the Nazis. We see and hear how intimately they were affected by all they experienced. In fact, I identified enough with many of these characters that I would be on tenterhooks wondering if some survived, and then release my breath with relief when remembering that this particular person did live because we have seen him speaking in modern times.

Likewise, because the footage was in color and taken by those on hand, both Tom and I have been affected deeply by the sheer carnage and horrible waste of life that was inflicted. Also, I never really understood just how destroyed many of the towns in Europe were until I saw these pieces. Strangely enough, you would think that this would prove depressing but we haven't found it so. It is simply that we now have a greater identification when someone of that generation talks about what it was like to live through those times. Of course, there is also the greater understanding of battlefield conditions and how the men in the field felt.

This is a three DVD set. Highly recommended.

One Blogger's 75 Favorite Blogs

An interesting list from Brandon Vogt at The Thin Veil which has some good stuff to explore. And I don't say that merely because I was surprised and pleased to find Happy Catholic at #16. A lot of work went into this compilation and I appreciate having this delightful resource to dive into.

As well, Brandon nicely expresses my own experience with blog reading.

I must add the caveat, though, that rarely a week goes by when I don't find a new blog to "subscribe" to, while also finding another to "unsubscribe" from. Reading blogs is pretty fluid, rarely stagnant.

I have my own favorites but my general blog reading is a similarly fluid list.

Found via #7 on the list, who is on my own list of daily reading, A Divine Life.

Quite Possibly the Most Perfect Comeback Ever to Richard Dawkins

When Selfish Gene author Richard Dawkins challenged physicist John Barrow on his formulation of the constants of nature at last summer’s Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowship lectures, Barrow laughed and said, “You have a problem with these ideas, Richard, because you’re not really a scientist. You’re a biologist.”

For Barrow, biology is little more than a branch of natural history. “Biologists have a limited, intuitive understanding of complexity. They’re stuck with an inherited conflict from the 19th century, and are only interested in outcomes, in what wins out over others,” he adds. “But outcomes tell you almost nothing about the laws that govern the universe.” For physicists it is the laws of nature themselves that capture and structure the universe—and put brakes on it as well.

Is anyone else laughing as hard as I did over that first paragraph? I can't remember where I saw the link to the article (apologies ...) but I enjoyed it immensely.

You can pass through a keyhole? Prove it!

Mike Flynn is not only one of my favorite science fiction writers, he's a heckuva blogger. I especially enjoyed this post on the Church's stance on not persecuting witches during the so-called Dark Ages because they said magic was superstition ... with this among the examples.

Vincent of Beauvais, to disabuse a woman convinced she was a witch who could pass through keyholes, locked the door and chased her about the room with a stick, while exhorting her to escape through the keyhole. (Now THAT is the scientific spirit, right there!)

He then goes on to point out that during the Age of Science there began quite a persecution of those accused of witchcraft.

Weekend Joke

This doctor always got really stressed out at work. So every day on his way home, he'd stop and see his friend Dick the bartender. Dick would know the doctor was coming, and he'd have an almond daiquiri ready for him. The doctor would come in and have his almond daiquiri and go home.

One day Dick ran out of almonds, and he thought, "Well, the doctor won't know the difference." So he cut up a hickory nut and made a daiquiri with it.

When the doctor came by, Dick put the drink in front of him.

The doctor took a sip and said, "Is this an almond daiquiri, Dick?"

And Dick said, "No, it's a hickory daiquiri, Doc."

Friday Litany (one day late): Litany of the Precious Blood

One of the six great litanies of the Church, found at Catholic Youth Networking.

Litany of the Precious Blood From the 1969 Enchiridion of Indulgences

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us. God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us. God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us. Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us. Response: Save us. Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns, Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls, Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, Blood of Christ, victor over demons, Blood of Christ, courage of martyrs, Blood of Christ, strength of confessors, Blood of Christ, bringing forth virgins, Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord. Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us. V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in Your Blood. R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom. Let us pray: Almighty and eternal God, You have appointed Your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant, we beg of You, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

What? Not the Rosary! Noooooooooo ...........

Let me put that remark in a little context.

Following my Lenten "add on" plan of attending daily Mass I went and it was like old home week. Many friends were among the little group of adults around the edges of the school children who had Mass that morning.

I felt light, thinking of what God might do during Lent to change me, but not expecting anything big. More of looking down the highway thing, if that makes sense.

Afterward I turned from a brief chat with a friend, about being left handed which is a funny thing to have a conversation about now that I think of it. And there was my friend Kim. Beaming, waiting for me. Well, nothing wrong with that. Kim and I have a connection (ok, Kim connects with tons of people). She's kind of like a spiritual beacon in some ways, in others she's solid prayer support.

Then she said those fatal words, "Do you have five minutes? We're saying the rosary back there. Do you want to come say the rosary with us?"

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

I have nothing against the rosary in theory or even as an occasional practice when it seems called for in my prayer life. But not with that group who whips through it so fast that you wonder how anyone can get those words out. And, hey I have lots of other things to do with my time ... you know, like going to work.

"You don't have to," she said, still beaming widely at me, "but I just thought I'd ask ..."

But I knew what it meant. She and I both knew why she was smiling. This was no ordinary request. Going to daily Mass is a good start to Lent but here was God's personal invitation sent via Kim ... to. pray. that. rosary. with. that. group.

Can you feel my foot-dragging reluctance? Can you see me shaking my head, kneeling, praying along? Can you hear me laughing? Especially right after "know well the plans I have in mind for you ..." popped into my head for no particular reason during Mass.

No angels sang. No revelations came. That's not the point. This race is to the slow, steady, and faithful. And I know where I am called to be during Lent. Right after daily Mass. For I know the plan He has for me ... saying the rosary with that little group.

ALSO
For a conversation about whether God really answers prayers and how one knows, pop over to John Shore's place where there is an interesting discussion going on. Not that this was exactly an answer. More like an invitation I couldn't refuse, but enough about that ...

I now break into the Lenten contemplations to talk about me, Me, ME!

Actually, about Forgotten Classics, but that's really the same thing as we all know.

quelle erksome has begun a fan group on Ravelry (like Facebook for knitters and crocheters where I have only a slight presence ... again, much like Facebook!). She says that she finds herself, "... every week getting into blistering one-sided debates over plot, characterisation and supposition."

Clearly she isn't the only one because I have found, to my delight, the idea that Stella's grandfather in The Uninvited is talking about putting her into a mental institution began quite an intensive discussion. As well as theories of who is haunting and why, they have been examining women's rights in Britain in the 1930's as well as past and present requirements for being committed to a psychiatric institution. Heavens to Betsy, I can only imagine the depths these folks would have delved into during our reading of Uncle Tom's Cabin if they are getting all this out of The Uninvited.

The group is called Forgotten Yarns (nice word play, right?) and you can get more info and links by clicking through to erksome's place.

Ash Wednesday

In these days of Lent, I think of the fact that everything that is born in nature needs preparation, even if it is fundamentally hidden. Thus it is for the seed in the earth, so it is for the fetus in the mother's womb, so it is for the known and unknown stars and planets that have lived for infinite generations, and of which we have received news, particularly in the last century.

When we speak of Lent, we speak of preparation so that the life in us can be recovered -- or much more -- so that the life in us can be welcomed. The life of Christ risen, his Spirit which is given to us at Easter, needs to find hospitality in us.

This is the meaning of the silence and the prayers that is recommended by the Church in this time. This is the meaning of fasting, which is closely related to prayer and silence. That our eyes may not be closed, that our senses may not be dulled. This is the meaning of the alms that are asked of us. That our life may not be built on what is secondary and fleeting, but that it may find in Jesus the only richness that does not end, the richness that gives light and weight to every tiny thing. In this way, in our hands, instead of the sad object that will be destroyed, everything becomes an icon of the beauty of the Savior.

Monsignor Massimo Camisasca, via Magnificat

My Lenten experience took a much bigger emphasis than I expected. Perhaps it is because we just finished giving the Beyond Cana retreat where God touched me personally and deeply. He has been continuing that work in these last few days and so when our priest concluded his brief homily with, "These ashes are not cosmetic, they should only be the outward sign of your inward commitment. You should not come for these ashes unless you expect to be very changed at the end of Lent."

I'm paraphrasing but it gave me slight pause. It underlined the deep commitment and seriousness that we should be giving to this process of turning away from our sins and turning toward God. I do have those but also a feeling of leaving myself open to God's will, especially in several key areas of my life. It is funny. I know that such a thing could leave me feeling drifting and vulnerable. Instead, it leaves me feeling free, light, and expectant. Not a bad way to begin Lent at all.

Come Holy Spirit ... fill the hearts of your faithful ...

Let's Talk Lenten Reading

Update:
So it seems that God possibly had other things in mind for me?

Our book club is reading The Fathers of the Church by Mike Aquilina and I have found myself really pondering the early fathers' writing as I read a little each morning during my reflection time. This second time round is proving extremely fruitful. Truly, spending some time with the fathers contemplating the trials they faced is a more relevant project than one might expect.

Also, Paul Among the People is a book I just can't put down. It truly places Paul's words in a different context for me as well as gives me much to ponder about our own modern culture in comparison with those long ago days ... and, of course, what it means to seek God under all those circumstances.

===========================

Has anyone begun thinking of reading something specifically for Lent?

I have two books in mind. One is This Tremendous Lover, a classic that I received thanks to Aquinas and More's wonderful reading program but to my shame have not delved much into. (I was deflected into reading Robert Alter's incomparable translation and commentary of Genesis ... I have never had scripture come alive for me in the way that translation achieved.)

The other book is a book of meditations designed to facilitate lectio divina during Lent. I received Conversing with God in Lent: Praying the Sunday Mass Readings with Lectio Divina for review and, of course, it is perfectly timed.

I also have two different books with meditations on Jesus' seven last words, which would naturally be very appropriate. The Seven Last Words of Jesus I purchased but haven't read and I received a review copy of Hope from the Cross: Reflections on Jesus' Seven Last Words. Both of these might be good to consider as lectio divina subjects during the weekdays.

Father Dwight Longenecker, whose books Adventures in Orthodoxy and St. Benedict and St. Therese I enjoyed immensely, sent another suggestion to consider. I have read very good reviews of this book around the blogosphere.

For those who have read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, this looks like a great choice. If you haven't read The Screwtape Letters ... don't wait until Lent to begin. Go get it now!

Here is last year's list with other good suggestions. I will say that I did read all the books I mentioned for my personal Lenten list and made a few notes for anyone who is interested. Unfortunately, due to the Haloscan changeover all the comments from last year are gone.

That just leaves us more room to make suggestions here ... or to comment upon your own reading plans. Speak up everyone!

•  Plenty of Good Reading for Lent at Your Fingertips: Vivificat opens the interwebs for us with links to pdfs of classic works by saints, priests, and more.
• Jen at Conversion Diary has some classics to recommend as well.

Music to Delight the Heart - The Lateral Cut

IT HAS ALWAYS been Dr. Boli’s delight to encourage worthy artistic endeavors, and most especially in the field of music, for which he admits a particular fondness. When a friend of his offered to share some recordings from quite a long time ago, Dr. Boli at once saw the opportunity to give encouragement to old friends like Mr. Victor Herbert, as well as some of these promising young people with their delightful “jazz” music, which so perfectly expresses the spirit of this mechanical age.

Thus today we launch the latest entry in Dr. Boli’s publishing empire, The Lateral Cut, named of course for the process by which sound is etched in a disc for permanent preservation. Beginning with a very modest collection, this new site will gradually build up a library of music rescued from the undeserved oblivion of the decades, much of it recorded by a purely mechanical process whose ingenuity still astonishes Dr. Boli even all these years after his friend Mr. Edison first demonstrated it to him. Think of it as your virtual gramophone on the World-Wide Web.

I was very interested to see Dr. Boli's announcement that his publishing empire is expanding to include music. Knowing the whimsical nature of Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine, I approached The Lateral Cut with curiosity. To my delight I saw that this is a genuine blog about lost music with something about the artists and a link where one can download the music itself. It is an eclectic collection thus far which just makes it more interesting. About the collection, The Lateral Cut blog begins ...

Language speaks to the mind, but music speaks straight to the soul. Yet music, like other arts, is subject to the arbitrary tyrannies of fashion. Much that is thrilling and beautiful has been utterly forgotten. But it lives on in these recordings, which sit neglected in flea markets and junk shops until someone comes along and says, “I’ll give you five dollars for that whole box.”

Check it out.

Updated: A Fascinating New Book Placing Paul in Context Among the Cultures of His Time

Received a review copy of Paul Among the People on Thursday before leaving for the Beyond Cana retreat and couldn't quite grasp what it was about.

I took it and found it it both easy to understand (essential for my evening reading when helping with a retreat) and fascinating. Sarah Ruden goes to great pains to put St. Paul's writings in the context of Paul's "modern times" of Greek and Roman culture so we can see just what cultural forces he was referring to when he wrote his letters. By juxtaposing her knowledge of those cultures (which were considerably cruder and more hostile to Christian religious concepts than we would think) and writings of the people (not high-brow philosophers) with Paul's writings and concepts, a new picture emerges of just what was being battled and why Christian concepts would be so welcome and revolutionary.

I never had the negative image of Paul that many seem to have picked up from his writings and which were the reason the author began researching the info that has become the basis of this book. However, it is fascinating nonetheless to see just how foreign those ancient cultures really were when compared to ours and what we think we know. I'm on page 40 but it has been eye opening already.

If you are dubious about the book, take a moment to read her after-notes on the scholarship and sources. It will reassure you. This is not a pop-culture take but a scholarly work that has been brought to our level. Or so it seems to this unschooled reader.

Updated summary now that I'm finished
Overall, this is an excellent resource for putting yourself into the culture to which Paul was speaking. The author brings up the common misconception about Paul (such as homosexuality, misogyny, etc), then addresses the reality of the culture on that issue at the time, then cites many examples to make sure the point is clear, then returns to showing what Paul's words really meant as applied to living in those times. Paul emerges as someone who really wants to communicate that if we love God then we must show that love to each other in treating each other as equals, all worthy of God's love.

Highly recommended but not for the squeamish as some of the subjects tend to be explicit by their very nature.

Thank you for the prayers for our Beyond Cana retreat

We certainly needed them. It figures that the day we receive record snowfall (12.5 inches) was to be the beginning of the retreat. I was so impressed that 9 of the 12 couples were able to make it and also inspired by the devotion of the presenting team to being there. People were battling power outages, snowed-in baby sitters, grandparents braved driving long distances through snow to tend grandchildren. This might not sound like much now but there was a definite battle mentality as we just aren't equipped to deal with that sort of weather. Does Dallas even have a snow plow? I doubt it.

The retreat was a resounding success on so many levels, but the most important naturally being that the nine attending couples went home glowing and with renewed marriages and the tools to help them keep moving forward. As well, there is just nothing like the little blessings that God pours out on the people presenting the retreat, to say nothing of the time we got to spend with our team who we love and respect more ever time we do this.

We got home to find three huge limbs cracked but luckily all of them missed the fence, the power line, and the roof! So there is a mess to clean up but it could have been so much worse that we are not too upset. And, surprise, surprise, evidently our driveway had been full of debris but some kind soul had picked it up and neatly stacked it beside our driveway so we could get in! I didn't know we had neighbors that nice! I'm curious to find out who it is so we can thank them.

So, onward and upward back into everyday life ...

IT'S SNOWING! AND IT'S BEAUTIFUL!

So, maybe 3 inches so far (?) have fallen.

I stepped outside before driving to work, looking up into the fat, heavy, moist snowflakes falling from the sky. I thought how glorious and creative God is to find such a beautiful way to give us winter precipitation. And how good He is to make us so that we can thrill at its beauty.

Of course, simultaneously comes agonizing from those involved in our parish's Beyond Cana marriage retreat which begins tomorrow in a location that is a 30 minute drive away. Babysitters, icy roads, and attendees are in peril!

Any prayers are, of course, appreciated ... though I feel extremely calm about it all. Of course, we only have to take our dogs to the vet for boarding. I am, naturally, praying for everyone, although right now I seem to be channeling St. John Vianney as what comes to mind is:

God commands you to pray, but he forbids you to worry.

Good advice no matter what the weather!

In related news, especially for those on the East Coast

This Winter Funk Warning announcement from Dr. Boli's Celebrated Magazine.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER Service has issued a Winter Funk Warning for the counties of Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Lawrence, Washington, Westmoreland, and Yohogania. A Winter Funk Warning means that prolonged inactivity enforced by unusually high amounts of snowfall will cause blue funks, lugubriousness, depression, grumpiness, annoyance, irritability, petulance, sadness, even more lugubriousness, and mental dry rot. Residents are urged to keep themselves entertained with a good book and not do anything stupid.

In which we consider several new haunting theories.

Yep, we continue with The Uninvited at Forgotten Classics.

The 5th Commandment, part 2: The Death Penalty

Continuing to share the series that I am in process of writing and which appear in our parish bulletins each week. Heading bravely into unpopular ground, we take a deeper look at the 5th commandment.

===============

Living our faith in the real world
The Fifth Commandment: You shall not kill.1
Part 2 — The Death Penalty

 Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.

Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkein

====

Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord God. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live?

Ez 18:23

— • —

It is only natural is to want to remove a murderer from society where they will never harm another person and also to exact punishment. Executing a murderer is an obvious and simple solution. Equally natural is the desire to ignore the Catholic Church’s teaching that, whenever possible, a murderer must be imprisoned rather than killed. On the surface, this does not seem either practical or sympathetic to the victim’s family and friends. As with so many instances, however, this desire tends to be largely emotional. We must look past our emotions to understand the Church’s teachings about the seamless garment of life.

Clearly, the first concern of society is for the common good of its members. Punishing any wrongdoer is necessary both to repair the wrong and to teach the offender to change their ways. The Catechism puts it thus: The primary scope of the penalty is to redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of expiation. Moreover, punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute to the correction of the offender.

Note that, while there is a primary goal of righting wrongs, there is always a similar concern for the well being of the offender. Atonement offers not only good to the victim, but also acts as medicine for the offender’s soul.

Obviously it is impossible for a murderer to repair the wrong they have committed. This places a severe strain on the victim’s loved ones for recovery and to extend forgiveness. However, this is the call that Jesus places upon us in the Our Father, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”2 From the Cross itself Jesus gave us the example by forgiving His own murderers, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”3 It is natural to not want to forgive anything so heinous. However, Christ calls us to go beyond what we want and instead do what He commands. It is good not only for the criminal we forgive, but for our own souls as well.

The Church leaves it to individual societies to determine how extreme the punishment must be because some have no other way to protect the general population than the death penalty. Our society has the means to incarcerate a murderer and safeguard the community. Therefore, it is always preferable to give the criminal the opportunity for conversion and the salvation of their soul. To do otherwise is to deny the sacredness of life as well as denying Jesus’ direct command, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”4 Which of us, having committed a terrible crime, would not want the opportunity to repent and cry out to Jesus, as did the penitent thief who hung beside him on Calvary?5 This is the same opportunity we are called upon, in turn, to give criminals in rejecting the death penalty in our society.

— • —

Little by little I was led to change my ideas. I was no longer certain that God did not exist. I began to be open to Him, though I did not yet have faith. I tried to believe with my reason, without praying, or praying ever so little! And then, at the end of my first year in prison, a powerful wave of emotion swept over me, causing deep and brutal suffering. Within the space of a few hours, I came into possession of faith, with absolute certainty. I believed, and could no longer understand how I had ever not believed. Grace had come to me. A great joy flooded my soul and above all a deep peace. In a few instants everything had become clear. It was a very strong, sensible joy that I felt. I tend now to try, perhaps excessively, to recapture it; actually, the essential thing is not emotion, but faith.

Light over the Scaffold and Cell 18: The Prison Letters of Jacques Fesch
Jacques Fesch was a young murderer whose conversion on death row
 was so dramatic that the cause for his beatification was opened in 1993.

— • —

Footnotes

1-Ex 20:13; Cf. Deut 5:17. 
2-Matt. 6:12
3-Luke 23:34
4-Matt. 22:39
5-Luke 23:39-43

Sources

Catechism of the Catholic Church • Evangelium Vitae (1995 encyclical) by Pope John Paul II • Catholic Christianity by Peter Kreeft

It's All Downhill from Here

A little midweek humor from a favorite of mine, Savage Chickens.

A single glance, a connection made ... Nuit Blanche

A powerful and amazing short film (4 minutes) that you will not soon forget. Watch it as large as your screen will show by clicking the 4 arrows next to the Vimeo logo.


Nuit Blanche from Spy Films on Vimeo.

Here is the blog post by the group that created the film where you may also see a video about the making of Nuit Blanche.

Ozzie and Sharon Osborne's marriage tip: Persevere

Valentine's Day is coming so talk turns to love and marriage. Also, in our parish the Beyond Cana marriage retreat will begin this Friday. Naturally, this WSJ article about long-lived marriages struck a chord. (Heads up, Tom and I are heavily involved in the presentation this time around and so my blogging will become sparse as we get closer to the weekend.)

Never, ever give up. This tip is really important, so pay attention. Sharon Osbourne says it is how she stayed with husband Ozzy for 28 years and counting.

[...]

He also spent years strung out on drugs and alcohol. Never mind the groupies and the near-fatal overdoses. This man set fire to his house, passed out on a freeway median, and once tried to strangle his wife.

Ms. Osbourne, for her part, tried to run him over with a car, smashing his gold records with a hammer and taking out a restraining order. "We became like a soap opera," says Ms. Osbourne, 57, who is her husband's manager.

And yet she stuck by her man. Why? Because she felt he was a good person when sober and that he would kick his addictions one day. And she still believes he is her soul mate. ("Twice recently we've had the same dream on the same night," she says.)

"I went into marriage thinking it was forever. So I was stubborn," says Ms. Osbourne who has three children with her husband.

Mr. Osbourne, who was married once before, finally did sober up "six or seven years" ago, he says, and is very glad his wife stuck it out. "You don't throw in the towel at the first sign of trouble," he says.

And so Mr. Osbourne has made a point of telling his wife he loved her every single day—no matter where he was in the world, no matter how drunk or high. "She sometimes said 'Drop dead' or 'F— off,'" he says. "But at least if you are arguing, you are talking. If you stop talking, it's time to call it a day."

This story covers many good tips from a number of long-lived marriages, among them such famous folk as Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Yet I believe that for all its tempestuous nature with many examples we definitely do not want to ever follow, the Osbornes have the key to the most important step. Never give up. Never surrender. My favorite moment, however, may be the tip conveyed by author, Ellen Bernstein's sister. No, I'm not going to tell you. Read the article.

"I'm not what you expected, but oh, please love me."

I knew the minute I saw her that she had Down Syndrome and nobody else did. I held her and cried. Cried and panned the room to meet eyes with anyone that would tell me she didn't have it. I held her and looked at her like she wasn't my baby and tried to take it in. And all I can remember of these moments is her face. I will never forget my daughter in my arms, opening her eyes over and over...she locked eyes with mine and stared...bore holes into my soul.

Love me. Love me. I'm not what you expected, but oh, please love me.

An absolutely honest and beautiful story about a mother whose baby girl is born with Down Syndrome. It is long but very much worth the time. Much thanks to Margaret for sending me the link.

This 'N That: the Source Edition

From life in person, you know - without that virtual part.Although much of this seems to be ordered over the internet. Which puts us back to using virtual reality to get something real in our hands. Oh well ...

iResQ and Refurbished iPods
Say you've done something like, oh, drop your iPod face down on your tile floor and the glass cracked (cracked in many pieces!). What cha gonna do? Well iResq fixes up iPods and a lot of other things too, such as computers. A new piece of glass? $39 (on sale - do that many people break the glass?) and one day turnaround. The Apple Store sells refurbished iPods for a pretty good price if it isn't worth fixing your iPod.  

UPDATE: iResq was as good as their word. I have never experienced such follow through and I now have "my precious" back. In fact, I now have sent off the famously "washed with the laundry" nano to see if their free diagnosis will find that whatever makes it randomly stop working can be fixed for not too much cash. Yes, I did it the same day that I got back my iPod. That's how good they were.

Dog Treat Warehouse
With three dogs in the house (we didn't plan to have a pack, it just happened somehow) it is no joke when I say that we were spending a fortune buying knotted rawhide dog bones. As well, we were having to scour local sources ... stores just don't offer quantity packs of dog bones all the time. These 8-10" bones are an excellent quality and much less expensive than anything in our local stores. Although where I'm going to stash this giant bag of 30 bones, well, that is a different problem.

Delicious and Wheat Free
A friend's recent discovery that she has wheat allergies sent me looking through recipe archives. I was surprised at just how many recipes are in there that are not dependent on wheat. Of course, they are purely delicious, which is why they are in there in the first place!

The Toffee House
A friend very kindly sent us some of this toffee. I never thought I'd taste toffee better than my mother's but these people did it. Highly recommended. And I like their sense of humor. This was on the little card in the tin:

This toffee came from a recipe that was handed down for generations. (Well, probably. However, we have to admit that it wasn't our family that did the handing down). It's a delicious adaptation of  recipe we found in a magazine. We'd love to impress you with tales of delivering this toffee to the Kings of England or that the Pope has some every morning, but we can't.

All of that aside, we're certain that you'll immediately fall in love wit this tempting confection.

I'll testify to that. You will.

In which we attend a seance, with creepy results!

More of The Uninvited from Forgotten Classics.