McCarrick and the Deafening Silence

Former Cardinal McCarrick forced his attentions on seminarians for years. Though complaints were made as long as two decades ago, they were turned away until recently when it was admitted that the evidence was credible. I explain this because if I hadn't mentioned it to my husband he'd never have heard about it. He doesn't seek out Catholic news and the newspaper and TV news we frequent hadn't mentioned it.

First I was horrified and furious that the complaints were shoved under the carpet even after we'd been assured the sex scandals were a thing of the past, that victims were being heard, that new policies were in place to prevent reoccurrence — even as one of the biggest movers and shakers (McCarrick) was an offender whose sins were apparently an open secret among his fellow bishops. And that is the most horrifying of all. Some of the bishops who'd received information are those who I respect and trust the most. And their silence has been deafening. Those whited sepulchers.

I've had nothing to say on the topic that others haven't but these are pieces that say particularly well what is in my heart.

If an excerpt catches your eye, be sure to go read the whole piece (links are in the subheads). There's no way I can really capture them with these snippets.

DarwinCatholic: A Moral Crisis
A good summing up, well reasoned, calm and to the point.

Any leader in the church, lay or clerical, who thinks that it is in any way advantageous to the church to keep quiet and allow a bishop to cover up a life of grave sin is a leader that we do not need.

We are all sinners, some may say. Who are we to judge? How can we say that we won't tolerate a sinner as a bishop?

All bishops are sinners. All of us are sinners. But if someone is to be a leader in the church, he should be prepared to admit his sins, repent of them, and resolve not to commit them again.

Elizabeth Scalia: How to Restore a Church in Scandal? Begin With a Collective Confession.
Scalia has already been pointing out that it is now the laity's work to insist on our bishops doing the right thing and holding leadership to a real accounting. She continues with thoughts on just how that works.

Making an address to the Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus in June of 1972, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen said something most relevant to our times:

Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, and the ears to save the Church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops act like bishops, and your religious act like religious.

[...]

There is a great deal of work to be done, and as I have written elsewhere, the laity must necessarily be part of that work. As we discern how to proceed, we can immediately do two things:

• Pray for our priests, by name when we can, every day and at every Mass.
• Do penance for the sins of our Church, and be willing to suffer a bit for the sake of its restoration to spiritual health.

Ross Douthat: The Truth About Cardinal McCarrick

One of the best things that the bishops of the American Catholic Church did during the great wave of sex abuse revelations 16 years ago — and yes, there’s a low bar for “best” — was to establish a National Review Board, staffed by prominent layman, with the authority to commission an independent report on what exactly had happened in the church.

The result was a careful analysis by the John Jay College of Criminal Justice that detailed the patterns of priestly sex abuse in American Catholicism between 1950 and 2002 ...

Now, unfortunately, it needs to happen again. But what needs to be commissioned this time, by Pope Francis himself if the American bishops can’t or won’t, isn’t a synthetic overview of a systemic problem. Rather, the church needs an inquest, a special prosecutor — you can even call it an inquisition if you want — into the very specific question of who knew what and when about the crimes of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, and why exactly they were silent.

Get Religion: Why didn't journalists investigate McCarrick earlier? Because they thought conservatives were out to get him
It turns out that bishops aren't the only ones keeping silent. Journalists saw plenty of smoke, but ignored the fire.

Certain reporters could not lay aside their biases against church conservatives to investigate whether there was a fire behind all the smoke.

Journalism rule #1: Never, never assume that someone is crying wolf.

Journalism rule #2: Never assume the folks – whose viewpoints you disagree with – have nothing of value to say.

I agree a lot of bishops are to blame for not bringing this mess to light a lot earlier. But so are the journalists who heard about this years ago and chose to do nothing.

The tiny thorns of life

All our life is sown with tiny thorns that produce in our hearts a thousand involuntary movements of hatred, envy, fear, impatience, a thousand little fleeting disappointments, a thousand slight worries, a thousand disturbances that momentarily alter our peace of soul. For example, a word escapes that should not have been spoken. Or someone utters another that offends us. A child inconveniences you. A bore stops you. You don’t like the weather. Your work is not going according to plan. A piece of furniture is broken. A dress is torn.

I know that these are not occasions for practicing very heroic virtue. But they would definitely be enough to acquire it if we really wished to.

St. Claude la Colombiére

Christ is the point.

We are not baptized into the hierarchy; do not receive the Cardinals sacramentally; will not spend an eternity in the beatific vision of the pope. Christ is the point. I, myself, admire the present pope, but even if I criticised him as harshly as some do, even if his successor proved to be as bad as some of those who have gone before, even if I find the church, as I have to live with it, a pain in the neck, I should still say that nothing that a pope (or a priest) could do or say would make me wish to leave the church, although I might well wish that they would leave.

Frank Sheed, Christ in Eclipse, 1978

Farm-to-table and flatbed trucks

She laughed out loud when she first heard the term "farm-to-table." They had it in her day, too; they called it a flatbed truck. She knows her food is not the healthiest, yet her people live long, long lives, those not killed by gunfire, moonshine or machines. She has never tasted ceviche or pate, but can do more with field-dressed quail, fresh-caught perch, or a humble pullet than anyone I know. With a morsel of pork no bigger than a matchbox, salt, a pod of pepper, and a sprinkle of cane sugar, she can turn collards, turnips, cabbage, green beans, and more into something finer than the mere ingredients should allow. With bacon grease and two tablespoons of mayonnaise, she turns simple cornmeal into something more like cake. I watched two magazine photographers eat it up standing in her kitchen, with slabs of butter. I do not believe they were merely being polite. "They even eat the crumbs," she said. "They were nice boys."

Rick Bragg, The Best Cook in the World

That study is certainly unlawful ...

If the study to which you apply yourself has a tendency to weaken your affections and to destroy your taste for those simple pleasures in which no alloy can possibly mix, then that study is certainly unlawful, that is to say, not befitting the human mind.

Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein

Since we've got the Lord Byron, Lake Geneva, Frankenstein thing going today.

Lake Geneva

Lake Geneva, By Schnäggli - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0

Lake Geneva, where Lord Byron spent a memorable weekend with his doctor, John Polidori, and friends Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Shelley, and Claire Clairmont (Mary's stepsister and a special friend of Byron's — and that's all that we'll say about that.) A vampire novel and Frankenstein were the result to the lasting benefit for all of us who enjoy horror stories.

Made me laugh: I was first struck by his normality ...

I was full of curiosity to meet Lord Marchmain. When I did so I was first struck by his normality, which, as I saw more of him, I found to be studied. It was as though he were conscious of a Byronic aura, which he considered to be in bad taste and was at pains to suppress.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

Lord Byron in Albanian Dress

Lord Byron in Albanian Dress, Thomas Phillips

Today's quote made me go looking for portraits of Lord Byron. He must have been one of those really charismatic people whose attraction doesn't come out in portraits. Except for this one. Wowie! Albanian dress would do wonders for a lot of us today.

Wish I Was There: Primary Parasols

Primary Parasols, Belinda DelPesco

I have left behind illusion ...

"I have left behind illusion," I said to myself. "Henceforth I live in a world of three dimensions — with the aid of my five senses.

I have since learned that there is no such world, but then, as the car turned out of sight of the house, I thought it took no finding, but lay all about me at the end of the avenue.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

SFFaudio and Kim by Rudyard Kipling

Jesse, Maissa, and I discussed Rudyard Kipling's classic Kim. Get it here!

What I'm Reading: Grave Peril, Brideshead Revisited, Why Evil Exists, This is Murder, Best Cook in the World

The most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh's novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder's infatuation with the Marchmains and the rapidly-disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford, then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize only his spiritual and social distance from them.

Our next book club selection — and one I've tried to read several times in the past. Because it is "assigned" I've been forced to get past the first two chapters that always turned me off before. Now, about halfway through the book, I'm enjoying it more as I go along. Partly that is because I have been listening to the Close Reads podcast episodes* on it, which helped open up themes. Partly it is because I recently realized how very much I do not care about Sebastian (who was the main focus for a lot of the beginning.) I won't go so far as yet, since I'm not finished, to say I dislike Sebastian, but it is the way I'm leaning. Anyway, I'm just so happy not to dread picking this book up every day — that in itself is a win.

*(Close Reads is also on iTunes. Their Brideshead Revisited episodes aired during the summer of 2017.)

Wizard and private detective Harry Dresden has squared off against a multitude of supernatural bad guys. You might think nothing could spook him. You would be wrong.

Something is stirring up angry apparitions all over town. Something that can break all the laws of supernatural physics. Something that doesnt like Harry. His closest friends are being targeted. The net is closing in. Harry must find a solution soon or find this is one Nightmare from which he will never waken.

I read this series avidly when the books came out, until Changes (#12) which I didn't care for at all. I'd had enough of Harry and felt I knew the books well enough from rereading, so I gave mine to my daughter in one of my regular bookshelf purges.

Recently I read Melanie Bettinelli's interesting posts on Harry's character development after the point where I quit reading. My interest was piqued, but it took an in-person conversation with a couple of people about how those last books were insightful about faith and religion to make me want to revisit the series.

I thought I could just look over the Wikipedia book summaries but ... my goodness the series got complicated early on! Luckily the library has James Marsters' excellent audio of the book so I've begun my slow way into the series from close to the beginning. And, I can't deny, it is a nice light counterbalance to working my way through Brideshead Revisited.

Award-winning Professor Charles Mathewes of the University of Virginia offers a  dynamic inquiry into Western civilization's greatest thinking and insight on this critical subject, the question of evil.

I loved Charles Mathewes course on Augustine's City of God so much that I picked up his only other course on Audible. I'm not necessarily attracted to the topic, but the reviews were so uniformly good and, as I said, I like the teacher so much that I opted on for the 36 classes ... so it's gonna take a while. In the first four lessons, Mathewes has been riveting and really good at delineating how various ancient cultures viewed evil, as well as relating these points of view to their modern equivalents. I'm really enjoying it.

And now I realize I never told you about that first course, here's a brief review:

Books that Matter: The City of God

This class did what I never thought possible - make me want to read The City of God.

Professor Mathewes is insightful, giving this ancient work an understandable context and connecting it to modern life. He's got an accessible lecturing style and an elegant turn of phrase that helps open up the material. What is more he makes a compelling case for why The City of God is relevant for understanding not only the ancient, but our modern world. Highest recommendation.

Because, you know, when you've been reading Brideshead Revisited and listening to courses about Evil, you want something less taxing for bedtime reading.

Advertising man Sam Moraine wants to tag along when his poker game is broken up by a call for his buddy D.A. Phil Duncan to look into a kidnapping case. Duncan agrees and Sam soon finds himself taking cash to trade for the victim. But all is not what it seems (no surprises there) and Sam soon is conducting his own amateur investigation. And that puts him at odds with both the law and the bad guys. This is a stand-alone and I am really enjoying it. It's just perfect for reading right before lights out.

A delectable, rollicking food memoir, cookbook, and loving tribute to a region, a vanishing history, a family, and, especially, to his mother.

Margaret Bragg measures in "dabs" and "smidgens" and "tads" and "you know, hon, just some." Her notion of farm-to-table is a flatbed truck. But she can tell you the secrets to perfect mashed potatoes, corn pudding, redeye gravy, pinto beans and hambone, stewed cabbage, short ribs, chicken and dressing, biscuits and butter rolls. The irresistible stories in this audiobook are of long memory -- many of them pre-date the Civil War, handed down skillet by skillet, from one generation of Braggs to the next.

I'm really loving this which is much more memoir than recipe book. There is plenty of personality, old customs, and living through hard times in Rick Bragg's family tree. I am not one who likes stories of dysfunctional families and I appreciate that the dysfunctions are smoothed out or merely hinted at because the emphasis is on how the recipe came into the family or how someone learned to cook. By wrapping the stories around the kitchen we can take the good with the bad, especially when it comes with a helping of Axhead Soup or Chicken and Dressing.

The Birth of Mary and domestic life in Florence

The Birth of Mary, Tornabuoni Chapel (1485-90),
appears to represent a domestic scene from the life of contemporary Florentine nobility.  Domenico Ghirlandaio

Conversion to the baroque

This was my conversion to the baroque. Here under that high and insolent dome, under those tricky ceilings; here, as I passed through those arches and broken pediments to the pillared shade beyond and sat, hour by hour, before the fountain, probing its shadows, tracing its lingering echoes, rejoicing in all its clustered feats of daring and invention, I felt a whole new system of nerves alive within me, as though the water that spurted and bubbled among its stones was indeed a life-giving spring.

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

This makes me want to hear it read aloud. I may have to get the audio from the library at some point.

"I wish I liked Catholics more."

"I wish I liked Catholics more."

"They seem just like other people."

"My dear Charles, that's exactly what they're not—particularly in this country, where they're so few. It's not just that they're a clique—as a matter of fact, they're about four cliques all blackguarding each other half the time—but they've got an entirely different outlook on life; everything they think important is different from other people. They try and hide it as much as they can, but it comes out all the time. It's quite natural, really, that they should."

Evelyn Waugh, Brideshead Revisited

As a point of context, the conversation is begun by Sebastian who is himself Catholic and said to Charles who is, at best, agnostic.

I am reading this for my Catholic women's book club. I've tried several times to get into the book but never liked it. It turns out that I needed to be forced past the first two chapters, after which I'm enjoying it more as I go.

I read this bit to Tom and he listened with a grin growing on his face. "So it was the same back then!" he said triumphantly.

The Summer House

The Summer House, Edward B. Gordon

It's going to be 106° today ... or is it 108°? Either way, too darned hot! This looks like a cool, refreshing place to be instead.

Corn and Bacon Pasta

I admit this recipe sounded a bit far-fetched but it turned out to be really wonderful. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Green Goddess Chicken

From Cook's Country, this is an easy roast chicken dish that has a really fresh taste and makes a nice summery meal. It's posted at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Through a Web

Through a Web, Remo Savisaar

Would we serve Jesus with a chipped dish?

If everyone were holy and handsome, with “alter Christus” shining in neon lighting from them, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. If Mary had appeared in Bethlehem clothed, as St. John says, with the sun, a crown of twelve stars on her head and the moon under her feet, then people would have fought to make room for her. But that was not God’s way for her nor is it Christ’s way for Himself now when He is disguised under every type of humanity that treads the earth.

To see how far one realizes this, it is a good thing to ask honestly what you would do, or have done, when a beggar asked at your house for food. Would you–or did you–give it on an old cracked plate, thinking that was good enough? Do you think that Martha and Mary thought that the old and chipped dish was good for their guest?

Dorothy Day, Room For Christ, The Catholic Worker, December 1945, 2

Listen Up, Nerds! Henry VI, Le Morte d'Arthur

I've linked to websites below but both of these are readily available on iTunes or various other podcast providers.

The Chop Bard podcast passionately picks apart the plays of William Shakespeare, scene by scene, line by line, in search of entertainment and understanding, in order to lift the plays off the page and onto their feet. With passionate insight and fearless examination, we offer the works of William Shakespeare in the spirit for which they were originally intended: As entertainment for a diverse and current audience.

Ehren Ziegler truly is the cure for boring Shakespeare. He loves the history plays and is launching another one for us to explore — Henry VI, part 1. You are in plenty of time to join in since only the introduction has posted.

Starting in July 2018, Mythgard Academy will present a free seminar on Le Morte d’Arthur, the classic cycle of Arthurian tales retold by Sir Thomas Malory. The tales have been the source of many later retellings of the Arthur mythos, including, for example, The Once and Future King by T. H. White and the 1981 cinematic feature, Excalibur.

Our Catholic women's book club read this book years ago. I admit that I had enough trouble with the text that I resorted to a children's version to get through the story. So I'm delighted to have one of my favorite teachers diving deeper into the tale.

The first episode was wonderful, opening my eyes to several points about the story I'd never have noticed on my own. (As is Corey Olsen's way.)

Well Said: Whistling Dixie and the Truth

If ever you see a man put his fingers in his ears and whistle Dixie to keep from telling the truth, you may assume he's a fool, but if he puts his fingers in your ears and starts whistling, then you know you are dealing with a journalist.

Andrew Klavan, The Killer Christian
collected in The Big Book of Christmas Mysteries

Endless Water, Starless Sky by Rosamund Hodge

Romeo had looked at a Catresou girl and loved her. He had believed that Juliet was more than a weapon, and that it was worthwhile to love her, however little time they might have. He had died believing it.

Juliet had believed that once too.

She couldn't free her people. She couldn't free herself. And she couldn't save the city from its doom.

But she could be like Romeo, and learn to love her enemies. She could protect these people around her for whatever time they had left.

It wasn't exactly hope, but maybe it could be enough.

This is the second half of the tale begun in Bright Smoke, Cold Fire which I reviewed here. It will come out on July 24.

The city walls are not holding despite increasingly large blood sacrifices. The dead continue to rise, mindlessly hungry. (Yep. Zombies and the end of the world.)

The Juliet has been trapped into protecting Romeo's family at great cost to her own. Meanwhile, Romeo is attempting redemption by protecting Juliet's family. (Oh the irony! And the romantic gestures!)

Paris is still dead but alive enough to obey the necromancer's spell. Runajo is still trying to find a way to protect her city while tortured by her betrayal of her friend Juliet.

So we've got the perfect setup for the conclusion of Rosamund Hodge's riff on Shakespeare.

The story is complex enough that I'd forgotten important details from the first part and had to reread it before I could launch properly into Endless Water, Starless Sky. We still have all the big themes and literary devices that gave the first part depth and complexity. Here the story has everyone running as fast as they can to try to avert disaster, both of civilization and of their personal lives. There is a lot of fighting and a lot of talking in the first half — we did mention this is a riff on Romeo and Juliet, right? But it all works.

As engrossing as most of the book was, it really entered new territory in the last fourth where it becomes an otherworldly, Dante-esque journey. This part was wildly inventive and yet delicately balanced to guide the reader to the ultimately satisfying conclusion.

I really loved it and will definitely be rereading it, sooner rather than later. If you liked the first half, you'll like this. If you haven't read either, then you've got a treat in store.

Summer, James Tissot

Summer, James Tissot

Worth a Thousand Words: Zebra Back Rub

Zebra Back Rub
taken by Valerie of ucumari photography
some rights reserved

You're really missing a treat if you don't browse Valerie's photography. There are some simply wonderful candid animal shots.

"I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you."

These little choices to not selfishly take out one's frustration on another are not so different from the choices we have to make elsewhere in life in order to get along with others. In this sense, getting along with MrsDarwin is not so very different from getting along with anyone else. Thinking about marital virtue in this regard, one can think: Love is a choice. It doesn't have to be just one person.

There's truth in that too. Yet, it's so much easier to make those choices with someone to whom I'd so much rather be married.

I wouldn't want to do this with anyone but you.

Darwin

The best of all is when I love him because he is, literally, God’s gift to me: the unique spark of God’s creative love through whom, by the graces of marriage, I find my path to heaven. The path may be dark sometimes, or rough, or busy, or blissful, but it’s never solitary. Through the sacrament of marriage, we walk it together, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.

Mrs. Darwin

Over at DarwinCatholic the Darwins have a lovely post in praise of marriage that is written with both idealism (even after 17 years) and loads of reality (because - 17 years). I really enjoyed it and the above excerpts can't do it justice. Please do go and read it for yourself.

Summertime in Holland

Allegory of summer, Jan van Goyen

The medium and the message

In Jesus Christ, there is no separation between the medium and the message: it is the one case where we can say that the medium and the message are fully one and the same.

Marshall McLuhan, The Medium and the Light

Ridiculously Entertaining: Tashan and Dhoom 3

I was going to stop talking about Bollywood movies unless I came across something that I thought would be good entryway films.

And then this weekend I came across two such movies. These are both by director/screenwriter Vijay Krishna Acharya. That is completely coincidental but it did wind up leaving me with my first Indian director to keep an eye out for. Both these movies were on the top 100 Bollywood movies list that Rose is working from for guidance in exploration. Dhoom 3 has the added advantage of starring Aamir Khan who is a favorite of ours.

At any rate, both these combine recognizable Western styles with Bollywood filmmaking. It makes for extremely entertaining viewing.

Jeetendra Kumar Makwana is employed full-time at a Call Center and works part-time teaching English. He is recruited by an attractive young woman, Pooja, to teach her Hinglish-speaking boss, Bhaiyaji, English. Jeetendra agrees to do so, falls in love with Pooja, and joins forces with her to steal a bag containing 25 Crore Rupees in cash. He will soon find out that Bhaiyaji is a hoodlum and extortionist known to the Police as Lakhan Singh. And that spells big trouble for everyone.

Tashan means style and this picture has it in spades. It is ridiculously fun Tarantino style action (without the gore because it is Bollywood not Hollywood) with big song and dance numbers (Bollywood not Hollywood). Indian reviews wavered on giving approval but American reviews all raved, as did we. This director obviously has a way with movies that appeals to American sensibilities.

My favorite character was the hit man sent to retrieve the two thieves. The "Jackie Chan of India" he played a character who turned into a lovable oaf (much like Jayne on Firefly) and won my heart. My favorite number was the Hollywood film one, which got so many tiny Hollywood things wrong (in a charmingly Indian way) but still worked most amusingly. It also gave me a new Khan to keep an eye out for — Saif Ali Khan — whose charming twinkle reminded us all strongly of Bradley Cooper.

This was a milestone for us in several ways because we got an in-joke about Indian movies, recognized posters for other movies on city streets, and recognized two of the stars from other movies we'd seen. Baby steps. But fun.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Hannah and Rose talk about Tashan at An American's Guide to Bollywood.

To avenge his father’s death, a circus entertainer trained in magic and acrobatics turns thief to take down a corrupt bank in Chicago. Two cops from Mumbai are assigned to the case.

Another ridiculously entertaining film from Vijay Krishna Acharya, starring Aamir Khan who carries the film on his broad, capable shoulders. It is part of the Dhoom buddy-cop franchise only in a minor way, with Jai and Ali's part being a subplot rather than the main action. And that works. In case we we were wondering who the movie is about, three of the four musical numbers are Aamir's, while the fourth is the female lead's audition for the Great Indian Circus — danced for Aamir. Aamir is the film's ostensible villain but by the time the film ends, we were wondering why policeman Jai gives a spech about the evil bank. (I guess that told us who the real villain is.) Anyway Aamir Khan's character is what this movie is about and Our household approved all the way.

This movie was set in Chicago which made us even more interested to see it and, as with Tashan, there were some endearing misunderstandings of America. My favorites were a newsstand which clearly looked Indian and the fact that the flashbacks were costumed as if they were from the 1920s instead of the 1990s. We could only figure that the filmmakers wanted to be sure we got a sense of "long ago" and couldn't find enough obvious differences between the clothing of 2013 and that of 20 years before. Regardless, it was extremely entertaining and those little missteps only added to the charm for us.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Clara the rhinoceros in Paris in 1749

Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Clara the rhinoceros in Paris in 1749

Clara wowed them in Paris, prompting a lot of paintings. This is the one usually featured and I really love it.

Lagniappe

Helen shivered next to Jane. “Perhaps we should return to Charlotte. She probably misses us.”

“Us? Charlotte doesn’t know you exist.”

“Well, if she did, she would surely miss me.”

My Plain Jane; Cynthia Hand, Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton

I might find this as amusing as I do because I really loved Helen's character.

Some Great Summer Reading: My Plain Jane and Understanding Movies

My Plain Jane
by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, Jodi Meadows

Move over, Charlotte Bronte. You may think you know the story. Penniless orphan Jane Eyre begins a new life as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets one dark, brooding Mr. Rochester-and, Reader, she marries him. Or does she? Prepare for an adventure of Gothic proportions.

This was thoroughly enjoyable. I love Jane Eyre and these authors honor that classic novel by being (mostly) true to the storyline while simultaneously weaving it into another story completely.

Both Jane and her friend Charlotte Bronte get swept up in this tale which is loaded with ghosts, murder, revenge, love, and friendship. And humor. Lots of humor. As with these authors' previous book, My Lady Jane, you could see major plot points coming but it didn't take away from the fun.

I said it before for My Lady Jane and I'll say it again for My Plain Jane: For what it was — a humorous, inventive, light, romantic, alternative history — it was practically perfect in every way. It was sometimes silly but always charming and I was glued to it in every spare moment.

A wonderfully entertaining summer read read by the perfect narrator.



Understanding Movies: The Art and History of Film (The Modern Scholar)
by Raphael Shargel

Why does the cinema have the power to move the heart, stimulate the mind, and dazzle the imagination? How did the art of film develop from its origins to the present day? In each lecture, Professor Raphael Shargel introduces a period of film history, talks about its importance, covers aspects of cinematic technique, and illustrates his points by analyzing specific movies from the era under discussion. The course thus has both breadth and depth, covering the major movements in film history while at the same time focusing on key pictures worthy of study and enjoyment.

I really learned a lot from this class. The teacher has an mild-mannered, personable style that I enjoyed a lot and his own love of movies came through clearly though he never allowed his own preferences to overpower the commentary. This is only available as an audio class and there are a lot of negative remarks about sound quality on Audible. The sound must have been cleaned up at some time because I didn't hear any of the problems mentioned. This was delightful if you like movies.

A Little More Bollywood: Chak De! India and Ek Tha Tiger

RAW agent Tiger is on a mission to retrieve information from a scientist in Dublin. The plot centers on an Indian spy (RAW) code-named Tiger who falls in love with a Pakistani spy (ISI) during an investigation and how Tiger’s ideology and principles change over time.

This was our first movie by Salman Khan, the last of the Three Khans for us to sample.

The movie had problems, being a blend of James Bond with romantic comedy. And not a stellar version of either genre was being blended If that sounds awkward, then I did my job describing it.

Adding to the problems, Khan reminded me of no one so much as Sylvester Stallone. Now, there's nothing wrong with Sylvester Stallone. I am second to none in my admiration of Rocky, but he has definite limitations as an actor. And that's what we saw in this example of Khan's work.

Just a few Bollywood song and dance numbers in this one, with the stellar one being over the end credits. I realized I was a bit addicted to the Bollywood format by how happy I was to see a musical number begin. Happy out of all proportion considering they used to make me roll my eyes.

This won't be our last sampling of Salman Khan's movies. I want to give him a fair chance. He's a top Bollywood actor. But this isn't his finest hour. (Or if it is, then he just isn't be my favorite of the Three Khans.)

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Chak De! India follows a team of rag-tag girls with their own agenda who form Team India competing for international fame in field hockey. Their coach, the ex-men’s Indian National team captain, returns from a life of shame after being unjustly accused of match fixing in his last match. Can he give the girls the motivation required to win, while dealing with the shadows of his own past?

This was really solid. Shahrukh Khan shows he can play nice with others by not having to be in a lot of the scenes even though he is the main character and star. This is our second of his films and it was nice to see him in a more conventional role though I did miss seeing him shirtless in a dance number. This movie had songs but, as seems to be the case with some of the modern movies, they were played against standard montages (training, traveling, etc.).

It was a fairly straight forward feminist underdog sports film with an interesting undertone of combating regionalism in favor of nationalism. I never knew that was an Indian problem but I read that this movie was really significant for India in several ways and I'd guess that was one of them.

Overall it is, as I said, solid. And definitely enjoyable.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

The House of a Thousand Candles beginning at Forgotten Classics

The House of a Thousand Candles is part adventure/mystery and part romance. Jack Glenarm stands to inherit his grandfather’s estate, but only if he can remain for one year in residence at the old man’s unfinished “House of a Thousand Candles” in Annandale, Indiana, with only his grandfather’s mysterious valet for company. If he violates the terms of the will, the house will go to a young woman, heretofore unknown to him, whom the will also forbids Jack to marry if he wants to retain his inheritance. Soon after Jack’s arrival at Glenarm House various strange occurrences ensue, and he soon finds himself absorbed in the most lively adventure of his life! (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

This mystery was the #4 American bestseller in 1906. It is a favorite of mine and should be a lot of fun. Join us at Forgotten Classics where the first episode has just posted!

Simply beautifully said — "the gardener God walked again in the garden"

On the third day the friends of Christ coming at daybreak to the place found the grave empty and the stone rolled away. In varying ways they realised the new wonder; but even they hardly realised that the world had died in the night. What they were looking at was the first day of a new creation, with a new heaven and a new earth; and in a semblance of the gardener God walked again in the garden, in the cool not of the evening but the dawn.

G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

Capo di Noli — Real or a fairy tale setting?

Paul Signac, Capo di Noli

A Kim Jong-Il Production by Paul Fisher

A Kim Jong-Il Production:
The Extraordinary True Story of a Kidnapped Filmmaker, His Star Actress, and a Young Dictator's Rise to Power 
by Paul Fischer

This is a fascinating look inside North Korea but also at the power of movies.

Kim Jong-Il realized when young that he who wields the stories, wields the power. Using his passion for movies, Kim managed to become his father's favorite (and successor), revolutionize North Korean cinema, and be "Dear Leader" of his captive Hermit Kingdom. He had a higher goal, however, which was to gain the respect and acceptance of other countries.

He decided to follow in the footsteps of the Japanese who had used their post-WWII film industry to help regain favorable world standing. The problem was that North Korean film didn't have what it needed to make this happen. But South Korea did. So, of course, he had to kidnap a heralded South Korean director and famous actress in order to do it.

This is one nutty story and the fact that it is well documented and true just makes it even nuttier. It's one of those books that make you annoy everyone around you by telling them the amazing tidbits that arise every other page. For example, Kim thought that the James Bond films were essentially docudramas and planned espionage missions accordingly. (Ok, that's the last time I'll do that to you.)

I knew next to nothing about North Korea before reading this book. The story itself is amazing but also saddening when the North Koreans' lives were detailed. My favorite part was once the movies were being shown to the Korean public. Movies have a power that even the most movie-savvy dictator can't predict and can influence real life in a way no one can imagine.

I was the last person in our family to read this and really appreciate the heroic efforts that Hannah, Tom, and Rose made to not talk about it before I got my hands on it.

The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown

The story of the University of Washington's 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal, a team that transformed the sport and grabbed the attention of millions of Americans. The sons of loggers, shipyard workers, and farmers, the boys defeated elite rivals first from eastern and British universities and finally the German crew rowing for Adolf Hitler in the Olympic games in Berlin, 1936.

The Boys in the Boat is an irresistible story about beating the odds and finding hope in the most desperate of times—the improbable, intimate story of nine working-class boys from the American west who, in the depths of the Great Depression, showed the world what true grit really meant.

I am really grateful that this book was selected for my Catholic women's book club. I'd certainly never have picked it up otherwise.

It paints a vivid picture of America in that time and what it means to be American specifically for one of the boys on the crew, of Hitler's Olympics and the whitewashing of Germany in preparation, and is inspirational about a lot of things we've forgotten today and need to remember.

I'm especially impressed at the way the author takes us through a similar journey to that of Joe, the main crew member who is focused on. We initially see alternating chapters about Joe's life, which is really tough, and the assembling of the crew over several years. As we get closer to the U.S. races and the Olympics, Joe's particular story is not as prominent as he becomes one with the crew, and realizes just what it is that he is representing. The author is skilled in putting us in a like frame of mind.

I certainly never thought I'd be moved to tears by a boat race but it happened. More than once. Even knowing how it turns out didn't reduce my tension ... I couldn't put it down.

Worth a Thousand Words: Lost in Africa

Lost in Africa: A Yarn of Adventure. Frederick Horatio Winder

I guess it is a sign of our times that I looked at the fellow in the lower right corner and, just for a second, thought he was on his cell phone.

Well Said: Myths Woven By Us

We have come from God and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of true light, the eternal truth that is with God.

J.R.R. Tolkien

I think we all know I'm 100% with Tolkien on this one. In fact, he taught it to me.

Well Said: the whole world once very nearly died of broadmindedness and the brotherhood of all religions

Nobody understands the nature of the Church, or the ringing note of the creed descending from antiquity, who does not realize that the whole world once very nearly died of broadmindedness and the brotherhood of all religions.

G.K. Chesterton, The Everlasting Man

Of course, as with practically everything Chesterton ever wrote, this comes with pages and pages of context which would cross the average blog reader's eyes. And mine too if I weren't very slowly reading this book a little every morning. He's talking about Rome and all their broadminded acceptance of different religions as long as one was willing to give lip service to the emperor as God. This book seems a bit like Chesterton's continuation of Augustine's City of God in some ways. I say that without my having done more than listen to a class on City of God, but it will be the next big book of theology I begin after finishing this one.

Worth a Thousand Words: Whataburger Trot Thru

Two women getting their food on at a Whataburger in Corpus Christi
appeared in the Corpus Christi Caller newspaper
Via Traces of Texas

Burgers, Texas-style.

Worth a Thousand Words: Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl, Remo Savisaar

Lagniappe: Heinlein vs. Golding

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, tor.com., Beware of Stabor!

This makes me laugh every time.

Worth a Thousand Words: A Love Story

E. Phillips Fox, A Love Story, 1903

This is like a dream of the perfect summer day.

Well Said: The Catholic Church and the Mood of the Age

The Catholic Church never suits the particular mood of any age, because it was made for all ages. A Catholic knows that if the Church married the mood of any age in which it lived, it would be a widow in the next age. The mark of the true Church is that it will never get on well with the passing moods of the world. "I have chosen you out of the world therefore the world hateth you" – John 15:19.

Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Love One Another

Hannah & Rose discuss the why death is the best bureaucrat as they try to escape him

The Rube Goldberg machine of death ... in the kitchen. Love that cold open! Hannah and Rose serve up another terrible movie, in the most entertaining way. More is More, Episode 19, Final Destination (2000).

The Taming of the Shrew - Shakespeare in the Park

We saw this last night at the Shakespeare in the Park. I really liked the production. I was especially impressed by the way that Katherine's taming was portrayed as an understanding between equals by the end. And her final speech about women and wives hearkened back to Petruchio's harangue that his wife is his land, his barn, etc. At the time it comes off as a shocking piece of condescension, but by the end we realize it is the bookend to Katherine's realizations. Very nicely played.

We hadn't been for years and so were a bit worried about how hot it would be but, as we've discovered in the past, once the sun goes down it was quite breezy and surprisingly comfortable. Also not crowded on Thursday. So go!

Chris Pratt's MTV speech: "God is real. God loves you, God wants the best for you. Believe that, I do."

Nobody is perfect. People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are, you are not! You are imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you are willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else's blood. Do not forget that. Don't take that for granted.

Chris Pratt received the MTV Generation Award and took the opportunity to speak to the next generation as an elder. He mixed toilet humor (literally) with straight talk about soul, God, prayer, and more. I know Pratt is a Christian but I was surprised at how many of his 9 rules for life spoke directly about God.

Worth a Thousand Words: Father Time

Edmund Dulac, Father Time, 1906

Well Said: "Come on, you Christians, be a little more normal..."

“How many times do we hear: ‘Come on, you Christians, be a little bit more normal, like other people, be reasonable!’ This is real snake charmer’s talk: ‘Come on, just be like this, okay? A little bit more normal, don’t be so rigid ...’ But behind it is this: ‘Don’t come here with your stories, that God became man!’ The Incarnation of the Word, that is the scandal behind all of this! We can do all the social work we want, and they will say: ‘How great the Church is, it does such good social work.” But if we say that we are doing it because those people are the flesh of Christ, then comes the scandal. And that is the truth, that is the revelation of Jesus: that presence of Jesus incarnate.”

Pope Francis, Encountering Truth: Meeting God in the Everyday

Do we choose the approval of society, of the world? Or do we choose the scandal of the Cross? It's actually funny that we can be approved of for helping others, but once the reason behind it is revealed, then it's all a bit suspicious.

Pistachio and Yogurt Chicken Curry

Another home run from Made in India by Meera Sodha. This is a rich, spice-filled, flavorful chicken curry which fills the house with a tempting aroma. I can't stress how much we all loved this.

Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Worth a Thousand Words: Maiden with a Laurel Wreath

Henry Ryland, Maiden with a Laurel Wreath
via Lines and Colors

This picture was so arresting when I swung by Lines and Colors that I just had to share it here. Be sure to follow the link and see the other Henry Ryland paintings featured.

Well Said: I ask forgiveness ...

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

Pope John XXIII

Amen.

Fish or Cut Bait - Thank You!

My sincere thanks for the wonderful surprise when I opened my mail today and found this from my wish list! I've been enjoying Cool and Lam as perfect summer reading and they are just obscure enough that it is hard to get your hands on many of them. Thank you!

Worth a Thousand Words: The Sea View of Cliffs

Guy Rose, The Sea View of Cliffs
via Arts Everyday Living

This just looks so refreshing to eye, ear, and soul. And it makes me think of summer travel somehow. Probably because I've never been to the ocean in winter. Growing up in the midwest and now living in Dallas, I've only traveled to the ocean on vacation.

Well Said: ...happy and confident, as if the dead were waving goodbye and smiling as they left for a journey...

The atmosphere [in the catacombs] is one of faith and trust. The epitaphs carved on the tombs are happy and confident, as if the dead were waving goodbye and smiling as they left for a journey. The words "rest" and "sleep" are everywhere. I could not remember once having seen that word "farewell" which sighs its hopeless way through all pagan cemeteries. As I remembered the dark galleries, the mage came into my mind of a troopship in the dark, with its rows of bunks, their occupants sleeping, confidently awaiting the light of a new day.

H. V. Morton, A Traveller in Rome

I love this so much!

Lagniappe: At the Papal Farm, Meeting the Papal Bull

A bit of H.V. Morton's charming A Traveller In Rome, first published in 1957. Morton's driver "knows someone" who will let them onto the papal farm. Here's a bit.

The Pope walks for an hour or so on the terrace, admiring the gardens, which are those of the Villa Barberini. He arrives by car along a special road built to link the palace with the villa, and I was told that he usually leaves his car on the terrace and walks about, sometimes never lifting his eyes from a book. We entered a little giardino secreto enclosed by hedges, where a statue of the Blessed Virgin stands beside a fishpond.

'You notice that Virgin is holding a little bunch of flowers,' said the driver. 'The Holy Father picks them for her.'

She was holding four or five small yellow flowers of a kind that I had noticed growing on the banks round about, and they were fresh and had been recently picked. What a beautiful moment this must have been: the old pontiff all alone in the garden in his white caped soutane and his red velvet shoes, looking about among the hedge banks on a quiet sunny morning for wild flowers to give the Madonna.

[...]

We passed a number of henhouses, each one thoughtfully decorated with a mosaic above the door depicting some incident in hen life. ... I should like to have stopped to examine the hen mosaics, but the driver dashed on towards the dairy. There in a cowshed lined with blue tiles, we saw forty fine Friesland cows being fed in the most modern surroundings. The names, milk yields and maternal particulars were recorded above the mild faces. I was at last able to make the pun that had to be made and must be made by everyone who visits the Pope's farm.

'Where is the papal bull?'

I was led to an adjoining paddock, where an immense, low-slung black and white animal named Christy, the gift of an American to the Holy Father, paused with his mouth full, and gazed at us angrily. He had the bloodshot eyes of an assassin and the lashes of a film star.

Worth a Thousand Words: Copper Mine

Copper Mine, Belinda Del Pesco

Well Said: The problems you must overcome make you stronger in overcoming them

“It is hard to make that boat go as fast as you want to. The enemy, of course, is resistance of the water, as you have to displace the amount of water equal to the weight of men and equipment, but that very water is what supports you and that very enemy is your friend. So is life: the very problems you must overcome also support you and make you stronger in overcoming them." — George Yeoman Pocock

Daniel James Brown, The Boys in the Boat:
Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for
Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

Blogging Around: Suicide, Lost in Space, Harry Dresden

THE RED DOOR FOUNDATION
A worthy ministry intended to provided practical support to families grieving the loss of a loved one from suicide.

The Red Door Foundation is a charity that my living children and I want to set up and run in memory of Anthony, my oldest son who died by suicide on March 8, 2017. These are our first objectives:

• pay for 6 therapy sessions for each member of the immediate family of someone who has died by suicide in our community right after the death.
  
• give children who have lost a parent to suicide a build a bear certificate
  
• work with victim services of our local police department to offer dinner/food/hotel for families who lose a family member to suicide the day of the death. (this was a lifesaver in my family’s life since we lost Anthony in our home)
  
• the big goal is to open a free mental health clinic in our town preferably at our parish and expand into the surrounding areas and as far as we can manage.

This is the dream and the idea. What we need is about $1,000 to set it all up. That includes getting a logo, a website, 501c3 status and a CPA to make sure everything is legit. We will be working to raise the money to set up as well as to cover the expenses for up to 6 families. Since Anthony’s suicide, there has been five more in our immediate community.

Find out more here. Via National Catholic Register which has an interview with founders Leticia Adams and Gabe Jacobs.


LOST IN SPACE — NOT WESTWORLD, BUT NOT BAD

Lost in Space is not likely to be a show like West World, which deliberately probes the roots and meaning of consciousness in a way that at least tries to be philosophic. Instead, Lost in Space tackles what it means to be a person by approaching the matter through morality and friendship. What is important about the Robot is not really how he could be a moral agent, but, as with the Cylons in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica (to which Lost in Space bears some similarities), that it is a moral agent. By examining the Robot’s moral awakening, Lost in Space actually has something to teach us about moral education...

I hadn't paid much attention to Netflix's Lost in Space reboot but this commentary makes me think I'll give it a try.

HARRY DRESDEN — BELOW THE SURFACE
Melanie Bettanelli's been writing some thoughtful pieces about the most recent developments in the Harry Dresden series. I’ve really been enjoying them. I really disliked the book right before Harry reappears as a ghost and so was over with the series. But I like seeing what’s going on below the surface since I’ve been gone. 🙂

• Hitting Rock Bottom: Human Sacrifice in the Dresden Files
• Drinking with Gods, Part 1: Wine with Hades
• Drinking with Gods, Part 2: Beer with Odin

NEUTRALITY AND ASSISTED SUICIDE

At its recent House of Delegates meeting, the American Medical Association voted to continue to study the principled stance against physician-assisted suicide that has been part of its Code of Ethics since 1994: “Physician-assisted suicide is fundamentally incompatible with the physician’s role as healer, would be difficult or impossible to control, and would pose serious societal risks.”

Advocates of assisted suicide have tried for two years to change this stance to one of “neutrality.” With this vote for delay and further review they will surely continue to do so. But as the AMA’s Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs (CEJA) rightly said after an intensive study of the issue, such “neutrality” can be read as “little more than acquiescence with the contested practice.”

It has been read exactly that way wherever a state medical society has decided to go “neutral” on a proposal to legalize the practice. It sends the signal that there is no serious problem with doctors prescribing lethal drugs so their patients can kill themselves.

At a personal level, neutrality means indifference. As a patient, I’m not sure which statement from my doctor would be more upsetting: “In case you ever ask, I’m willing to help you kill yourself,” or “I simply don’t care whether you kill yourself or not.”

Cardinal Timothy Dolan has much more to say and it's all good.

For my part, I think this is a good reminder that when we appear neutral about some evil then that neutrality is taken as assent or, at the very least, indifference.

It is certainly ironic that in a world where we are decrying several recent celebrity suicides, we also find people fighting so hard for the right to help people kill themselves. There is a disassociation between the two that isn't being pointed out.

INCREDIBLES 2
I've just got to say that our whole family is excited to see the great reviews that are showing up for this movie. The first was one of the best Pixar gave us, and that's a very high bar. It looks as if this one is in the same league! Can't wait to see it ... though we probably will let the crush die down for a week or two before we get to the theater.

Worth a Thousand Words: Nimitz, Grandfather and Grandson

Captain Charles Nimitz, the founder of the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg (left)
and his Grandson Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II

Via Traces of Texas which always has something good in the pipeline, both photo and facts, as you can see below.

Captain Charles Nimitz, the founder of the Nimitz Hotel in Fredericksburg (left) and his Grandson Chester Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II (right), when Chester was a young man. This remarkable photo was taken in Fredericksburg in 1905, where Chester had been born in 1885. Chester's frail, rheumatic father died before Chester was born, but Chester was significantly influenced by the grandfather shown here, who was a former seaman in the German Merchant Marine. I always thought it ironic that the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the greatest military conflict in history was a Texan who was born and raised in a place as dry and as far from the ocean as Fredericksburg.

Worth a Thousand Words: Beware of Dog, Roman Style

A Roman mosaic inscribed with the Latin phrase
cave canem ("beware of the dog"),
from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, Italy, 2nd century BC

Lagniappe: I didn't know this was a dream of mine until I read it ...

In the future, when Joss Whedon and I are best friends and hanging out together in my tree fort, I hope Neil Gaiman comes over too. Because then the three of us will all play Settlers of Catan together. And I will win, because I'm really great at Settlers of Catan. But I will also be very gracious about it, and apologize for putting the bandit on Gaiman's wheat twice in a row.

Then we will make smores, and I will toast a marshmallow with such deftness and perfection that they will be amazed and realize I am kinda cool. Then we will talk about Battlestar Galactica, and which Doctor is our favorite, and we will tell ghost stories late into the night.

From Patrick Rothfuss's Goodread's review of
The Ocean At The End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

Except in my dream we will be playing Pillars of Eternity. Which I am enjoying the heck out of, by the way. Anyway, other than that, exactly the same dream.

Our Bollywood Summer: English Vinglish, 3 Idiots

Last year at this time we were working our way through James Bond films. This year we have inadvertently fallen down a Bollywood rabbit hole. Here are the latest of our explorations.

The story of a woman who does not know English and is made to feel insecure by her family and society at large. Circumstances make her determined to overcome this insecurity, master the language, and teach the world a lesson on the way to becoming a self assured and confident woman.

We discovered English Vinglish after reading earlier this year about Sridevi's untimely accidental death. I'd been trying to get my hands on the library's one dvd for some time but it was always checked out. I remain impressed that the Dallas library consistently has these generally unheard of films.

It was a sweet and enjoyable family film. It was a bit uneven and there are the requisite musical numbers which didn't grab me but overall we liked it. One of the unexpected insights, since this was made purely for an Indian audience, is that it shows us just how immigrating to America is viewed by Indians.

We liked it even more when we read that the writer/director's own mother had a pickle business in her home and he was embarrassed of her lack of English. This is his apology to her. Sridevi was wonderful. We didn't realize this film signaled her return after a brief retirement and that she was such a favorite that there are other famous Indian actors featured who wanted to be included because they were such fans.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Hannah and Rose discuss it in episode 32 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

In the tradition of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” comes this refreshing comedy about a rebellious prankster with a crafty mind and a heart of gold. Rascal. Joker. Dreamer. Genius… You’ve never met a college student quite like “Rancho.” From the moment he arrives at India’s most prestigious university, Rancho’s outlandish schemes turn the campus upside down—along with the lives of his two newfound best friends. Together, they make life miserable for “Virus,” the school’s uptight and heartless dean. But when Rancho catches the eye of the dean’s sexy daughter, Virus sets his sights on flunking out the “3 idiots” once and for all.

I don't remember what path led us to this film except that when we saw Steven Spielberg quoted as loving it we added it to our list.

Enthusiasm waned when we saw the description which sounded like Animal House. A 3 hour long Animal House.

But then we saw it was the highest grossing Indian movie ever when it came out. Courage returned.

Then we saw the movie poster. And we really wondered what we were letting ourselves in for. Coming across Big in Bollywood, a documentary following the American-born Indian cast member, bolstered Tom and Rose's courage. I hadn't seen it but went along for the 3 Idiots ride.

It was something like a cross between Animal House (without the extreme crudeness) and Dead Poet Society. With some song and dance numbers thrown in because it is Bollywood, so of course. And it was surprisingly charming a lot of the time. Uneven but we weren't sorry we watched it. We didn't expect it to tackle very serious themes (that's the Dead Poet Society part) but it was done quite sensitively.

There wasn't a problem getting this from the library since there are nine copies in circulation (nine!), five of which are checked out as I write.

Overall enjoyable as long as you are willing to go along for the ride. And the dance number with the umbrellas is adorable.

We were interested to find that the star Amir Khan is a huge star who has never had a flop and whose films consistently are award winning blockbusters. I hadn't realized he was the star of Lagaan which we enjoyed many years ago. It is on Netflix now and since Rose hasn't seen it we'll probably watch that soon.

UPDATE
On a second viewing we enjoyed this a lot more than the first time. It was the third Indian movie we'd seen so we'd never come across a masala movie. And this is one of the king of the masala films. So go ahead and try it out. Just don't do it before you've seen more than two other Indian films.

Rating — for advanced viewers. (You've got to be willing to let this one wash over you, enjoying the ride for what it is ... and that means you've got to have seen enough other Indian movies to not worry when it mashes several genres together in odd ways — that's called a "masala movie" by the way)

Well Said: Holding up Scripture to the light and seeing the spray of refracted color

The reintroduction of fairy tales to my redeemed imagination helped me to see the Maker, his Word, and the abounding human (but sometimes Spirit-commandeered) tales as interconnected. It was like holding the intricate crystal of Scripture up to the light, seeing it lovely and complete, then discovering on the sidewalk a spray of refracted colors. The colors aren’t Scripture, nor are they the light behind it. Rather, they’re an expression of the truth, born of the light beyond, framed by the prism of revelation, and given expression on solid ground. My final days in college were spent studying the books of Ezekiel and James in class, writing song lyrics in the margins of my syllabi, and reading, at last, The Lord of the Rings, that exquisite spray of refracted light. ...

... Tolkien and Lewis, both in their own way, lifted me out of this world to show me a thundering beauty, and when I read the last sentence and came tumbling back to earth, I could still hear the peal. I hear it to this day.

God allowed the stories to lift the veil on the imaginary world to show me the real world behind it—which ended up being, in the end, the one I was already in. Tolkien and Lewis held the fabric of Narnia or Middle-earth in one hand and clutched ours in the other, building a bridge so we could set out for perilous realms and return safely with some of the beauty we found there. The ache we feel when we read about Frodo’s voyage from the Grey Havens, the ache we feel when Lucy hears the thump of solid wood at the back of the wardrobe is telling us that yes, there’s another world. But the stories that awaken us are meant to awaken us not only to the reality to come but to this world and its expectant glory.

Andrew Peterson, The Integrated Imagination: Fantasy in the Real World

Yes.

Yes, yes, yes.

As I've said, and tried to lure you into these three days, do go read it all. Even if you don't thrill to fantasy or reading, there is some part of your world which God uses to draw you closer, to enrich the world you inhabit right now. It's a beautiful way to live and this piece articulates it so well.