Well Said: What we are promised.

I happen to love our latest pope (and, really, who doesn’t?), but we were never promised loveable popes. We have plenty of saints to keep us company and give us heart, thank God, but we were never promised that the Church would be administered by them, nor even that the Church would be administered by minimally decent and reasonably competent people. We are not promised that Jesus will never again be denied, deserted and betrayed, nor are we promised that trusted teachers, priests, bishops and popes won’t do the denying, deserting and betraying. We are not promised that they (and we) won’t sin again and again and again, only that He will always forgive.

What we are promised is not that we possess the Truth but that He has a Church and that He will always be there, however we may deny, desert and betray Him. What we are promised is that the One who told Moses so frightfully “no one can look upon Me and live” now offers Himself to us as food. What we are promised is his presence in the Eucharist, his mercy in our sorrow, his welcome as we lie dying. What we are promised is that He loves us, and that, if we will only bring ourselves to ask, He will bless us with a ravenous hunger for intimacy with Himself. That He will save us, in other words.

Michael Garvey, Still Catholic

Yep. Wherever we go, there we are. All the more reason we need Christ and His Church ... and to remember His promises.

Well Said: Our Efforts and Jesus

We also may feel our efforts are inadequate. ... But Jesus accepts what we give, blesses it, breaks it open, and magnifies it. Often in ways that we don't see or cannot see.

Father James Martin, Jesus: A Pilgrimage

This seems facile to say but I actually saw that in action just this morning. The director of the assisted living facility where I do my bimonthly movie group said that it was one of the most successful programs they have. And that they are having more programs "follow your model."

My model?

I was slightly stunned. Mostly because I know the inspiration to try the group was due to a strange coming together of "pushes": Bilbo picking a troll's pocket, me reading to my mother-in-law, and stepping way out in faith (and fear) to try a new idea when it occurred to me. So, evidently a divine inspiration. (Nice to have that confirmed.)

A classic for our times: reviewing Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler

Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It by Jennifer Fulwiler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


SHORT VERSION: 
I can think of an awful lot of people who I'd give this book to:

Christians trying to understand atheists (like a pal of mine who said, "I just don't know how those people don't believe in God." I almost shoved my copy into her hands. Almost. Hey, I wasn't finished with it yet.)

Atheists trying to understand Christians.

Protestants trying to understand Catholic teachings.

Catholics trying to understand Church teachings.

Catholics who understand but struggle with following Church teachings.

Anyone wanting an inspirational story of change and redemption.

Yes, that really is an awful lot of people ...

LONG VERSION
Jennifer Fulwiler was raised by loving parents who didn't push their atheism on her or do more than tell her to think for herself. However, that in itself was enough to produce a dedicated atheist, especially when told to an intelligent youngster who applied herself with the passion that only youth can muster to facts and logical conclusions.

I looked at the ammonite settled in between my soggy sneakers and I understood for the first time that my fate was no different than its own.

I had always thought of these creatures as being fundamentally different from me. They were the dead things, I was the alive thing, and that's how it would be forever. Now I wondered what had kept me from understanding that to look at these long-dead life-forms was to look at a crystal ball of what lay in store for me—except that, unless I happened to die by falling into some soft mud, I wouldn't end up a fossil. Ten million years from now, there would be nothing left of me.

[...]

There was no solution to my problem, because it wasn't even a problem; it was just a new awareness of reality. But as I took one last glance at the pickup before it disappeared from view. I felt like there was some answer in that brief flash of happiness I'd experienced while driving the truck. The grim truth I'd uncovered hadn't gone away, but it was somehow rendered less significant when I'd been immersed in the distraction of having fun.

Her only encounters with Christians were, frankly, off-putting and tended to be with friends who were not at all equipped to discuss faith versus scientific truth and logic. So Fulwiler spent many years losing herself in fun to distract herself from the awareness of mortality.

When Fulwiler became a wife and mother, the life-altering love she experienced defied logic. It defied scientific explanations. It tipped the scales against atheism. With this realization, she began searching for the truth. That truth led her to a place she'd never have expected, conversion to Catholicism.

On the surface, this is Fulwiler's story of her  conversion. However, because she required so much reflection, connection, and research before relinquishing her old beliefs, it is also a primer on logical investigation and thought. Finally, it is a exploration of Catholic teachings and how they apply to modern life. It was key for Fulwiler to fully understand all the implications of what she was accepting so she takes care to make sure the reader also understands.

This isn't done in a dry or preachy way. Au contraire, I often found myself laughing, especially at the time she sat in a bathroom stall for hours, reading a Bible furiously searching for answers and just as furiously spinning the toilet paper roll to send away people who knocked on the door.  And there are moving and insightful moments such as when she is reading C. S. Lewis, listening to Tupac Shakur, and melding her thoughts about both into realizations about hell, heaven, and purgatory.

I recently read St. Augustine's Confessions, the first autobiography ever written. It is a moving and completely honest book about one man's search for ultimate truth. On many levels Fulwiler conveys the same passionate desire to know what is true, what can be trusted, as that young African seeker did 1,600 years ago.

Augustine's book is a classic because it spoke so directly to the people of his time and yet sounds its message through the ages. Other Christian classics do the same. Francis de Sales with his Introduction to the Devout Life, Teresa of Avila with her Interior Castle, and Thérèse of Lisieux with The Story of a Soul all addressed problems of their time with advice that is still applicable and invaluable today. They reach us now because the human soul always struggles with the same problems and they speak in a way that transcends their own particular eras.

Why do I bring them up? Only time will tell if this book is a classic that reaches beyond our time. I think it is nuanced, well written, and relatable enough that it could.

What I do know is that, as with those classics, this book was written to address a dire need in the author's own time. Right here, right now, our country and the Western world are crying out for a way to make the world make sense. Jennifer Fulwiler's book spells it out in a way that cannot be ignored by any honest truth seeker. She tells of the truth that transcends mere facts while speaking the language that our modern, science loving, atheistic world understands.

It is truly a classic for our times.

Happy Birthday, Lisa!

Irises, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
via WikiPaintings

When I think of my sister's birthday, I always think of irises. When we were children in Kansas, irises bloomed thickly around the little pond near our house. We always had vases full of them at that time of year. I have since come to love them in a way that I didn't when I was young. Every different color of iris has a different fragrance and I love the scent of each and every one.

This brings me to my sister whose super-curly blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and light, fluttery personality must have made her like a vivid, exotic butterfly in our household. She's a bright, vivid spot in my life. An iris of unusual perfume and difference who makes me glad. Happy birthday, Lisa!

Vase With Irises, Vincent van Gogh, 1890
also via WikiPaintings

"I am a Christian and I will remain a Christian"

The judge sentenced her to hang.

The Deacon's Bench has a good roundup of stories about this 26-year-old pregnant Christian doctor who has been sentenced to 100 lashes and death after refusing to deny her faith.

John Allen wrote The Global War on Christians for this very reason. We may face low-level cultural bias here, but there is real, horrible persecution going on around the world. Which the media usually ignores. This story is just the tip of the iceberg and unusual because it is getting coverage.

I can't deny that I've been a bit afraid of tackling that book. It sits on my review stack now. But this news story means I've got to read it soon.

These are our brothers and sisters, suffering for their faith in a way that we can't imagine coming to us personally. We must pray for them and not be silent about their persecution.

Well Said: Becoming New Men and a Pinch of Salt

To become new men means losing what we now call ‘ourselves’. Out of our selves, into Christ, we must go. His will is to become ours and we are to think His thoughts, to ‘have the mind of Christ’ as the Bible says. And if Christ is one, and if He is thus to be ‘in’ us all, shall we not be exactly the same? It certainly sounds like it; but in fact it is not so.

It is difficult here to get a good illustration; because, of course, no other two things are related to each other just as the Creator is related to one of His creatures. ... suppose a person who knew nothing about salt. You give him a pinch to taste and he experiences a particular strong, sharp taste. You then tell him that in your country people use salt in all their cookery. Might he not reply ‘In that case I suppose all your dishes taste exactly the same: because the taste of that stuff you have just given me is so strong that it will kill the taste of everything else.’ But you and I know that the real effect of salt is exactly the opposite. So far from killing the taste of the egg and the tripe and the cabbage, it actually brings it out. They do not show their real taste till you have added the salt.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

What a fantastic illustration, not only to use with others but to keep the idea clear in our own minds.

I must say, I am really enjoying this book A Year With C.S. Lewis. I got it on a whim in January and am really glad I have it on my Kindle for daily reading.

Scott watches in horror as Julie says, "um... excuse me, Lord..."

"... but he's been in there for three days, I don't think you want to go in there."

That's me. Bossy to the end. Meanwhile Scott and I discuss Jesus: A Pilgrimage by Father James Martin at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

The Lord Has Done Great Things For Me

I just wanted to get that out there.

I don't want to share the particular struggle I've been having, but I do want to say that it is one I've been having intermittently for years.

And the other night as I was once again mulling over the struggle, suddenly two sentences floated through my mind.

Simple sentences.

Sentences that completely reoriented me in a way I'd never considered.

And set me free.

It was like a 10-pound weight lifting off my shoulders.

I can't contain my joy and gladness. And gratitude and love. So I came here to share it with you.

The Lord has done great things for me.

Well Said: Best explanation of the Trinity I've ever seen

Of course, when I say "best explanation" I'm talking about helping me actually get a handle at all on what the Trinity is. Who better for that than C.S. Lewis? No one, right?

And that, by the way, is perhaps the most important difference between Christianity and all other religions: that in Christianity God is not a static thing—not even a person—but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance. The union between the Father and the Son is such a live concrete thing that this union itself is also a Person. I know this is almost inconceivable, but look at it thus. You know that among human beings, when they get together in a family, or a club, or a trade union, people talk about the ‘spirit’ of that family, or club, or trade union. They talk about its ‘spirit’ because the individual members, when they are together, do really develop particular ways of talking and behaving which they would not have if they were apart. It is as if a sort of communal personality came into existence. Of course, it is not a real person: it is only rather like a person. But that is just one of the differences between God and us. What grows out of the joint life of the Father and Son is a real Person, is in fact the Third of the three Persons who are God.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Boxers & Saints Boxed Set by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Jen Ambrose's discussion both introduced me to these books and got me interested. Then I saw that other much trusted readers (the Hodges) were all on board and that got me really, really interested. These are graphic novels which I would have sworn is a medium I do not enjoy, until I got these from the library and simply could not put them down.

Boxers & Saints tells two parallel stories. Boxers is about Little Bao, a Chinese peasant boy whose family and village are abused by Westerners who are missionaries. Inspired by visions of the gods, he joins a grass roots uprising to cast out the foreigners. I never knew the history of the Boxer rebellion before and this was a fascinating way to learn it. The nuanced story does not give all good or bad attributes to one side but it does allow us to understand the motivations behind the rebellion in a fairly personal way.

Saints tells the story from the opposite side. It is about Four-Girl who is so unloved by her grandfather that he didn't allow her to be given a name. Visions of Joan of Arc lead her to Christian missionaries and ultimately her destiny as the Boxer Rebellion sweeps over everyone associated with the foreigners. I loved Gene Yang's clear vision of the girl's reasons for being attracted to the faith. They are hilarious and understandable, as are the reactions of the missionaries who take her in. No slack is cut to those who think they know what is going on but never ask questions.

These books impressed me because of Yang's honest insights into human nature, motivations, and the way we can get sidetracked when we don't understand our own motivations.

Highly recommended.

Well Said: Tunnel in the Sky

It seems obvious that Tunnel in the Sky is a direct response to William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Indeed, I imagine Heinlein putting down Golding's book and heading straight for the typewriter grinding his teeth and muttering "Revert to savagery my ass!"

Jo Walton, Beware of Stobor!

Heinlein and I would've agreed on a lot of basic issues just like this one. Granted, we wouldn't have agreed on everything, but nobody's perfect. Poor guy.

How thoughtful of my niece.

The Stanley Hotel in Feb, Estes Park, CO
via Wikipedia

She's getting married in Colorado next February and the wedding party hotel is The Stanley Hotel. Not only is it gorgeous but Stephen King was inspired to write The Shining while staying there. Reportedly he was very disappointed that the movie wasn't filmed there.

Icing on the cake. Cannot wait for this.

All I ask, and I know that I'm the only person who will be making this hilarious request, is that we not get the room with the dead lady in the bathtub. I imagine that room 217, where he stayed, has friendlier ghosts.

The Martian and SFFaudio

Two great things that go great together. I had a blast with the SFFaudio gang (as always) talking about this book.

The book's been getting a lot of buzz and deservedly so. If you missed my review, it is here.

Happy Birthday, Rose!

Yellow Rose Cake from Williams-Sonoma

This cake is because I was thinking of how much fun it would be to celebrate Rose's birthday with her in person.

Alas and alack, she is in the city of the angels and we are in Dallas. But it made me think of how she loves Texas. All the Texas cakes I found were rather uninspiring. Not that there is anything wrong with the Texas flag on a Texas shaped cake. In fact, that is the height of Texas love, but I couldn't find any photos that looked as if I wouldn't be ripping off a family cake photo.

So I naturally turned, for my Rose, to thinking of the yellow rose of Texas and it turns out that Williams-Sonoma has made the ultimate yellow rose cake. Ultimate.

Happy birthday my sweet Rose. 24 years old? How did that happen?

I hope you have a wonderful time and that someone makes you a fantastic cake. Or that you find yourself a delightful treat at our favorite L.A. bakery, Porto's.

Worth a Thousand Words: Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting
taken by Remo Savisaar

Yesterday we had bruising storms through here with pelting rain and high winds. Today all is sunshine and blue skies. Maybe that's why I like this golden image which looks so peaceful and sunny.

Person of Interest is simply fascinating these days.

Person of Interest is getting more and more interesting as it continues to weave ideas about national security, data handling, and solving mysteries into bigger questions of personal responsibility, love, the value of life over the "greater good", and father/creator issues.

This week's show especially left me pondering ideas after listening to Greer's conversations with Harold. They argued about whether it was better to hobble "the machine's" capabilities or to let it wander free to see what it could become. Harold has great apprehension about an "open system" because the machine isn't human and wouldn't be controllable.

I was waiting for Harold to say, "I saw the Terminator movies. Skynet is not going to be on me." Sadly, they never went there. They might have had to lighten up the dark, blue-tinted seriousness of the episode. I said it for him. I'm sure Tom appreciated it.

It also capitalizes on the feelings many have these days about the surveillance, the way Homeland Security feels dodgy on following constitutional rules, and suchlike. I know I came away last night saying, "And that's why no one likes you NSA. Get rid of those traffic cameras!"

We were cleaning the kitchen afterward when I realized that the ideas debated by Greer and Harold are the same questions that come up when thinking about God's decision to give us free will. Talk about an open system. Tom pointed out that, yes, He even had a fix for if things went off the rails. Again using the open system.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I love it when ideas come together.

I can only assume this high concept conversation means that Jonathan Nolan is keeping a close eye on the show he created. Some of these questions resonate from things like Batman, which I know he has loved since childhood and which movies he worked on with his brother Christopher. Some simply resonate from being a thinking, intelligent person who examines what matters in life.

Plus guns. And villains. And car chases. That just makes it more fun along the way.

This is a show I came to for Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson (the best thing about Lost). I'm simply so pleased to see it has turned into a place where the thought provoking issues raised are so often considered in a way that agrees with my underlying values.

This Just In: Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler

Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It by Jennifer Fulwiler


Snagged a review copy! This got here yesterday afternoon.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I have to say I flipped to the first page, where the camp counselor is going down the line publicly asking the little girls if they give their heart to Jesus, and realized already that Jennifer and I had common attitudes at similar ages. Not gonna join something we can't really believe in. As well we might since both of us grew up in atheist households and wound up converting to Catholicism.

However, her road is definitely different than mine and I'm looking forward to reading this.

UPDATE — page 111
Obviously from the fact that I got this yesterday, had a Skype video chat last night with my pal Sarah Reinhard, and still got to page 111 ... this is an enjoyable and interesting book thus far.

So what resonates with me is that Jennifer Fulwiler is just as hard-headed and stubborn as I am when it comes to wanting full-on, no holds barred truth and logic.

Watching her have to literally read and argue her way into belief in God makes me appreciate my own parents' atheism much more than I did already. (And the New Atheists have ensured that I will be thankful to my dying day for having old school atheists raise me, rather than the proselytizing sort.)

I had my own struggles to overcome but luckily not due to religion. For atheists my parents had a surprisingly tolerant "hands off" policy. They didn't bring up religion unless asked about it and, even then, would have pretty open-ended, vague answers about their own lack of belief. I mean to say, when I fell in with the local Church of the Nazarene for a couple of years, thanks to my best friend belonging, they never said a word to me about it. Even after the minister and his wife came to call. Even after I went crying to my mother about being afraid she'd go to hell. ("Oh Julie, thank you, but you don't need to worry about that. Just worry about yourself. I'll be ok." Conversation done.) Not a word. That must have taken tremendous forbearance. And like many youthful enthusiasms that phase soon passed, for reasons we won't go into here.

To be fair, this was also my parents' way of dealing with other big issues, such as politics. They might end up voting for different tickets than each other during trying political times but we never knew about it. It just didn't make for interesting conversation. So we all could go our own way, which brought its own set of problems but feels much freer than what I see Fulwiler having to struggle with, thanks to her unflinching belief in science as all that is true and good and honest.

It isn't that Fulwiler's parents seemed to do more than tell her to think for herself or to question anything that didn't add up. But that in itself was enough to produce a dedicated atheist, especially when told to an intelligent youngster who applied herself with the passion that only youth can muster to facts and logical conclusions.

So far it is really interesting watching the process of reluctant acceptance as one "fact" after another gets put into doubt. It occurs to me that this might be a good book for atheists who just don't understand how any sensible, logical, intelligent person could embrace the "lunacy" of Christianity. Fulwiler is a good spokesperson for that transformation.

More as I continue ... with updates at Goodreads as I go. Full review when I finish.

Worth a Thousand Words: Key West

Key West
taken by Scott Danielson

Scott, who I podcast with at A Good Story is Hard to Find, doesn't post much on his blog. But when he does, it's choice. Isn't this just a perfect moment? I can feel those breezes, smell that salt air ... I want to go to there!

Religion is about Reality — and so is the Black Mass

One of the striking features of Harvard’s planned Black Mass, being hosted by Satanists who don’t believe in Satan, is that the exhibitors don’t actually believe their own religion.  If Catholics are concerned about the event, it is because we do believe ours.

The Catholic faith is not a set of feelings or preferences.  It is a series of statements about reality.  About things that are true. Things that are real.  The occult is gravely dangerous not because it is pretend, but because it is not pretend.  The faith is worth explaining and defending and practicing not because we especially like it, or have found it helpful, but because, like all real things, it has consequences.

Jennifer Fitz at Sticking the Corners

I've gotta say that when I heard about the story the Satanists had already backed down over plans to desecrate a consecrated Host, saying that they didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I was confused. What kind of Satanists were these? 

"Be nice" is the sign of the times we live in and what it really means much of the time is a lack of deep understanding and commitment to one's beliefs.

Of course, this is an extremely brief commentary from me which doesn't cover the whole issue. But if you go read Jen's post then you'll have what I would have said if she hadn't saved me the trouble by writing it first.

Julie is suffering from emotional overload. Scott has discovered that chocolate and strawberry ice cream taste different.

They both cope by sitting down to reorganize their schedules ... and to talk about The Rosie Project at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

In which we wonder if we have entered the land of the giants.

Chapters 18 and 19 of The People of the Mist by H. Rider Haggard take us into a place no one was sure existed. No one except that wicked old witch Soa, that is. Hear it now at Forgotten Classics podcast.

What I Write, Why I Write, How I Write: The Meme

I blame Sarah Reinhard for this since she tagged me. Talk about something that makes me reveal a part of myself that I don't think anyone cares about.

I suppose I am a writer but I don't really embrace that description. That's like calling myself a "breather." It's what I do but I don't know if I do it well enough to define me.

Heaven only knows that I never read these when other people write them.

Curmudgeonly sounding I know, but it is simply honest.

So ... here we go.

1. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
Imagine my surprise to realize that I have 5 books in the works.

1. A movie book about how to see below the surface and find Catholic themes whose sample did not excite any publisher ("we can't make money on those"). Just last week I decided I'd finish it anyway ... sometime ... and self-publish. My friends want to read it.
2. A devotional following the liturgical year. It combines art and text to show how our calendar year and liturgical year go hand in hand. No one wants this one. They all love it. But "we can't make money on those." I amuse myself by working on it and perhaps an art house would pick it up. But it is unexpectedly large at this point. The Fall book is about 100 pages. (I love it. It is my baby. My friends actually pester me about buying this one.)
3. Historical Fiction. This one is a mission from God and I don't want to talk about it really. But it is harder than hell, people, because it is something I never ever do. Use my imagination! What? But I have no doubt this has been assigned by the Divine Editor, whether or not I do it well or it ever gets published. And as a consequence I've been dragging my feet and feeling guilty for not working on it because ... you know ... it's harder than hell.
4. A book about reading spiritual classics, but with my twist of luring you into it with a popular book and a movie, all of which have related themes. No sample written yet but the person I ran the idea by was not thrilled. Outline and sample in the works for that person, for other publishers maybe, or for self publishing later.
5. An idea that a publisher IS interested in and which I should be working on instead of this. If they like it, then you'll know later. But for now mum's the word. My priest really wants this book, by the way.

2. WHAT MAKES YOUR WORK DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS’ WORK IN THE SAME GENRE?
Let's see. Why am I wonderful?

(Gee, I don't know why Catholic authors would find that question awkward.)

Maybe because I say it like it is. (Much more charming when I do it on paper than in person, I can assure you! Rewrites are essential and then you can make it funny.)

Maybe I'm funny. Not sure how well that comes across. But I make myself laugh sometimes.

Maybe because I range wide and throw everything into the pot from pop culture to everyday life to nature and somehow make it all go together, with God always just under the surface waiting for us to catch a glimpse? As Rose would say, my auteur moments.

I don't know. You tell me. I've got nothin'.

3. WHY DO YOU WRITE WHAT YOU DO?
Blogging: it just comes out.

Ghostwriting: I have an assignment.

Book: I've only done one and I came up with something the editor wanted that was also a reflection of me (evidently). The devotional mentioned above was an idea I was captivated with which has become a sort of spiritual reflection as I work on it.

The other ideas began as ways I could maybe earn more of a living by writing, but since I seem to be told, "we'd love to work with you, but not on that" while never being told what they actually might want me to work on ... this is not as clear to me. And, to be fair, I pursue it in fits and starts rather than determinedly full-bore.

4. HOW DOES YOUR WRITING PROCESS WORK?
Process. Hahahahahahaha ... oh, you were serious.

As Rob Long of Martini Shot podcast has affirmed, the worst part is beginning. Not beginning a book. Beginning to write anything. Sitting down. Starting. Not stopping to check email because writing is ... you know ... work.

Once I make myself do that then I just do it. And I'm getting better at doing it in different locations, at different times, and so forth. As long as I do it as if it is work, instead of extra curricular activities (still how I tend to label it), then I'm ok. I tend to combine techniques of hand writing in front of the tabernacle and when putting that in the computer then I take off and continue from there.

Except for blogging. That is: sit down, turn on computer, log in ... and blast off.

And when I think to write books that way, as a blog post, it is magic.

Hey, thanks guys! I wouldn't have remembered that without doing this.

=======

If you want to pick this up, just let me have the link and I'll put it below.

SYNC's Free Audiobooks Begin May 15

SYNC offers 2 FREE audiobooks each week May 15 - Aug 20, 2014 – a current Young Adult title paired thematically with a Classic or Required Summer Reading title.

Just wanted to get this on your radar.

SYNC may be aimed at young adults but they offer a wide range of books that appeal to everyone. For example, their upcoming schedule offers classics like The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

And you never know when one of the current books is going to grab you. I was particularly pleased to see that I'll be able to nab Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (my review here).

They use Overdrive (beloved of libraries everywhere it seems) to deliver the books but the software is free and I've had no problems using it.

Worth a Thousand Words: Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China, via Wikipedia

This is a pretty good photo of one of the world's wonders. However, it is not nearly as interesting or personal as those which can be found at Ambrose-a-rama where Jen Ambrose and her family regularly set off to explore different sections of the Great Wall. Jen's photos inspired today's piece of art and I encourage you to check out her blog for a more personal feel.

Happy Birthday to Tom!

Via Wikipedia

It's Tom's special day today.

As we know, I take birthdays very seriously, especially when it is that of the love of my life.

We'll have been married thirty years next month and I have been realizing the happiness that comes from spending so much time with one person. I should say, with that one person who is practically perfect for me in every way.

We will fete him with Chinese food from a favorite restaurant in Richardson's Chinatown. He has asked for Tirimisu which the Central Market makes superbly ... and so I have no need to cook. Just to wrap, wrap, wrap his gifts.

Which I hope he enjoys very much though they are truly a token of the joy he brings to us and to everyone who knows him.

Happy Birthday, dear Tom!

What We've Been Watching

URBANIZED
★★★

This director's best documentary remains Helvetica, perhaps because the topic was fairly focused. In Urbanized he gathers a lot of different opinions from around the world about different urban areas and problems and solutions. It was interesting, but in the end it all seemed to come down to the fact that urban areas that work are those where the concerns of residents are met effectively. And I think we knew that already, didn't we?

MUD
★★★★½

I'd heard this was Matthew McConaughey's return to showing his potential as an actor so I was somewhat interested in seeing it. My husband saw it was streaming free on Amazon Prime so we watched it and it was a rewarding story indeed. The acting was top notch and the story was like a cross between Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird, set on the Arkansas River.

It is a coming of age story defined by a 14-year-old boy's knowledge of what constitutes true love in the best sense. As the adults around him fail to live up to that understanding, he and a friend encounter the mysterious Mud living on an island. And things both fall into place and get more confusing, as is the way of both movies and of life. Excellent performances, especially from the local Arkansas boy who plays the best friend of the protagonist.

Although this is good, it seems like a standard coming of age story in many ways until the final scene of the movie, which redefines and broadens the entire story. It is that scene which suddenly makes one realize the masterpiece which is Mud.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
★★★★★

I'm not crazy about Shakespeare but when I got done watching this I wanted to own the DVD. If only Joss Whedon would do more Shakespeare to follow this project ... then I might learn to love Shakespeare.

Dance and Life Lessons 2

Our second month of dance lessons finished last week. I actually now know what that couple in the picture is doing during their Tango because that's one of the dances we learned. We practice it in rudimentary style, but it's a beginning.

We learned the Tango, the Cha Cha, and the Waltz. My favorite: the Cha Cha. Love the crossover variation with the turn at the end. So much fun!

The other dances did not come so easily to me, especially since both required more of the follower. At several points I had to simply waltz with my eyes closed so I was following the movements of the leader instead of where I thought he was going to go. Randomly mixing the box waltz step with the regular waltz will show a girl just where she's not paying attention, believe me.

As with the previous dance lessons, we realized there was a life lesson to be learned here. This is one we know but have not had to practice for some time.

Practice makes perfect.

If at first you don't succeed then try, try again.

Somehow we'd gotten it into our heads that abject failure to really grasp a dance and perform it with ease after one, two, or even three lessons meant that perhaps we were doomed. We would never pick it up. Certainly we would never do it well so perhaps we needed private lessons.

What we found, of course, is that by doggedly keeping on trying suddenly resulted in a break through. On the fourth set of lessons.

And the next month, all the new dances were just a bit easier to pick up.

I used to know that lesson. Somewhere along the way I got so comfortable with everything I was doing ... and not trying enough completely new things ... that I'd forgotten. It is something I've been applying to my life in general and it's actually a bit relaxing. Eventually. I'll get better at all those things I'm not naturally drawn to, eventually. Prayer, virtues, following in Christ's steps. Eventually.

I just have to keep trying.

=========

On a related note, I want to point you to Jennifer Fulwiler's book, Something Other Than God. I was really, really impressed to see that Dean Koontz is included among the usual suspects in the blurbs.

I was impressed most of all, though, that Jennifer shared the discouragement she had to overcome during the drafts which took several years to reach fruition. I am acquainted with Jennifer and she's obviously intelligent, accomplished, and ambitious (which is not a bad thing, I'll just mention right here).

So it would have been easy for her to gloss over her struggles. But I'm glad she didn't. Because it is a reminder of the life lesson we picked up at dance class. No one is perfect at anything the first time and it when we pick ourselves up and try again that we get a little closer to our true potential.

I've heard only good things about the book and I bet that's because it is imbued with the honesty we have grown to expect from Jennifer in her blogging. Check it out ...

In which we encounter Mavoom and discover the secrets of several longing hearts.

Yes, more of The People of the Mist to satisfy your desire for adventure in deepest, darkest Africa.  Get it at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Well Said: The Crashing Together of The Visible and Invisible

As I went to Mass and slowly began to understand the liturgy, every word and gesture resonated more and more. I stared at the Host as the priest took it in both hands and raised it to heaven. That little wafer now seemed like a diamond chip, a point of intersection, a cross between the visible and invisible universe, and as he raised it in consecration and the little bell rang, it seemed that two supertankers were crashing together in a single, glorious moment. I was dazzled — and grateful that I was dazzled.

Richard Cole, Catholic By Choice

He's speaking my language. I already had this sense of the moment but love having these words to use for it.

Why Science Does Not Disprove God by Amir D. Aczel

Why Science Does Not Disprove God by Amir D. Aczel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Short version: I want to believe Aczel's arguments. However, some of the inaccuracies in nonscientific areas made me wonder if he was trustworthy in the science.


Full Review

THE GOOD

The purpose of this book is to defend the integrity of science.

Amir d. Aczel, mathematician and science journalist, was on stage listening to prominent biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins when he decided he'd had enough of hearing atheists misuse mathematics and science for their own agenda. The result is this book which examines the New Atheists' claims that scientific progress has proven God does not exist.

Aczel devotes chapters to quantum theory, string theory, probability, chaos theory, and much more. Each time, he examines the New Atheists' claim, explains the scientific theory involved, and then shows where the logic of atheists' claims falls short. In so doing, Aczel quotes other scientists, some believers and some what we might call "friendly" atheists, to show that the loud claims of the New Atheists are far from being universally acclaimed by the scientific community.

In each case, he logically shows that a zealously pursued agenda is sullying the beauty of pure scientific truth.

I especially liked the way that Aczel didn't strive to "recruit" scientists to his cause. He simply would point out when a fair minded scientist was leaving open the possibility that science didn't have every fact locked down and God locked out. This was often really helpful in showing the methods of New Atheist scientists who were determinedly tweaking interpretations to support their own agenda.

THE BAD
"But wait," I can hear you thinking. "Anyone who punches holes in the reasoning of so many atheists in order to stand up for the idea of God must have a vested interest. Right? Surely he's Christian."

Good news, everyone!

Aczel is so far from being a Christian or even a theist, as far as I can tell, that he just tosses out shallow sound-bytes of pop-history "everyone knows" about religion and, indeed, European history. A lot of the time it's unspecific, inaccurate, and pounds the church whenever possible for being closed minded. So no need to worry that he's on our side and just sticking it to the (science) man for the sake of his faith.

I'm not gonna lie. If you know about religion and history, you are going to do some serious eye rolling. And possibly have to struggle to not get insulted over some of Aczel's unthinking simplifications.

In many ways I enjoyed Aczel's early chapters about the development of science and religion. His comments about the rise of nature cults as people noticed more cause and effect prompted me to think of God using that way to speak to the earliest people through his creation, nature. I liked that image. However, I often struggled to give Aczel the benefit of the doubt, such as when he linked the Virgin Mary to fertility goddess worship. Perhaps, I thought, he was completely leaning on anthropological thinking in these instances.

My assumption was ruined by the next paragraph when he said that Catholic saints "resemble the Greek and Roman pantheons—each saint with powers and a specialty similar to a god." A good anthropologist would know that is not how Catholic saints were viewed in the past or present. (I can't help that we all seem to know some random Catholic lady who treats St. Francis just the way Aczel mentions. That lady? She's in the same state as Richard Dawkins. Uninformed. I expect more from a book like this.)

I also expect more than this unthinking historical gloss from a book like this.

When this great culture [Greek civilization] declined and the Western world sank into the Dark Ages, Scripture assumed the role of the explanation of truth, and freethinking was shunned. This mode of thought continued through the late Middle Ages, when except for the development of crude notions about medicine ... there were few attempts to pursue science. Deviations from established belief were not tolerated in a culture dominated by the church and Catholic Monarchs. Simply put, the "order of things" was not up for debate.

Right. Albert the Great who helped develop experimental science, Roger Bacon (a friar) who helped develop the empirical scientific method, all those Catholic universities and scholars and scientists. Pfft. Forget about them!

Historians like Paul Johnson, Regine Pernoud, and others have pointed out lately that what "everybody knows" about the Renaissance, the Dark Ages and the Middle ages is often quite wrong. When only the Renaissance guys are left to define how things fall out, guess who's going to come out smelling like roses? In fact, this is well enough known that pop culture sites like Cracked have been telling us about it (Renaissance, Middle Ages).

THE QUESTION
And that brings us to the bad news. With such unthinking inaccuracies, can we trust the science?

That is a question only other unbiased scientists can answer. And I'd love to hear from some because, I admit, I wanna believe.

Aczel makes a great case for shallow, inaccurate, and tweaked science being used by the New Atheists. I didn't get the feeling that Aczel is out to get religion. I just felt that he didn't care enough about the religious side of the story to look any deeper. I really wish that someone, anyone, who cared about religion and history had taken a look at this book before it went to press.

I am trusting that Aczel's stated goal of restoring scientific integrity is one that he cares passionately enough about to treat these subjects with integrity about details. After all, his peers are going to be zinging him about this book if they don't agree.

On that basis, I am recommending it as a way to understand the false claims that are being made by people with atheist agendas. As a course in logic, it is superb and that is also a good reason to read it.

NOTE: This was a free review book. I think we can all agree I didn't let that fact influence my review.

Blogging Around: Grab Bag

Here are a few things that caught my eye last week.

As always, I'm counting on you to click through for the whole story and not just depend on these little tidbits to truly inform you. 

The Atlantic slips — somehow — inside mind of Benedict XVI
Not being an Atlantic reader I completely missed a piece they did, “The Pope in the Attic: Benedict in the Time of Francis” but luckily I was able to read about it at GetReligion. They point out it isn't journalism but an essay. And not just any essay but, as GetReligion puts it: "This piece is a love song to all of the Catholics who suffered so much during the terrifying reign of St. John Paul II and his bookworm bully, the future Pope Benedict XVI."

Now you can see why I say you need to read it. I hadn't seen this quote by Peggy Noonan before but it is so wonderfully expressive that it is going into my quote journal.

Do you remember that famous Peggy Noonan quote about Aaron Sorkin’s “The West Wing,” a show for which she served as a consultant?

A reporter once asked me if I thought, as John Podhoretz had written, that “The West Wing” is, essentially, left-wing pornography. I said no, that’s completely wrong. “The West Wing” is a left-wing nocturnal emission — undriven by facts, based on dreams, its impulses as passionate as they are involuntary and as unreflective as they are genuine.

That’s kind of what we are dealing with here, especially in the passages in which essayist Paul Elie all but claims to have read the mind of Benedict, perhaps while driving past his abode (I am not making that part up, honest).

 Fire of the Spirit for Catholic Teens 

This hit my in-box and it looks interesting.

"Fire of the Spirit" is a Catholic teen group devoted to the evangelization and awakening of Catholic teenagers everywhere to the reality of their faith, and the world we live in. Currently, our mission encompasses a bi-monthly e-magazine, and a group Catholic teen blog; all of which is produced "for teens by teens."

An Atheist's Case for Religious Liberty

The oldest rule of free speech is: I may disagree with every word you say, but I will fight to the death for your right to say it. Because if I don’t stand up for you, then by my silence I am accepting a system in which might makes right. I am helping to establish the rule of the jungle in the realm of ideas.

In sum, I’m for religious liberty because there really is no such thing as religious liberty. There is just freedom of thought and freedom of conscience, period. For all of us. And if we let the left knock it down, they are coming for all of us in the end.

Robert Tracinski at The Federalist

As always, it is about conscience and allowing each other the "right to be wrong." Really that book just keeps applying to everything. Via Jen Fitz at Sticking the Corners.

A Public School Bible Curriculum
A fascinating and well balanced story from Religion News Service about a proposed public school Bible curriculum. I'd say one needs this sort of thing just to be literate in timeless, classic literature which has influenced the great authors of Western civilization. And on that mixing religion and government issue? We're covered.

Contrary to popular assumptions, there is nothing unconstitutional about teaching about the Bible in public schools. The same Supreme Court ruling that outlawed school-sanctioned prayer in 1963 qualified that “Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible … when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.”

The key words, of course, are “objectively” and “secular.” Haynes suggested that, constitutionally, “the bar is actually low — I think it’s hard for judges to get beyond the surface to questions of what a sound academic course looks like — but much more difficult to develop materials that actually both reflect constitutional principles and are academically solid.”

It can be done. I'd like to think my reading at Forgotten Classics of Robert Alter's translation of Genesis, requested by an atheist listener, looking at a book of the Bible as literature.

Via GetReligion whose own article about this piece you'll want to read also so you can appreciate just how good the original is at fair and balanced reporting of a touchy issue.

A Better Way to Say Sorry
It's instructional but also inspirational. A must read from cuppacocoa for parents, spouses, employers and employees, for everyone who ever made a mistake and needed to apologize ... so that's all of us! Even if you don't need feel you need work in this area, read it for the inspirational bit toward the end. Via Melanie Bettinelli on Facebook.

Evangelical Poverty, Fasting, and The Foods We Eat
Again from Jen Fitz at Sticking the Corners. A look at uncluttered living, Christian poverty, and the places we choose to spend our money. Like Jen, we're into real food which costs money. Read it all and check out the linked story which started her thinking about the topic. As for me, I'm going to try to lay my hands on a copy of Thomas Dubay's book which she mentions. I'm a fan and this is a topic about which we all need more inspiration.

Speaking of Food ... Our Wacky Dietary Prejudices 
Our attitude to food reflects just how privileged our society is and, in my opinion, just how little of substance many of us have to occupy our days.

This WSJ article about how many people are picking "Elimination Diets" hit a real chord for me. You wouldn't believe how these sorts of food preferences make life harder when doing food prep for retreats. We ask people to tell us if they have allergies. Many wind up telling us their "elimination" preferences as if they were allergies.

In a related piece (again from Melanie on Facebook) from TNation looks at our food fads from the 1980s until now. When you see how the older fads have been disproved, it makes one take a more jaundiced look at the current trends.

Suspect by Robert Crais

Suspect by Robert Crais

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a book any dog lover will enjoy. That is if they also enjoy thriller/mystery books.

A traumatized police officer and a traumatized war dog (German Shepherd Maggie) help each other get back to full life while working on the case that killed the officer's partner.

This sounds sappy but is not. It occasionally shows the dog's point of view and it is as canine as one could wish. This is nothing like the Rita Mae Brown series where the animals sound like little people talking to each other. Having had to learn something about how dogs think in order to manage a boisterous pack at our house, this book felt really "true."

The mystery is, as many reviewers have noted, telegraphed early on and, frankly, for me that was the least interesting part of the book. However, I appreciated the way that Crais added touches of humanity to characters who usually are handled in a stock fashion. A small time criminal's grief over his brother's death especially comes to mind.

The real story though is that of Scott and Maggie, each equally tough and vulnerable and needing a new pack in order to survive.

I was going to give this three stars but it has stuck with me to the point where I was recommending it to a gentleman who brought his Chihuhua to the grocery store today. I can do no less than give it a star for memorability.

Worth a Thousand Words: A Little Twig

Ein kleiner Zweig (A Little Twig)
painted by Edward B. Gordon

I don't know about such things, but this is practically perfect. Right? I just can't stop looking at it.

Thai Good Stories ...

... these are the ripples we are here to make in the world.



Via my sis on Facebook.

2014 Campbellian Anthology - Free

This has been around since February evidently but I'm just catching on. The good news is that this file is free (and DRM-free) until the Hugo voting closes. So get your copy now at StarShipSofa.

Worth a Thousand Words: Brown Bear

Brown Bear
taken by that photography genius we love, Remo Savisaar

Cognitive Anchoring

Namely, that doodling helped her research subjects remember up to 29% more than non-doodlers. And while doodling and knitting or crocheting are quite different activities, they share one trait: they can easily be done with some level of automaticity.

Take that, everyone who has been in meetings with me, wondering why I was knitting.

Oh, also, since it isn't just about me, just discovered my pal Heather Hutchinson Ordover is writing a book about this.

Read about it at Newsday.

Sign up for advance notice when the book is ready here. I did.

She's been blogging the book as she goes. Not my style. I'll wait until the whole thing is done.

Easter Reading

So we all chatter about what we're reading for Lent. What about Easter? Is there anything joyful, inspirational, informative that seems as if it would be good for the Easter season?

Naturally I wouldn't bring it up if I didn't have at least a couple of ideas. (Links go to my reviews.)

• Conversing With God In The Easter Season by Stephen Binz. Binz brings his wonderful lectio divina guidance to the Easter readings for each Sunday of the season.


• Jesus: A Pilgrimage by James Martin. Martin considers Christ's question to his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" as we journey with him through the Holy Land.


• In Conversation With God by Francis Fernandez. I've praised this series of daily devotionals before but the Lenten/Easter one may be the best of the group. I find it good for keeping Easter top of mind in daily life.


• The Ultimate Self-Help Book: Dante's Divine Comedy by Rod Dreher. This is an article from the Wall Street Journal but it reminded me that I'd been interested in rereading Dante's masterpiece. I recall finding Purgatorio extremely uplifting. I like John Ciardi's translation, but this time through will be using another so I can compare them.

What else? Leave comments with Easter reading ideas. And please include fiction. None occurred to me, but that just means I'm missing something.

UPDATE
Melanie Bettinelli's comment made me recall this book:

• The Twelve: The Lives of the Apostles After Galilee by C. Bernard Ruffin. I haven't read the whole thing, but the chapters I've read are pretty amazing. 

Well Said: I ask forgiveness ...

I ask forgiveness of anyone I have offended, but especially from those I have not influenced for good.

Blessed John XXIII

That's something good for each of us to keep in mind. It's not enough to be inoffensive. Our vocation is to influence for good, simply through our lives if in no other way.

The Hound of the Baskervilles ...

... at SFFaudio ... a simply superb mystery. And I had tons of fun talking about it with that simply superb gang of story lovers.

Scott has this great idea for an automated shower, if only Julie would front him a few dollars...

The guys at the bathhouse are not taking sides. We discuss the Chinese movie Shower at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

In which we get to the bottom of the Devil's Nest and the path of romance does not run true.

Chapters 14 and 15 are now available for your listening pleasure at Forgotten Classics podcast.

Well Said: A day may come when the courage of men fails ...

Sons of Gondor, of Rohan. My brothers. I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! by all that you hold dear on this good earth, I bid you, stand, men of the West!

Aaragorn, The Return of the King movie

For our brothers in the Ukraine, I fear that day has come.

Just as when Hitler took the Sudetenland and all that was heard were a few bleats of protest from weak leaders, so I see news coverage of Ukraine standing alone against a wolf while weak bleats come from all around ... and my heart breaks for them.

I mentioned this to a friend when the Crimean situation arose and he said, "Tough words."

But here we are with phase two, as I think of it. I can't keep this quote from my mind.

Then this weekend I was looking at the Kindle sample for Churchill's "The Gathering Storm" about the period between the two world wars and was struck by this.

THEME OF THE VOLUME.

HOW THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLES

THROUGH THEIR UNWISDOM

CARELESSNESS AND GOOD NATURE

ALLOWED THE WICKED

TO REARM

And now here we are again.

Blogging Around: The Something Old, Something New Edition

Please note that none of these are complete in and of themselves. I'm counting on you to click through and read the whole story if you're interested.

"I’M A PATHOLOGIST ...

... which means that I run the lab, and I’m continually shocked by all the unnecessary lab work that comes my way."

There's more. get it at Humans of New York.

"I WAS SO FOCUSED ON BEING DEAF IN MY LEFT EAR ..."

A life lesson we all need reminding of, from Humans of New York.

BEST REVIEW I'VE EVER READ OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS
If you ever needed an excellent overview to give someone or wondered yourself why anyone would want to read The Lord of the Rings, go to Joseph's piece at Zombie Parent's Guide.

POPE FRANCIS AND THE CHURCH
A gaggle of stories worth reading. Notice how many of these are from The Deacon's Bench? It's my go-to for Catholic Church news and I can't recommend it highly enough.

• Pope Francis on priest sex abuse:

  I feel compelled to personally take on all the evil which some priests, quite a few in number, obviously not compared to the number of all the priests, to personally ask for forgiveness for the damage they have done for having sexually abused children. The Church is aware of this damage, it is personal, moral damage carried out by men of the Church, and we will not take one step backward with regards to how we will deal with this problem, and the sanctions that must be imposed. On the contrary, we have to be even stronger.

• USCCB: nearly 1,000 abuse allegations last year, 136 substantiated
  
• Students ask pope: “What makes you afraid?” — I myself found most interesting the Pope's answer about a big mistake he'd made. Also his comment about the different sorts of fear is one that's come to mind several times since I read this.
• How Pope Francis is rebranding the Catholic Church

WANT TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER?

Copy the work of others says this article from The Art of Manliness, a blog which I find has many articles that are just as good for ladies as gentlemen. They are talking about copying someone else's work by hand.

Copywork, as it’s called, used to be the standard method by which students learned to write, and it is the “secret” to how many of history’s greatest writers mastered the craft. While it may sound unsexy and unoriginal, it really works, and today we’ll show you how to get started.

5 B.S. RENAISSANCE MYTHS YOU LEARNED IN HISTORY CLASS
One reason I like Cracked.com is that they tell us history like it really was, rather than simply repeating what "everyone knows" which so often turns out to be wrong. If you like this one, check out the links at the end of the article for similar myth-busting about other historical periods. Language warning.

GRACE ON A DESERT ISLAND
A high school theology quiz that makes you laugh and makes you think. This is just a sampling and the answer key is in the comments at DarwinCatholic.

1. Tom Hanks is stranded alone on a desert island with only a volleyball to keep him company. He knows that as a member of the Church, missing Sunday mass counts as "grave matter" for a mortal sin. He wants to go to mass, but when Sunday comes around, he doesn't go. Has he committed a mortal sin? Briefly defend your answer. (3 points)

2. Several months later, Tom Hanks is still stuck on the island. A storm comes and washes away his beloved volleyball, Wilson. After weeping over the loss of his best friend, Tom Hanks raises his eyes to heaven and curses God. Despite all appearances to the contrary, he is in full possession of his mental faculties, and knows what he is doing. What kind of sin has he committed? Briefly defend your answer. (3 points)

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO MEL GIBSON? 
I had actually been wondering that very thing when I read this excerpt at (where else?) The Deacon's Bench. The heartfelt piece is from a reporter who used to think Gibson was public enemy number one, which also serves to make it an even more interesting meditation on the power of personal connection.

TESTING FOR THE KILL 
A good piece about the dark assumptions that underlie new developments in pre-natal testing for Down syndrome. The heart of it is at DarwinCatholic who sends you to read the whole thing.

THE SAINT OF THE NICU
A beautiful story of prayer and the way God surprises us with His answers from Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary.

Something Funny for Friday

From Catholic Memes

I can't help it. This just cracks me up.

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Code Zero by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SHORT VERSION:
WOAH.

This is the worthy sequel to Patient Zero.

At one point, Rudy Sanchez says that "this has done something fundamental to the American people."

I'll tell you this. It did something fundamental to me.

It was exciting, suspenseful, terrifying, and haunted me in my dreams and at random moments in my day.

And it was satisfying. Very satisfying.

I'm not sure Maberry can top this. Though I'm already looking forward to his next attempt to try.

LONG VERSION:
It's been six years since Joe Ledger was secretly recruited by the government to lead a combat team for the DMS,  a taskforce created to deal with problems that Homeland Security can't handle. That story was told in Patient Zero. This was where we met a group of terrorists who had developed a bio-weapon that turned people into zombies.

Every year since then, like clockwork, Joe and Echo Team have returned to battle a variety of seemingly supernatural foes, all developed by villains who are somehow going to make boatloads of cash off of the terror.

The action-packed stories are full of evil super-villains, noble heroes, smart mouthed quips, a smattering of philosophy about "good guys and bad guys" and heart. Lots of heart. All this is told at a roller coaster pace that barely allows you to breathe until you get to the end.

I love them.

In many ways, this book is similar to the rest of the series. Mother Night, a villain you love to hate, is a super-genius anarchist who's strewing chaos throughout the country over Labor Day weekend. She's got the DMS's computer tied up in knots and old evils that were defeated in previous books are now popping their heads up all over the country. Losses are high and the odds are very much against Ledger and his team. We know Joe will win. It's watching it happen that makes it fun.

It is superior to the other books, I think, because the pacing is more measured and there is more character development. I also enjoyed the flashbacks into the DMS's years before Joe joined them.

But in one very important way Code Zero was very different for me.

I felt a level of anxiety that was all out of proportion. Maberry is an expert at ratcheting up the stakes until you just can't see how anyone decent is going to survive the maelstrom. I was used to that. But somehow this felt different. I got a bit jumpy. I couldn't quit thinking about the horrific chaos during the day when I had to put the book down. It stuck with me in a way the other books didn't.

In fact, after I finished Code Zero I had to go find a nice, gentle book to read. I just couldn't face anything hard-edged. (Hello, No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.)

Then I woke up this morning to news on my clock radio about multiple stabbings at a high school. And I figured it out.

Maberry has his finger on the pulse of the evil that Americans today know all too well ... that lurks below the conscious level of our lives ... violent chaos that can strike without a moment's notice. Shootings at Fort Hood, restaurants, schools, and more have changed the mood of our country and made Mother Night's chaos resonate more deeply than usual.

Along the way, he looks at why people choose good or evil. This has been mentioned in other books, but never with so many examples as in this one. Maberry doesn't spell it out much but this conversation between a DMS scientist and Joe Ledger gave the larger context, as well as defining everyone's actions in the book.

"I've watched the tapes of Rudy interviewing some of the people you and Col. Riggs and the others have arrested. Some of them seem so ordinary. How can they commit those atrocities if they have a conscience? Is it their nature? Or is it a nurture thing? Are they from an environment that makes it ok for them?"

Joe grunted. "I asked Rudy that same exact question once."

"What did he say?"

"He said that the nature versus nurture question is fundamentally flawed because it assumes that there are only two possible forces at work on a person. Sure, a person's nature is a factor and that could be a produce of their brain chemistry or whatever makes a person a sociopath or a psychotic or a hero. Just as the forces in a person's life have to be taken into some account. Some abused children grow up to abuse. There's math for that. But neither viewpoint covers all the possible bases."

"So what's missing?"

"Choice," said Ledger. "Rudy thinks that choice is often more important than either nature or nurture. Some people grow up in hell and choose to let others share in that hell. Some people grow up in hell and they make damn sure they don't let those in their care ever glimpse those fires. It's a choice."

"Not everyone can make that choice."

"No, of course not. But a lot more people can than you might think." ...

"Choice," she said.

"Choice," he agreed. "It's what defines us. And it's probably the most underrated power in the world."

Code Zero is full of people choosing to save the world or burn it down. In most of the cases, the motivation comes down to something that Maberry does not name, but which I will make bold to label: love. We want to know we matter, that we make a difference, that someone "knows" us. Not for our accomplishments but simply because our "selves" matter.

Mother Night gives it a different name, and she may not tidily fall into this definition but, let's face it, she's super-villain crazy. I believe that her ultimate fate bears me out. It shows most in Maberry's final scenario at the end of the book as the answer to Rudy's statement that the chaos "has done something fundamental to the American people.

Truly this is a great book, especially for the shoot-em-up genre. It is also probably one that can be read as a stand alone without reading the others that came before.


AUDIO NOTES
I listened to the audiobook read by Ray Porter who was superb, as usual, at portraying Joe and every other character along the way. In this book Porter dialed his urgent, driving, delivery down some and thank goodness for that. The action was intense enough without being shoved over the edge of the cliff by a continually urgent tone. Porter also was more nuanced and thoughtful in his reading than I recall in previous Joe Ledger books. If this sounds odd when considering our heroes are fighting off zombies, it actually worked to make me consider the full horror being faced. Once again, kudos to Ray Porter. He's the reason I always choose audio for the Joe Ledger books.

Worth a Thousand Words: Satyr Riding on Top of Dolphin

Satyr Riding Dolphin
via Barcelona Photoblog

It occurred to me that I hadn't gone digging around in Barcelona Photoblog's archives for some time. Look at the treasure I found in the first month I chose (April 2007). It was hard to make a final choice, believe me. But this photo most of all made me say, "I want to go to there." And I do.