What We've Been Watching: Hits and Misses

HITS

Steve Jobs

Set backstage at three iconic product launches and ending in 1998 with the unveiling of the iMac, Steve Jobs takes us behind the scenes of the digital revolution to paint an intimate portrait of the brilliant man at its epicenter.

Wow. Brilliant.

All the performances were wonderful, especially those of Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet. I saw some critics complaining because they felt there was too much talking, though I'm not sure how you have a movie about ideas without, you know, talking. Kudos to both director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin for making the movie feel dynamic and exciting despite the fact that it is set backstage before three different product launches. The most fascinating thing, though, was that the revelation of Steve Jobs' personality and growth was so wonderfully revealed as we watched the progress of his products.

Tom and I knew so much about Steve Jobs already (for reasons I won't go into here - suffice it to say that we were amused when Jobs began being treated like a rock star by friends who "discovered" Apple because of iPods and iPhones) ... and about those launches in particular that it was fascinating to see how they were used as springboards for a character study.

It's also interesting thinking about how the stories of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs are told, considering Aaron Sorkin wrote both but David Fincher directed one and Danny Boyle the other.

My Italian Secret (doc.)

A heroic story that was all but lost to history, until now. The film recounts how WWII bicycling idol Gino Bartali, physician Giovanni Borromeo and other Italians worked with Jewish leaders and high-ranking officials of the Catholic Church, risking their lives by defying the Nazis to save thousands of Italy’s Jews.

It never occurred to me before that the Italian Jewish experience during WWII would have been so different from what we've heard about so much of Germany or France. Fascinating.

MISSES

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

In the Iranian ghost-town Bad City, a place that reeks of death and loneliness, the townspeople are unaware they are being stalked by a lonesome vampire.

If Fellini made a vampire movie, this would be the movie he made.

So much atmosphere, so little story.

The Verdict

Frank Galvin is a down-on-his luck lawyer, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter: all parties willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, he suddenly realizes that perhaps after all the case should go to court; to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients, and to restore his standing as a lawyer.

And to restore his self respect. Let's not forget his self respect.

I was looking for legal thrillers for my movie discussion groups and The Verdict kept popping up on every "law film" or "legal thriller" list I found.

Paul Newman is, needless to say, terrific. The rest of the movie felt more like a slow character study than either a legal or thriller story. It was a good character study but not good enough to carry the entire film.

The Intern

70-year-old widower Ben Whittaker has discovered that retirement isn't all it's cracked up to be. Seizing an opportunity to get back in the game, he becomes a senior intern at an online fashion site, founded and run by Jules Ostin.

Another movie I tried to see if it would be good for movie discussion groups. Short answer: no.

There is much to like in this movie but the slow pacing removes any punch, whether for humor or angst. If they'd have cut 20-30 minutes out (and there were plenty of places to do it) it would have been a much improved film.

That wasn't the only problem. For example, there were a couple of speeches by Robert DeNiro's character which sounded as if they should've been coming from a best girlfriend instead of a 70 year old man who'd been married 42 years.

However, as I said most of it works adequately enough, or would if the editing had been tighter.

Too Late for an Autopsy - I talk about books with Jenny at Reading Envy

I haven't talked books with Jenny at her Reading Envy podcast since episode 3. This week I was again her guest, on episode 55! Yes, it has been several years since the last time.

Maybe that's why the list of extra books mentioned is so long. Or it could simply be that I can't help peppering people with lots and lots of book ideas.

Join us to see what we've both been reading lately. Reading Envy, episode 55.

Tom Hiddleston and Stephen Colbert See the Light

I was already interested in seeing I Saw the Light, the Hank Williams biopic, though I did wonder how Tom Hiddleston could possibly pull off the role. I liked both the insights and the brief music sample from this clip.

An Easter Weekend Story American Media Isn't Mentioning

I was shocked and saddened to see the story of terrorists bombing a park and playground in Pakistan because Christians are known to gather there on Easter. I know this might seem like a stupid reaction but I can't help thinking, "what is wrong with these people?"

I was equally shocked to read reports that the Indian priest kidnapped by ISIS linked terrorists was crucified on Good Friday. (Though those reports are currently unsubstantiated.) I've been praying for him and the report unexpectedly brought tears to my eyes.

Mother Angelica died on Easter and that news seems so appropriate. I've never paid much attention to EWTN but I know the huge contribution it made and the big impact that Mother Angelica has had on so many lives.

These are all stories you see floating around news aggregators and social media.

Here's one, though, that American media has all but ignored. As reported by GetReligion,

Coverage in British newspapers [as opposed to BBC broadcast] has been much more blunt. Consider the top paragraphs in The Telegraph, which jump straight to the religious details that make this crime so dramatic.

A popular shopkeeper was stabbed to death by another Muslim in a "religiously prejudiced" attack hours after posting an Easter message on Facebook to "my beloved Christian nation".

Asad Shah, 40, a devout Muslim originally from the Pakistani city of Rabwah, had his head stamped on during a savage attack, according to one eyewitness.

Around four hours earlier the victim wrote online: "Good Friday and a very Happy Easter, especially to my beloved Christian nation. "Let's follow the real footstep of beloved holy Jesus Christ and get the real success in both worlds."

On Friday afternoon, police confirmed that a 32-year-old Muslim man had been arrested in connection with Mr Shah's death.

The victim had a history – in social media – of rejecting violence by radicalized Muslims and calling for peace and understanding between people of different faiths. His neighbors, of all faiths, immediately began raising funds to try to help his family.

My husband and I were just discussing this morning why more moderate Muslims weren't speaking up or otherwise helping to stop the radicalized terrorists. Of course, one answer was just the sad response that we see from the story above.

But I love that Mr. Shah didn't let that stop him, though the danger would be obvious. He is a real life hero. His courage deserves to be celebrated. Shame on American media for not even reporting the story.

Worth a Thousand Words: October and November again

October and November series
by Brian at the blue hour

Worth a Thousand Words: Dog's Head

James Ward, Dog’s Head
via Arts Everyday Living

That looks like essence of terrier, doesn't it!

Worth a Thousand Words: The Bow

The Bow
painted by Edward B Gordon

Well Said: Christ and the Interesting Life

There is no need to fear that living in Christ and working for him would be consigning ourselves to a drab, colorless life. The life stories of the saints are a refutation of that worry. As a general rule, the saints who lived and worked for God are seen to have highly interesting lives. There is an ancient Latin phrase that runs: cui servire regnare est — to serve him is perfect freedom — a freedom, one might add, that is not devoid of joy.

Monsignor James Turro

Worth a Thousand Words: Fin

Fin
painted by James Neil Hollingsworth

Worth a Thousand Words: Henrietta Ward’s Pet Guinea Pigs

James Ward, Double Portrait of Henrietta Ward’s Pet Guinea Pigs, 1843
via Arts Everyday Living

Mother Teresa to be Canonized on Sept. 4

This was announced with the upcoming canonization of four other saints. Having just finished Dante's Paradiso, I can't help thinking of all of them using that imagery: as part of the Empyrean (the celestial rose formed by Mary and the saints as they gaze on the face of God in the center, with angels fluttering back and forth like bees).

...  the Holy Father announced the upcoming canonization of five new saints, including Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkata (née Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu), whose work among the “poorest of the poor” won her worldwide acclaim. Hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, members of the religious order founded by Mother Teresa, are expected to be in Rome for her canonization, set for 4 September 2016.

From Poland, Blessed Stanisłaus of Jesus and Mary (né Jan Papczynski) was a member of the Piarist Order. After leaving the Piarists, Bd Stanisłaus founded the Marians of the Immaculate Conception.

Blessed Maria Elizabeth Hesselblad of Sweden, a convert from Lutheranism, founded a new branch of Bridgettine sisters, dedicated to working and praying for the unity of Scandinavian Christians with the Church. She will be the first Swedish saint in more than 600 years.

The two northern Europeans will be canonized together on Sunday, 5 June, of this year.

The Holy Father also announced the canonization of Blessed José Gabriel del Rosario, from Pope Francis’ native Argentina, known as the “gaucho priest.” Like the famous Argentinian cattlemen, he travelled on a mule throughout the vast territory of his parish in order to be close to the members of his flock.

He will be canonized on 16 October 2016, along with Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Río of Mexico. Blessed José was just fourteen-years-old when he was martyred by the Mexican government during the Cristeros War, after refusing to deny his Faith.

Vatican Radio

Worth a Thousand Words: October and November once more

October and November series
by Brian at the blue hour

The Holly is Alive with Bees!

Stock photography

Idly looking out the window on Sunday I saw a lot of gnats flitting around our holly bushes. When I got out there it turns out they were actually bees. So many bees, all busily going from blossom to blossom. Even the occasional wasp was in the crowd. They had a very different style though. Instead of quick canvassing, the wasps were slowly and methodically covering each blossom thoroughly before moving to another.

Now I'd never even noticed the holly bushes had blossoms. They are tiny and nondescript to our eyes. But they have a heavenly scent. I'd wondered for years what was giving off  that scent as I'd go into our office or front yard. As I said, the blossoms are so nondescript that I never noticed them before.

When I walked onto our porch after bee watching I was hit with the scent which had accumulated under our eaves. Directly sniffing the blossoms (at my own risk from busy bees) yielded nothing. The scent had to gather, it seemed.

These holly bushes suddenly took on extra value. I'd always liked that they provided berries for sparrows, cardinals, and robins in late winter. I also appreciated that squirrels and small birds liked hiding in them. Now I could see they perfume the air and feed the bees!

It makes me look at those prickly leaves much more forgivingly. Once again, there is so much that we think we know all about but which has hidden dimensions, if only we open our eyes and see. (Or noses and sniff. Take your pick!)

Ours are Burford Holly bushes which you may read about here.

Worth a Thousand Words: Margin O

A face drawn inside the O on the title page
of Rye House Plot Trials, 1683-4.
Via Letterology

Well Said: Because of a Presence ...

"But a very little while" and a change we could never imagine will happen. The lowly will find joy and the poor will rejoice. Why? Because of a Presence that even a blind man can sense. "Have pity on us!" The Lord Jesus took compassion on us in order that he might call us to himself and not scare us away. He comes as someone gentle, someone humble.

Saint Ambrose

Beginning on Forgotten Classics: Talents Incorporated by Murray Leinster

Now beginning on Forgotten Classics: Talents Incorporated by Murray Leinster.

This is a light-hearted story about planetary invasion and misfits with oddball paranormal talents. Can Talents Incorporated information save Kandar from bloodthirsty conquest? You can depend on it!

When Watson Met Mary: The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle

Jesse, Maissa, and I discuss the second of the Sherlock Holmes novels, one with unexpectedly exotic story lines, on SFFaudio.

Worth a Thousand Words: Let Sleeping Swine Lie

James Ward, The head and front leg of a sleeping swine

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Slow Horses builds from the idea that the punishment for spies who have failed at their jobs is to send them to Slough House where they do paperwork. The idea is logical but humorous at the same time. They spend all their time longing to get back in the field.

When a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to broadcast his beheading live on the Internet, everyone from Slough House is intensely interested. Then they realize that they will simply be part of the viewing public since they aren't really spies anymore. Except, of course, that wouldn't make much of a story. River Cartwright sees this as an opportunity to redeem himself and soon the rest of the Slow Horses are pulled into the effort.

My favorite character was the Slough House boss, Jackson Lamb, who makes sure his crew knows they are mediocre, doesn't care a flip for them, and yet commands their respect because they all know he was a big field agent back in the day. His sardonic comments never failed to crack me up.

This was simply terrific. The humor is understated, the writing evokes London wonderfully, the plot twists like a pretzel but never loses you, and the suspense ratchets up so that by the end I was simply longing to see villains get their comeuppance.

I listened to Sean Barrett's reading, which was simply wonderful.

Well Said: Fighting error

Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.

St. John Cantius

Worth a Thousand Words: October and November

October and November series
by Brian at the blue hour

Well Said: Criticism and Authors

In a recent criticism on this position I saw it remarked that all this is reading into Dickens something that he did not mean; and I have been told that it would have greatly surprised Dickens to be informed that he "went down the broad road of the Revolution." Of course it would. Criticism does not exist to say about authors the things that they knew themselves. It exists to say the things about them which they did not know themselves.

G.K. Chesterton, Appreciations and Criticisms

of the Works of Charles Dickens

This Just In: When You Suffer by Jeff Cavins

When You Suffer: Biblical Keys for Hope and Understanding by Jeff Cavins

When You Suffer is a refreshing look at the mystery of pain and suffering and how to find meaning and even joy in the midst of it. Jeff Cavins discusses why we suffer and how our suffering can draw us closer to God. He explains that suffering is the greatest opportunity to love as Christ loves and how, by “offering up” our suffering, we join in Christ’s mission to redeem the world.

Lent does seem like the perfect time to read this book, especially as we draw closer to Holy Week. Reading a book about suffering, though, isn't normally my cup of tea. But all it took was the first chapter for me to change my mind.

By comparing an ideal day to a real day, Cavins reminded me that suffering often isn't on the grand scale of experiencing an earthquake. Plenty of small things add up to suffering in everyday life. None of us escape it. He uses that as a springboard to compare the classical idea of happiness (living as a good person) to the modern idea (feeling good). From there he examines the different types of suffering (physical, moral, etc.)

Our "ideal day" isn't ever going to happen because real life is messier than our dreams. So how do we live real life with meaning and even joy?

That's just the first chapter but the stage is set for us to discover more. It's all written in a personable, practical way that is easy to understand.

I can't wait for the rest of the book but since I've got a tall "to read" stack ahead of this, I wanted to give you a heads up on this one.

Worth a Thousand Words: In the Artist's Studio

In the Artist’s Studio (1892). Frederik Vermehren (Danish, 1823-1910)
via Books and Art

What are they discussing? Is it a portrait of one of them? Of a loved one? Is the artist a protogé, despite his age?

Well Said: Jokes and Government

I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.

Will Rogers

I don't have to say why this never gets old, do I?

I Can't Wait to Read ...

These are far enough in the future that I can't get a Kindle sample, but I've been waiting and waiting and waiting ...

City of Strangers (Luis Chavez #2)
by Mark Wheaton

This one's so far in the future that they don't have a cover for it yet. Or a description. I'm not surprised since the first book, Fields of Wrath, just came out in January.

You might remember I loved that book for the tough, gritty mystery and the nuanced look at priests. I especially loved Father Chavez. I'm really hoping this book upholds the promise of the first!

Poisonfeather (The Gibson Vaughn Series Book 2)
by Matthew FitzSimmons

Another one so far in the future that there's no cover. Since I wrote last week about new, fun books I had on tap, I actually read one - The Short Drop, which was FitzSimmons' first book. I found it a tightly written, suspenseful book and really enjoyed it. So naturally I want more!

From behind bars, a disgraced Wall Street financier has arrogantly hinted at the existence of a stolen fortune that by all rights should not exist. But if it does, Gibson Vaughn has vowed to return the money to its rightful owners. He’ll have to stay one step ahead of a horde of ruthless rivals who also have claims on the fortune. And behind it all lies Poisonfeather, a secret that just might get Gibson killed—or worse.

Sixth Watch (Night Watch)
by Sergei Lukyanenko

I thought we were done! New Watch was supposed to be the end of the series. Not that I'm complaining, of course.

"the Prophets have all reached the same chilling conclusion: The world will end in five days’ time. To ward off the apocalypse, an ancient council called the Sixth Watch must be assembled. After both Light and Darkness select their emissaries, Anton must enlist the unwilling aid of the four other Great Parties: the Vampires, the Witches, the Form-Takers, and the enigmatic Foundation. "

Tried by Fire: The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years
by William J. Bennett

I loved Bennett's "American: The Last Best Hope" so much. It was rare to find an even-handed history, praised by conservatives and liberals alike, which was thorough but didn't bog me down with so many facts I couldn't keep track of the story. Fingers crossed, this history of Christianity does the same!

"the riveting lives of saints and sinners, paupers and kings, merchants and monks who together—and against all odds—changed the world forever. ... Challenged by official persecution, heresy, and schism, they held steadfast to the truth of Christ. Strengthened by poets, preachers, and theologians, they advanced in devotion and love."

Bright Smoke, Cold Fire
by Rosamund Hodge

You know how much I loved Hodge's first two books, Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound. She's got a real talent for evoking a familiar story but telling us something completely original. This one uses Romeo and Juliet as a springboard and I really can't wait to see where it takes us!

"When the mysterious fog of the Ruining crept over the world, the living died and the dead rose. Only the walled city of Viyara was left untouched.

The heirs of the city’s most powerful—and warring—families, Mahyanai Romeo and Juliet Catresou share a love deeper than duty, honor, even life itself. But the magic laid on Juliet at birth compels her to punish the enemies of her clan—and Romeo has just killed her cousin Tybalt. Which means he must die."

The Hanging Tree
by Ben Aaronovitch

I discovered this series last year which pulled me back into urban fantasy, something I thought was impossible. Peter Grant is a young constable who doubles as apprentice to Inspector Nightingale, England's last wizard. I know, it sounds quite typical. It isn't though. Aaronovitch gives us a fresh look at London as well as urban fantasy.

"The Hanging Tree was the Tyburn gallows which stood where Marble Arch stands today. Oxford Street was the last trip of the condemned. Somethings don't change. The place has a bloody and haunted legacy and now blood has returned to the empty Mayfair mansions of the world's super-rich. 

Worth a Thousand Words: Tom Hardy Reads

Tom Hardy Reads
via Awesome People Reading

Worth a Thousand Words: Smallest Owl in Europe

Smallest Owl in Europe
taken by Remo Savisaar

Worth a Thousand Words: Corn in the Sun

Corn in the sun, Jose Malhoa

Lagniappe: The Sex Life of Corn

Next time you pull a piece of silk from between your teeth while you're eating a fresh ear of corn, remember that you've just spat our a fallopian tube. Corn has a curious anatomy: the tassel at the top of the plant is the male flower; when mature, it produces two million to five million grains of pollen. The wind picks up those grains and moves them around.

The ear of corn is actually a cluster of female flowers. A young ear contains about a thousand ovules, each of which could become a kernel. Those ovules produce "silks" that run to the tip of the ear. If one of them catches a grain of pollen, the pollen will germinate and produce a tube that runs down the silk to the kernel. There the egg and pollen grain will meet at last. Once fertilized, that egg will swell into a plump kernel, which represents the next generation—or a bottle of bourbon, depending on your perspective.

Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist

Okaaaaay. That next ear of corn is going to feel a little different when I eat it.

Worth a Thousand Words: Poppies

Henri Fantin-Latour, Poppies, 1891
via Arts Everyday Living

On My Kindle - fun, new stuff

Just last week I was wondering why the only interesting fiction I could find was all from the turn of the century. And not the recent turn of the century.

I love Rafael Sabatini, Edgar Wallace, and H. Rider Haggard, but eventually you want something that's new.

Suddenly I've got new books out the wazoo. Now Lent is kicking in with a vengeance because my "add on" was to finish half-read books and read books that have been pressed on me, "you'll love this!" Not to mention book club and podcast obligations. Believe me, I'm reading as fast as I can!

I want to get to these books now! Here's a quick look see in case any of them hit you just right.

The Brotherhood of the Wheel
by R.S. Belcher

"... a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them.

Theirs is a secret line of knights: truckers, bikers, taxi hacks, state troopers, bus drivers, RV gypsies--any of the folks who live and work on the asphalt arteries of America. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel."

Knights Templar in big rigs? C'mon! This is begging me to read it!

I found this when looking for Bronson Pinchot's latest narrations on Audible. If I thought I could handle the violence or sex audibly, I'd definitely listen because Pinchot is superb. But I know I'll want to skim or skip those parts. So I chose this for my March book purchase (yes, I'm still trying to limit my book buying ... and mostly it works!)

I'VE READ IT: and can't recommend it.

Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's)
by Jodi Taylor

"Behind the seemingly innocuous façade of St Mary's, a different kind of historical research is taking place. They don't do 'time-travel' - they 'investigate major historical events in contemporary time'. ...

Meet the disaster-magnets of St Mary's Institute of Historical Research as they ricochet around History. Their aim is to observe and document - to try and find the answers to many of History's unanswered questions...and not to die in the process."

I'm fairly sure that when your mother tells you she's laughing continually at a really fun Daily Deal, you have to buy it. You know. For conversation. Hey, that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Also, time travel. And humor. And super cheap. So that was a done deal.

Amends: A Novel
by Eve Tushnet

A month in rehab would be stressful enough without a television audience. When the ramshackle cast checks in for "Amends," a new reality series about alcoholism and recovery, they don't know if they've been cast as villains or potential redemption arcs. Over the course of the show they learn what God sees when he shuts his eyes, how to appreciate the comforts of hallucination, and what it looks like when a wolf fights a troll. A conservative journalist woos a homeless Ethiopian visionary. A teen hockey star licks a human heart. And a collections agent pays some of his own oldest and saddest debts.

From backhanded compliments to accidental forgiveness, "Amends" proves that there's a place you can go when you've given up on reality: reality TV.

Not my usual thing. At all. Reading about alcoholics is dreary in the extreme (The Shining aside). But I was curious because it was Eve Tushnet and it was fiction. She certainly sticks the entry because the Kindle sample was enough to make me go for the whole enchilada. Also self-published and cheap for Kindle. Which were the final deal makers.  Via Brandywine Books.

The Short Drop
by Matthew FitzSimmons

A decade ago, fourteen-year-old Suzanne Lombard, the daughter of Benjamin Lombard—then a senator, now a powerful vice president running for the presidency—disappeared in the most sensational missing-person case in the nation’s history. Still unsolved, the mystery remains a national obsession.

For legendary hacker and marine Gibson Vaughn, the case is personal—Suzanne Lombard had been like a sister to him. On the tenth anniversary of her disappearance, the former head of Benjamin Lombard’s security asks for Gibson’s help in a covert investigation of the case, with new evidence in hand.

Mentioned by a friend who was reading it free with her Kindle read everything subscription (whatever that is called). Not having that, but tempted by the preview, it's my free March library choice for Kindle Prime.

I'VE READ IT: and liked it a lot.

Unforgettable
by Eric James Stone

In the near future, a fluke of quantum mechanics renders Nat Morgan utterly forgettable. No one can remember he exists for more than a minute after he's gone. It's a useful ability for his career as a CIA agent, even if he has to keep reminding his boss that he exists.

Naturally there are complications beyond that brief description. This preview kept me coming back month after month until I finally gave in and got it. Imagine growing up when your mother forgets you if she leaves the room for more than a minute.

I really enjoyed his short story collection Rejiggering the Thingamajig which contained the incredible That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made. So I'm a fan.

Envy of Angels: A Sin du Jour
by Matt Wallace

In New York, eating out can be hell.

Everyone loves a well-catered event, and the supernatural community is no different, but where do demons go to satisfy their culinary cravings?

Welcome to Sin du Jour - where devils on horseback are the clients, not the dish.

Ok, this was just because I was in buying mode and it was one of the Daily Deals. But the preview looked fun, which seemed to be my main criteria. in this book spree.

Jennifer the Damned 
by Karen Ullo

When a sixteen-year-old orphan vampire adopted by an order of nuns matures into her immortal, blood-sucking glory, all hell literally breaks loose.

Ok, not on the Kindle but free because the author sent me a review copy. I'd had my eye on this one for a while.

A teenage vampire, adopted by nuns, who goes to Catholic school, and yearns for the chance to take Communion ... with many reviews at Amazon praising it as "literature, rich with vampire lore and intertwined with Catholic doctrine." Right down my alley.

Lagniappe: A Little Splash of Water

Do not be timid about adding ice or a splash of water to a drink. It does not water down the drink; it improves it. Water actually loosens the hold that alcohol has on aromatic molecules, which heightens rather than dilutes the flavor.

Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist

See, it isn't all just odd facts. Sometimes there's info that makes a difference in our lives. In mine anyway!

Lagniappe: Lightning Pear

Pears also contain a nonfermentable sugar called sorbitol, which adds sweetness but has one drawback: for people with sensitive systems, it acts as a laxative. one popular English pear variety, Blakeney Red, is also called Lightning Pear for the way it shoots through the system. This quirk has earned cider pears yet another folk saying: "Perry goes down like velvet, round like thunder, and out like lightning."

Amy Steward, The Drunken Botanist

Worth a Thousand Words: Pear and Pond

Callery pear and pond in Mount Tado, Yōrō Mountains, Kuwana, Mie, Japan.

Lagniappe: Which apples did dinosaurs prefer?

The DNA of apples is more complex than ours; a recent sequencing of the Golden Delicious genome uncovered fifty-seven thousand genes, more than twice as many as the twenty thousand to twenty-five thousand that humans possess. Our own genetic diversity ensures that our children will all be somewhat unique—never an exact copy of their parents but bearing some resemblance to the rest of the family. Apples display "extreme heterozygosity," meaning that they produce offspring that look nothing like their parents. Plant an apple seed, wait a few decades, and you'll get a tree bearing fruit that looks and tastes entirely different from its parent. In fact, the fruit from one seedling will be, genetically speaking, unlike any other apple ever grown, at any time, anywhere in the world.

Now consider the fact that apples have been around for fifty million to sixty-five million years, emerging right around the time dinosaurs went extinct and primates made their first appearance. for millions of years, the trees reproduced without any human interference, combining and recombining those intricately complex genes the way a gambler rolls dice. When primates—and later, early humans‚encountered a new apple tree and bit into its fruit, they never knew what they were going to get.

Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist

I had no idea. Fascinating.

Worth a Thousand Words: Portrait with Apples

August Macke (1887–1914), Porträt mit Äpfeln 

Cruz and Rubio Should Take Lessons from John Oliver

Not only was this takedown of Donald Trump hilarious, but I found it cathartic.

Worth a Thousand Words: No Chocolate for You!

A possible Maya lord forbids a person to touch a container of chocolate.
Via Wikipedia

Lagniappe: Pechuga

I've been thoroughly enjoying The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World's Great Drinks. This is a book to enjoy a little each day.

There is one ingredient that can make mezcal different from whiskey or brandy: a dead chicken. Pechuga is a particularly rare and wonderful version of mezcal that includes wild local fruit added to the distillation for just a hint of sweetness, and a whole raw chicken breast, skinned and washed, hung in the still as the vapors pass over it. The chicken is supposed to balance the sweetness of the fruit. Whatever its purpose, it works: do not pass up an opportunity to taste pechuga mezcal.

Amy Stewart, The Drunken Botanist

Crazy, but it actually makes me want to try it.

Dropped my iPod. Shattered the Screen. Yep - it's Lent.

Curse you, dry hands!

I'm now somewhere in the five stages of grief.

Podcasts, audiobooks ... how the deprivation already grips me!

I'll take this as a chance to enter Lent more deeply, while I send my baby off to specialists for glass replacement.

Well Said: Never mistake for malice ...

Never mistake for malice that which is easily explained by stupidity or incompetence.

attrib. to Napoleon Bonaparte

That certainly is the charitable way to interpret many of the frustrations that people put in our way.

Worth a Thousand Words: James Abbott McNeill Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler by William Merritt Chase
via Art Renewal Center Museum

Worth a Thousand Words: Joy of Life

Joy of Life
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

Well Said: The test of bureaucracy

If the first person who answers the phone cannot answer your question, it is a bureaucracy.

President Lyndon Johnson

We'll ignore the irony of the purveyor of that wisdom, shall we? It does make me think again fondly of the three companies I can call who are unfailingly polite and always have the answer: Discover, Chase Bank, and Republic Wireless.

Most others fall far short.

Blogging Around: Random Things

Going Whole Hog

Doriana Giustozzi and Raffaele Petterini have adopted a 100lb boar, Pasqualina in Foligno, Italy. The caring couple gave the hog a home after finding it desperate, undernourished, and close to death in the woods. Now the bulky animal gallivants freely around their house.

There is a delightful slideshow for this story in The Telegraph. Thanks to T for the heads up on this after seeing the Wild Boar photo here last week.

Roses = Secrecy

Sub rosa literally means "under the rose" in New Latin. Since ancient times, the rose has often been associated with secrecy. In ancient mythology, Cupid gave a rose to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to keep him from telling about the indiscretions of Venus. Ceilings of dining rooms have been decorated with carvings of roses, reportedly to remind guests that what was said at the table should be kept confidential. Roses have also been placed over confessionals as a symbol of the confidentiality of confession.

I had no idea that roses symbolized secrecy. For that matter, I never knew the meaning of sub rosa, while I'm busy breaking silence! This is from the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day which I receive in email. It is only email subscription I have and I read every one of them. They almost always have some interesting tidbit I didn't know.

How Do You Keep Your Wedding Vows When Everything Changes?

That was only the beginning of what felt like a series of deaths over the next several years. Al came home after six weeks in the hospital. He walked with the aid of a leg brace, a cane, and a gait belt. He had almost no use of his left arm. I comforted myself with the thought that on the inside, he was the same old Al. My sweet, funny, and compassionate husband was still alive, and that’s what mattered most. Over time, however, I started to see that he had changed on the inside as well.

Al suffered from chronic brain fatigue that made him need to take long naps. He was often confused, and his short-term memory was impaired. Most difficult for me was the decline in his emotional capacity. Not just our physical intimacy but our whole relationship no longer had the same depth. The closeness I had shared only with Al, my partner for life, seemed to be gone.

A powerful and thought provoking article from Word Among Us.

Worth a Thousand Words: Transfiguration

Icon of transfiguration (Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery, Yaroslavl), 1516

It was not the feast of the Transfiguration last weekend, but the Transfiguration was the Gospel reading. One thing that struck me when listening to the reading was that Jesus went up to pray. To pray.

Is this what his prayer was always like? Glowing, God's glory all around him, praying with saints all around him? It is fascinating to meditate upon this.

I love this icon because it strives to portray the unportrayable, but taken together with the Gospel (which strives to describe the indescribable) perhaps we can get a glimpse of Jesus at prayer.

Well Said: Religion and Politics

I have heard that in some debating clubs there is a rule that the members may discuss anything except religion and politics. I cannot imagine what they do discuss, but it is quite evident that they have ruled out the only two subjects which are either important or amusing.

G.K. Chesterton,
Appreciations and Criticisms of
the Works of Charles Dickens

Worth a Thousand Words: Solitude

Frederic Leighton (1830–1896), Solitude

Well Said: The nicest white people that America has ever produced

So, to say Obama is progress is saying that he’s the first black person that is qualified to be president. That’s not black progress. That’s white progress. There’s been black people qualified to be president for hundreds of years...The question is, you know, my kids are smart, educated, beautiful, polite children. There have been smart, educated, beautiful, polite black children for hundreds of years. The advantage that my children have is that my children are encountering the nicest white people that America has ever produced. Let’s hope America keeps producing nicer white people.

Chris Rock, New York Magazine interview

Worth a Thousand Words: A Bride and Groom

Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens and Isabella Brant, the Honeysuckle Bower, c. 1609
via Arts Everyday Living

I couldn't resist this picture today.

We just spend the weekend helping present the Beyond Cana Retreat for marriage enrichment. It is always a pleasure which far exceeds the amount of work or trouble necessary. Not only do we get to see the couples growing deeper in love with each other as they reconnect, but the team gets to spend lots of time together. It is a simply wonderful experience and we feel blessed to be part of it.

The Reign of God 6: Jesus, Israel, and the World

Continuing with the excerpt, which ended in Part 5 saying that one would have to prove Jesus did not view Israel as a sign of blessing for all nations.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

It would then have to be proved explicitly and in detail that Jesus only appeared in Israel because that was his place of origin, because he was naturally shaped in some way, like every human being, by the history of his people, but that otherwise he had set himself apart from Israel's history of election. And yet there is not the faintest evidence of such a thing. It simply cannot be produced. Precisely where Jesus (like John the Baptizer before him) calls into question the participation of Israel, or part of Israel, in ultimate and definitive salvation (cf. Matt 8:11-12) he presumes Israel's salvation-historical function. But above all there is an overabundance of texts to show that Jesus did not abandon the fundamental constant we have described. I will speak of those texts at length in the following chapters. Most important of these is the choice of the Twelve--a demonstrative sign-action showing that Jesus cared about the twelve tribes of Israel. The Twelve are a visible sign and, of course, also an "instrument" of his will to gather all Israel. And why? For the sake of Israel? No, for the sake of the world!

The principle behind this is pointedly formulated in James's speech in Acts 15, aided by a mixed quotation based on Amos 9:11-12:

After this I [the Lord] will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it [the tent] up, so that all other peoples may seek the Lord--even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things known from long go. (Acts 15:16-18)

The sense of this combined quotation is that the fallen Israel must be rebuilt precisely in order that the Gentile nations, over whom the name of the Lord has been called out, may seek and find God. They cannot perceive him otherwise. The ultimate goal of the rebuilding of Israel is the coming of the Gentiles. Jesus thought no differently.

Obviously this resolute will of Jesus to gather all Israel (for the sake of the nations) had everything to do with his proclamation of the reign of God. The two are inseparable...

Jesus of Nazareth by Gerhard Lohfink

The Name of God is Mercy by Pope Francis

The Name of God Is Mercy by Pope Francis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was a gift from a friend and it was the book I began Lent with. The first part of the book is a Q&A between a Vatican reporter and the pope. As usual, Pope Francis is personable and clear answering the series of questions about mercy and its centrality in our Christian faith.

What might surprise many readers is that Francis spends an equal amount of time talking about sin, repentance, confession, and reconciliation. One can't receive or even recognize mercy unless one knows why it has been extended. That means you've got to know you did something wrong. And then fully receiving mercy means you will respond to the love that has been offered. This isn't just the easy mercy that secular society thinks of when the word is used. It is the real, full-blown deal that changes lives.

Also of interest to many will be that Francis continually mentions his predecessors as bearing the same message to the people. John Paul II, Benedict XVI, Paul VI, etc. and their writings are continually referenced. People often act as if Pope Francis's ideas are completely new and different when, of course, it is the same Catholic faith simply shining through a different person. It's part of what makes Pope Francis interesting to watch. He's not easy to fit into the categories with which so many want to label him.

The last part of the book is the text of Pope Francis's Bull of Indiction of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. It is as if the first part of the book is Francis talking you through his points and then the last part is the more structured presentation.

I found this book inspirational and an easy read. It is another look into the mind of this pope who so many admire and a window into the ways of true Christian life. May we all move closer to being authentic examples of it!

The Reign of God 5: A Basic Biblical Constant

Continuing with the excerpt, which ended in Part 4 with Israel as the experimental nation to show others God's salvation.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

That, or something like it, is the description one must give of the meaning of Israel's election, looking back especially at the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis but also at any number of other key biblical texts such as Exodus 19:5-6 or Isaiah 2:1-5. At any rate, this election and its function for the world form a basic constant in the Old Testament. According to the Old Testament, salvation and the reign of God cannot otherwise exist in the world.

But then the question arises: is this basic constant of the Old Testament abandoned in the New Testament? Is it no longer valid there? has it given way to a vague and placeless universalism? Anyone who says or even hints at such a thing will have to prove it. He or she will have to prove that for Jesus, Israel was indeed no longer the sign of blessing (or of judgment) for all nations but that he had separated himself internally from Israel and preached an absolute salvation, that is, one divorced from Israel-- with "people in general" as the immediate audience for his message.

Jesus of Nazareth by Gerhard Lohfink

Next Part 6: Jesus, Israel, and the World

Worth a Thousand Words: Blow in my ear...

Taken by Valerie of ucumcari photography,
some rights reserved

7 Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas

7 Women: And the Secret of Their Greatness by Eric Metaxas

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Just as he did in 7 Men: And the Secret of Their Greatness Eric Metaxas shares the brief biographies of seven inspirational women. Some are familiar, like Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks. Some I had never heard of, such as Saint Maria of Paris and Susanna Wesley.

Metaxas begins the book by considering the way our culture often highly celebrates women who compete with men, as if there is no other way to measure a woman's value. We think of this as putting men and women on equal terms, but it actually pits them against each other in a zero-sum competition. Someone must win and someone must lose. That's hardly "equality." It is ironic that such a standard is so built into our culture that this concept was slightly startling to me. And I'm nobody's knee-jerk "feminist."

I found it amusing, therefore, when Metaxas' first great woman was Joan of Arc. Is there a better female icon for achieving greatness by doing what the boys do, but better? It turns out that one of the contradictions is the little known fact that Joan was not as we portray her these days, like Katniss from The Hunger Games. She was inexperienced, petite, vulnerable, and innocent. It was precisely her feminine, youthful qualities which affected the average fighting man to respect her victories as miracles.

Story after story shows these women just as they were, rising to the difficulties of their circumstances in ways that exemplify true womanhood. Each surrendered themselves to God and sacrificed themselves in some way for the greater good. In so doing, each helped change the world for the better.

Somehow the phrase "true womanhood" equates these days with "namby pamby" or "doormat." Nothing could be further from the truth. As you read these stories you will come away respecting how strong feminine qualities can be under adverse conditions. Examining the lives of these great women helps reset our view by stepping outside of our current assumptions and that can only help inspire all of us. It certainly inspired me.

What We've Been Watching: The Wages of Fear, Mr. Holmes

The Wages of Fear (1953)

Four men, desperate to escape a South American village, agree to drive trucks of nitroglycerin over mountain passes to where they are needed to stop an oil fire. At its heart this is both a character study and a nonstop thriller. My heart was in my mouth for a good portion of the film.

Picking this up on a friend's recommendation, I was completely surprised by my husband's enthusiastic, "I remember watching that when I was a kid! What boy doesn't love guys driving nitroglycerin over mountain passes!" He saw it in the days when the movie was dubbed and shown on Saturday afternoon.

These days, of course, we get the meticulously restored version with 21 minutes added back in and all en Français with captions. Except where they were speaking English or Italian. Those 21 minutes probably removed some jokes or rhetoric which were considered anti-American in 1953. These days we are well used to taking it on the chin, so back in they went. Unfortunately, they served to slow down the story ... a lot.

As I said, the heart of the movie is sound suspense and I was on the edge of my seat. Just let the long, slow beginning wash over you as a preamble. You won't be sorry.

Mr. Holmes (2015)

This was recommended by two very different friends and so we gave it a shot. It turned out that we liked it very much and even more so the next day when we kept bringing it up to each other.

Sherlock Holmes is very aged, living in Suffolk and keeping bees (as he sometimes mentioned wanting to do in the stories), coping with losing his memory, and forging an unexpected friendship with the young son of his housekeeper. The movie accompanies the current day with two other strands of remembered story. One is recent involving a trip to Japan. The other is older and involves Holmes' last case. The way all three strands are woven together forms a lovely final lesson in Holmes' life (I would argue that this itself is Holmes solving his last case).

It is a quiet, life affirming movie with several mysteries that kept us rapt the entire time. Well worth seeing.

The Reign of God 4: The Abraham Principle

Continuing with the excerpt, which ended in Part 3 when God begins to transform the world with an individual, Abraham.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

From all this we can already see that the people God chooses and creates cannot rest within itself. It is not self-enclosed, existing for its own sake. It is chosen out of the mass of the nations for the sake of those nations. Abraham was, after all dragged out of his family and his homeland so that he could be a blessing for many others. In the people that came from him was to be made visible and tangible what God wants for the whole world: nonviolence, freedom, peace, salvation.

Because God desires the salvation of the world, that salvation has to be tangibly present in the experimental field of a small nation, precisely so that the other nations can see that there really can be justice and peace in the world, so that they can see that justice and peace are not utopia, not "nowhere," and so that they can freely take on this new social order. Of course that puts a shocking burden on this nation: the burden of election. Because if the people of God does not do justice to its task, if instead of peace in its midst there is conflict, instead of nonviolence it works violence, instead of showing forth salvation it spreads disaster, it cannot be a blessing for the nations. Then it falls short of the meaning of its existence; then it will not only be a laughingstock for the nations but will do great harm

Jesus of Nazareth by Gerhard Lohfink

Next Part 5: A Basic Biblical Constant

Well Said: Condiments No. 4

Condiments No. 4
by Neil Hollingsworth

The Reign of God 3: Something New

Continuing with the excerpt, which ended in Part 2 by observing that the individual is the point where God can build on change undertaken freely.

Part 1
Part 2

That is precisely what the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis tell about. The first pages of the Bible had told of the creation of the world, the development of the story of humankind, and--in a few hints--the growth of human civilization and culture. But along with all that the Bible also spoke immediately of disobedience to God and thus of the growth of destructive rivalries and brutal violence.

But then Genesis 12 starts over with something new. It suddenly ceases to look at humanity as a whole and begins to talk about an individual: Abraham. God begins to transform the world by starting anew, at a particular place in the world, with a single individual:

Now the Lord said to Abraham, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen 12:1-3)

Jesus of Nazareth by Gerhard Lohfink

Next Part 4: The Abraham Principle

Worth a Thousand Words: Wild Boar

Wild Boar
taken by Remo Savisaar

Here in Dallas we seem to be experiencing perpetual spring instead of winter. Not only do I like seeing this boar in its natural element, but I like remembering what the weather should be like.