When we have been wounded by the Church ...

When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, “I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,” we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as “over there” but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.

Henri Nouwen

They have invented a phrase — ‘free-love’ — as if a lover ever had been, or ever could be, free.

The revolt against vows has been carried in our day even to the extent of a revolt against the typical vow of marriage. It is most amusing to listen to the opponents of marriage on this subject. They appear to imagine that the ideal of constancy was a yoke mysteriously imposed on mankind by the devil, instead of being, as it is, a yoke consistently imposed by all lovers on themselves. They have invented a phrase, a phrase that is a black and white contradiction in two words — ‘free-love’ — as if a lover ever had been, or ever could be, free. It is the nature of love to bind itself, and the institution of marriage merely paid the average man the compliment of taking him at his word. Modern sages offer to the lover, with an ill-favoured grin, the largest liberties and the fullest irresponsibility; but they do not respect him as the old Church respected him; they do not write his oath upon the heavens, as the record of his highest moment. They give him every liberty except the liberty to sell his liberty, which is the only one that he wants.

G. K. Chesterton, A Defence of Rash Vows

I had mistaken being spoiled for being strong

But then I had long mistaken being spoiled for being strong, being defiant for being independent, being reckless for being brave.

Tami Hoag, Dark Horse

Is this because we lack the proper role models, the proper grounding in something larger than our popular culture? I haven't read this book but this quote seems insightful.

Bridge on the Seine

Edward Hopper, Bridge on the Seine
via WikiArt

I love Hopper. I love Paris. I love bridges. Now we know why this painting is here today.

Bang Bang! Delightful Cotton Candy.

A chance encounter of the unassuming bank receptionist Harleen Sahni with the charming yet mysterious Rajveer Nanda, results in an on-rush of ditched planes, car chases, shoot-outs, bombing raids and general global mayhem. But as the transcontinental chase ensues with Rajveer convincing Harleen that he’s the good guy, can she really trust him, and will trust matter when the bullets start flying?

A light, frothy take on a Tom Cruise movie (Knight and Day) with, of course, delightful dancing and pushing the envelope with a lingering kiss (gasp!). Lots of mindless fun. I never saw Knight and Day, but Rose did and she says this is much superior.

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

Hannah and Rose discuss it in episode 37 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

Here's my favorite dance number (and everyone else's — 75 million views) from the film. Because no one dances quite like Hrithik Roshan.

In the world it is called Tolerance

In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair ... the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.

Dorothy L. Sayers

Sommarnöje

Anders Zorn, Sommarnöje, 1886

Words are charged with power

To a Jew a word was not merely a sound; it did things. As Dr. John Paterson puts it in The Book That is Alive: "The spoken word in Hebrew was fearfully alive. It was not merely a vocable or sound dropped heedlessly from unthinking lips. It was a unit of energy charged with power. It is energized for weal or for woe."

William Barclay,

The Revelation of John, vol. 2

This concept is one I knew but that "unit of energy charged with power" has rung in my brain since I read it. We know this deep in our bones. It's why we get so hurt and strike back if someone insults us. It's why our political conversations are so charged and so many people seem to be angry and ready to take offense. We aren't guarding our tongues, our words, our power, enough.

Blogging Around: In the Catholic News

Here are a couple  stories that I've been following, like many concerned Catholics.

SEX ABUSE CRISIS

American Bishops Press Ahead With Own Reforms
Despite the Vatican shutting down American bishops' general plans to institute unilateral U.S. reforms until after the Vatican's conference this month, many bishops are going ahead on their own. Good on 'em! I know that Texas bishops have been publishing lists of priests credibly accused of sexual offenses.

The Dallas diocese's list went public last week and the bishop had a letter read in every parish. I heard him talk about it at Mass last Sunday as he was visiting as many parishes as possible to give his message in person (his target was 11 on Sunday). Read here for what other bishops around the country are doing.

‘Zero tolerance’ doesn’t seem an inflated expectation for pope’s summit
The pope and the Vatican have been working to reduce "inflated expectations" for the upcoming Vatican conference on the sexual abuse crisis. John Allen comments on this.

The pontiff ticked off how he sees the main points of the meeting:

• To foster awareness of the “terrible suffering” experienced by an abused child.
• To help bishops understand the procedures to follow in abuse cases.
• To make sure that awareness of the problem and procedures arrives to “all the episcopal conferences.”

To some extent, these efforts to frame expectations are completely reasonable, because it is artificial to expect three days in Rome to change the world. Further, since so much of the action in the anti-abuse effort is local, success will rise or fall not on what happens here, but in the various places to which these bishops must return.

That said, it’s also terribly frustrating to survivors of abuse, to reformers who’ve invested their best efforts over decades, and to rank-and-file Catholics whose faith has been shaken, to hear they’re asking too much. Americans especially would have cause to be irked, since they’ve been aware of the sexual abuse crisis since the mid-1980s, they were promised it would be resolved in 2002, and it’s understandably incomprehensible to many of them that it’s still causing heartache seventeen years later.

Yes. To say I've been frustrated by this attitude is to far understate my feelings. However, Allen goes on to talk about what zero tolerance means for the priest and at a global level, with global understandings. This helps, somewhat, to temper my feelings. I will be eagerly waiting to see what the actual results are. Do go read his whole piece.

NEW YORK STATE'S NEW ABORTION LAW

Governor Andrew Cuomo Versus Cardinal Timothy Dolan
People have been asking why Dolan does not excommunicate Cuomo. Dolan's take, and one I think is valid, is that this is just what Cuomo wants to happen so he can wave it before those who agree with him. Defending the law in an editorial, Cuomo says:

I was educated in religious schools, and I am a former altar boy. My Roman Catholic values are my personal values. The decisions I choose to make in my life, or in counseling my daughters, are based on my personal moral and religious beliefs.

A lot of his editorial made me raise my eyebrows, but at this they shot into my hairline. One's faith is, of course, personal but it is never private. As a Catholic, one acts in communion with the body of Christ and he is definitely not doing that in supporting abortion, especially as vigorously as he is doing. Otherwise, be honest. You are protesting the Church by picking and choosing what you will believe and ... essentially a Protestant.

Dolan responded vigorously, I was glad to see. In addressing Cuomo publicly, he is clarifying Catholic teachings and helping avoid scandal.

Yes, religion is personal; it’s hardly private, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and struggle for civil rights so eloquently showed. Governor Cuomo’s professed faith teaches discrimination against immigrants is immoral, too. Does that mean he cannot let that moral principle guide his public policy? Clearly not.

Debate abortion on what it is. Don’t hide behind labels like “right wing” and “Catholic.”

Get the links to both editorials here.

Virginia P. Bacon

Virginia P. Bacon by Anders Zorn, 1897

Upon Julia's Clothes

Upon Julia's Clothes

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks how sweetly flows

That liquefaction of her clothes.

Next, when I cast mine eyes and see

That brave vibration each way free,

O how that glittering taketh me!

Robert Herrick, 1591-1674

Texas's Indigenous Dishes

Texas does not, like any other region, simply have indigenous dishes. It proclaims them. It congratulates you, on your arrival, at having escaped from the slop-pails of the other forty-nine states.

Alistair Cook, 

Letters from America, 1946-2004

Texas and chicken-fried steak

Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken-fried steak.

Larry McMurtry, In a Narrow Grave

A little lagniappe. It made me smile.

Bollywood Kitchen

Bollywood Kitchen

Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films

You’re invited to a party where the food and entertainment are both in Technicolor. It’s “dinner and a movie” in this vibrant, beautifully photographed tour of Indian food and films.

Indian cuisine and Indian cinema share much in common – bold colors and flavors with plenty of drama. But to the uninitiated, they can seem dizzying. Let Sri Rao be your guide. As one of the only Americans working in Bollywood, Sri is an expert on Indian musical films, and as an avid cook, he’s taken his mom’s authentic, home-cooked recipes and adapted them for the modern, American kitchen.

Sri has paired each meal with one of his favorite Bollywood movies. Sri will introduce each film to you, explaining why you’ll love it, and letting you in on some juicy morsels from behind the scenes.

This is a quick read and I'm happy to say it is absolutely solid on the movies. I've seen a lot of the author's selections and they are a good representation of new and old Bollywood movies that are very accessible. He also has three supplemental movie recommendations for each major selection so that if you like a film you can explore similar ones. Those also were right on the money. His descriptions are engaging and I liked the bits of extra information he scattered throughout the book.

The recipes are a good blend of his mother's Indian home cooking, adapted for the American kitchen including Indian takes on American food, such as the Bollywood Burger and seasoned sweet potato fries. Sri grew up in America and he understands how to keep recipes authentic but not time-consuming.  I also like the fact that each movie is matched with a full meal, so you don't have to wonder what side dishes to come up with.

I made the Keema and the Chicken Rollups (street food that is like Indian chicken fajitas). Both were very good, though much hotter than I like. I'd advise cutting the cayenne in half if, like me, you don't like it hot.

The way the recipes were adapted were definitely easy although the author seems to have too generous a sense of portion size. For example, the Keema was supposed to serve 4-6 using 2 pounds of hamburger. Oy veh! We halved it and it served the three of us with leftovers for 2. So keep a judicious eye on his proportions compared to how many you want to serve.

Recommended for those wanting to dabble in Indian food and movies!

Perpetual Motion

Norman Rockwell, Perpetual Motion

Portrait of a Lady

Michiel van Mierevelt, Portrait of a Lady [c.1620], via Gandalf's Gallery

I love the intricacy of that lace collar. AND the expression on her face. Change the clothes and that's a face you'd see anywhere you went. Very modern.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai — What Would Ghandi Do

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

This was altogether charming as a good-natured goon (a.k.a. gangster) falls for a local radio show host and in an attempt to win a chance to meet her must win a quiz about Ghandi. His resultant dip into Ghandi-ism is hilarious and was so effective that this movie spurred an actual national revival of interest in learning about this Indian hero.

This director went on to make 3 Idiots and PK so his four films have just gone from good to great. Sanjay Dutt here reminded me of Jack Klugman (for those with memories long enough to reach back to when he was Oscar from The Odd Couple TV show). He's so good natured and easy going that you wonder just how he can hold down a job as a goon. If I hadn't seen him in other movies I'd judge him to have been playing himself. However, I know he's more versatile than that having seen him portray the most evil villain I've ever seen in a movie (Agneepath).

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

MADE THIS WAY: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues

MADE THIS WAY
How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues
by Trent Horn, Leila Miller

This is a very practical and accessible guide to Church teachings on moral issues dealing with sexuality. Topics covered range from sex outside of marriage to pornography to trangender identity, and much more. Each issue has its own chapter with a general overview section of the teachings, advice for talking to little kids, and then one for older kids (after puberty). The authors both have a lot of practical experience at this as parents themselves and the tips are very clear, practical, and useful.

As an informed Catholic, I found it good as a reminder of just what the Church's teachings are based on, which can be all too easy to forget when one is bombarded by secular culture's opposite messages. I also appreciated the continual touchstone of natural law included. And I especially appreciated continual reminders that we must pray for and love the people who we may encounter who aren't living by these teachings.

It's a quick read and very easy to dip into a section if the need arises. Right now, I kept my 5-year-old goddaughter in mind when reading since I don't have any other children in my life. However, this is a book I'll be recommending to Catholic parents and teachers of children of all ages.

Andrew Jackson Sowell

Andrew Jackson Sowell, via Traces of Texas

Andrew Jackson Sowell (June 27, 1815 – January 4, 1883) was a lifelong soldier and farmer in the 19th century. He was a participant in the Texas Revolution and a survivor of the siege of the Alamo. He continued his service during the years of the Republic of Texas, in the Mexican–American War, and the Civil War. He was a frontier defender, early Texas Ranger, and a friend and scout with Kit Carson.

Source, with more details

See, I am doing something new!

Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,

Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out, quenched like a wick.

Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;

See, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.

Isaiah 43:16-19

Karatsu Kunchi festival

Karatsu Kunchi festival, from Calligraphy in the view

So you're saying that I could die at any moment?

"So you're saying that I could die at any moment?"

"Yes. And this is different from your life yesterday in what way?" Umegat cocked his head in dry inquiry.

Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion

Something we all forget but that is true for us all.

Richard Hannay Spy Stories by John Buchan

Recently I went on a binge rereading the first three spy novels about "everyman" spy Richard Hannay. Then I plunged ahead into the remaining two, which were just as good as the first three.

These are real page turners. It never takes long after beginning one of them before I am finding every spare moment to read the next part of the story. Author John Buchan also has a wonderful way of describing surroundings so that you might feel yourself there. It all adds to the atmosphere and sense of journeying along with our hero.

If you've never read them, or never pursued Hannay's adventures past the first novel, you are missing some great reading.

THE 39 STEPS

He has been feeling bored with London life - until he discovers a dead man in his flat, skewered to the floor with a knife through his heart. Only a few days before, the victim had warned him of an assassination plot that could bring the country to the brink of war.

An obvious suspect for the police and an easy target for the murderer, Hannay goes on the run in his native Scotland. There, on the wild moors, he must use all his wits to stay one step ahead of the game - and warn the government of the impending danger before it is too late...

You may know this from the early Alfred Hitchcock film but the film was a loose adaptation. This was a quick read (made more so by the fact that I was pulled through at breakneck speed by the plot), especially in terms of today's gigantic best sellers, but extremely satisfying and riveting.

GREENMANTLE

Having been fighting in WWI, Richard Hannay is called back to London to hear the proposition of the official who helped him in the affair of The 39 Steps. It is a spy mission during which, he is told, he will almost certainly die, will probably have to journey to Turkey, and to which there are only three words as a clue. Of course, he steps up and accepts the mission.

I wound up liking this book much more than I thought I would. It was interesting watching Hannay gather a team together and then seeing their undercover investigations move them far apart and bring them together with surprising results.

MR. STANDFAST

Richard Hannay is again recalled from active service in WWI to undertake a secret mission. Disguised as a pacifist, roaming England incognito to investigate a German spy and his agents, Hannay must uncover a fiendish plot which would decisively turn the tide of the war in favor of the Germans.

The title refers to a character in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, to which there are many other references in the novel; Hannay uses a copy of Pilgrim's Progress to decipher coded messages and letters from his contacts.

This book managed to have all the elements I enjoyed in the first two — the solo agent on the run, the puzzling out of spy plans and mysteries, and the relationships between team members in service of the country and cause they love so much.

I loved this, except for the final two chapters which had much more detail about WWI battles than I cared for. Even those were worth reading, though, to discover the fate of the ultimate villain (and he is one bad guy) and for the fate of Mr. Standfast.

THE THREE HOSTAGES

After WWI Richard Hannay has retired to the countryside with his wife and young son. News comes to him of three kidnappings and a plot of political and financial magnitude that would shake the world. Hannay abandons his idyll to counter the threat, and the adventure takes him from the high society of 1920's London to a gripping climax in the wild Scottish Highlands where he meets his most formidable enemy yet.

Unlike previous books, Hannay finds out the villain early on (and we realize it even earlier, leading to a good amount of tension as we worry about his growing friendship with the man). Hannay must play a cat and mouse game as he looks for three kidnapped people, staying close to someone he despises, pretending to be a doglike admirer. That goes very much against Hannay's character.

I was delighted to see his wife playing an intelligent, active role as she did in the previous book, and other good friends from the past are in the story too.

THE ISLAND OF SHEEP

Twelve years after The Three Hostages Richard Hannay is in his fifties and feeling like a has-been. He is recalled to action by an old oath to protect the son of a man he once knew. A gang of vicious blackmailers have targeted the son and Hannay and his old comrades take on the challenge of shaking off the rust to come to his aid.

I especially like the fact that Hannay's son, 14-year-old Peter John, seems to be a chip off the old block, taking on danger to protect others, teaming up with the 13-year-old daughter of the blackmailer's target to provide unexpected resources.

Old French and New

There is an old French and a new. In Paris the new is spoken — the very newest. Were it anything but French it would be intolerably vulgar; as it is it is merely neat and intensely expressive.

Henry Seton Merriman, The Slave of the Lamp

Emma Zorn

Emma Zorn by Anders Zorn
via My Daily Art

Good at This

Good at This, Belinda Del Pesco

Shepherd's Pie

Rose is a Gordon Ramsay fan and this Shepherd's Pie is a great example of why. Get it at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Roe Deer in the Bushes

Roe Deer in the Bushes, Remo Savisaar

I had a vision of what we all were fighting for ...

Set during WWI.

I climbed through great beechwoods, which seemed in the twilight like some green place far below the sea, and then over a short stretch of hill pasture to the rim of the vole. All about me were the little fields enclosed with walls of grey stone and full of dim sheep. Below were dusky woods around what I took to be Fosse Manor, for the great Roman Fosse Way, straight as an arrow, passed over the hills to the south and skirted its grounds. I could see the stream slipping among its water-meadows and could hear the plash of the weir. A tiny village nestled in the crook of the hill, and its church tower sounded seven with a curiously sweet chime. Otherwise there was no noise but the twitter of small birds and the night wind in the tops of the beeches.

In that moment I had a kind of revelation. I had a vision of what I had been fighting for, what we all were fighting for. It was peace, deep and holy and ancient, peace older than the oldest wars, peace which would endure when all our swords were hammered into ploughshares.

John Buchan, Mr. Standfast

Hawaiian Moon

Hawaiian Moon, taken by my brother

Events may be horrible ...

Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men have always a choice—if not whether, then how, they may endure.

Lois McMaster Bujold, Curse of Chalion

Pecos Rodeo, 1936

Pecos Rodeo in Pecos, Texas, 1936
Fort Worth Star Telegram photo from UT-Arlington Special Collections
via Traces of Texas

From my quote journal: The Hardest Fight

Who has a harder fight than he who is striving to overcome himself?

Thomas a Kempis

Snow Fields

Rockwell Kent, Snow Fields (In the Berkshires), 1909
via Arts Everyday Living

Dead women can act very much alive.

"Dead women can act very much alive sometimes," Mom said. "My nephew Jonathan is still a bachelor, because his mother doesn't approve of modern girls — and his mother's been dead for eighteen years."

James Yaffe; My Mother, the Detective

That is really typical of the down-to-earth wisdom this Jewish mother shows in these stories when she's listening to her police detective son when he comes over on Friday nights for dinner. I loved this set of stories. This tidbit really grabbed me because it is so very true. My grandparents are still very much alive in that way. I weigh a lot of my behavior and manners against the way they lived their lives.

Mistinguett

Mistinguett (c.1913). G. K. (Georges Kugelmann) Benda
via Books and Art

Raid — Sometimes the Hero is a Taxman

The taxman cometh. And he is a righteous man. Which we already knew because he's Ajay Devgn. Hide all your undeclared gold. Because his supreme honesty will not stop until he uncovers all the taxes due to Mother India.

An honest IRS officer and his team raid a powerful politician suspected of evading taxation on an epic scale. This gripping story is based on actual events during 1981.

It's hard to image a tax raid being riveting but this had plenty of tension and one mystery which had us wondering right up to the end. Devgn is intense yet charming as the tax inspector who has been transferred 49 times in his career because he won't bow down to pressure. I also really liked Saurabh Shukla playing the politician on the take. His charisma made him the villain you loved even while despising his actions.

One thing about this sort of movie is that, even if not strictly adhering to facts, it gives me insight into India's history and culture which I'd not normally have.

Only four songs and no dances. Hey, this is a serious and modern movie!

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

 Hannah and Rose discuss it at An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

People call me a feminist whenever ...

People call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat or prostitute.

Rebecca West

We've all had this experience, right? It can be a chance to explain where you diverge from a handy label, especially if you are Catholic.

Racinet Polychromev

Via BiblyOdyssey

BibliOdyssey tells us:

"Adapted from historical items dating back to antiquity, such as jewelry, tiles, stained glass, illuminated manuscripts, textiles, and ceramics, these ornamental designs [from 'Racinet's 'L'Ornement Polychrome'] encompass a wide range of cultural aesthetics including classic Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Etruscan motifs, Asian and middle-Eastern patterns, as well as European designs from medieval times through the 19th century."

There are more of them at the link for you to enjoy.

Evangelization and Culture

From my quote journal.

You can't evangelize a culture you hate.

Cardinal George

Ain't that the truth? Bishop Robert Barron quoted this and we know that is also his philosophy, even moreso since Cardinal George was a big influence on putting Barron on the path that got him to where he is now.

Our Bollywood Year by Tom Davis

Tom posted this on Facebook as a 2018 year-end summary of our unexpected interest in Bollywood  movies (and all other Indian movies). If you don't belong to Facebook (and there are people who don't) then you can't read it. As he was putting together the piece, we really enjoyed reminiscing about the path that got us to this point. So I'm sharing it here as part of our family chronicles for 2018.

We watch a lot of movies. I post each movie to Facebook after we watch. (That is pretty much all I post on Facebook) Some are old, some new, most at home and occasionally at the theater.

But this year took a strange turn. Of the 94 movies we watched in 2018, 43 were from India.

At the end of 2017 I was on a Skype call with a client (I will call him Srinath because that is his name) in India (Hyderabad) and while waiting for a third person to arrive we began talking about movies. Srinath asked if I had seen any Indian movies, I answered yes. Julie and I had seen Lagaan which is often recommended as a very accessible Indian movie.

Srinath was impressed and asked if I had seen Slumdog Millionaire. Of course, although I did not consider it Indian Cinema - being directed by Danny Boyle and having no song sequences. It was about India, but even then I knew what made a movie Indian. Srinath asked about a few similar movies - he finally said I needed to watch Baahubali. A two-part epic fantasy about a long ago kingdom and two princes vying to be king - one evil, one good. That was December 30, 2017. We loved it.

We did not watch any Indian movies until Sridevi’s untimely death was in the news in June. So we watched her comeback film English Vinglish. We loved it.

India produces almost 2,000 movies a year so it is difficult to choose one. Rose found a list of the Top 100 Bollywood films by Timeout London. (So their viewpoint included western sensibilities) She chose movies from after 2000 which gave us a long list of movies to watch.

So every week we were watching one or two Indian movies a week. We started learning who the big stars were and what directors to rely on. We learned what a masala movie is and began to expect at least 6 songs with dancing per movie and nothing shorter that 2 and half hours run time. (3 hours is typical)

A few months in I kept thinking I would “snap out of it”, but as we grew more comfortable these movies were getting better.

Most of the movies have been fairly light, but we have seen great action movies, intense dramas and even science fiction (of a sort). Some movies can have a lower production quality than we expect from Hollywood, but the stories and action usually compensate.

In November we went to see a first run movie in the theater - Thugs of Hindostan - which was released worldwide on the same day. We loved it. (Indians apparently did not love it.)

We also learned a lot about India. In order to understand context we had Wikipedia on the iPad ready to explain locations, situations and religions that are part of Indian culture. Just ask me about the war of Bangladesh independence - that was the movie Raazi.

Finally, we learned that Bollywood is just one part of the Indian movie industry - about 43% by box office. Bollywood is the Hindi language movie center. Tollywood is the Telugu language center (Hyderabad) and Kollywood is the Tamil language center (Chennai). These two represent 36% of the industry, and there are movie production centers all over India for other languages.

Whatever it is called it is now big part of our regular movie watching.

Bollywood: The Films! The Songs! The Stars!

Bollywood: The Films! The Songs! The Stars! 

A visual tour of the glamour and color of Indian cinema in the only comprehensive illustrated guide to the world of Bollywood movies.

Mumbai's charming movies, with glittering costumes and epic song-and-dance productions, have captured hearts all over the world since the early 1900s. Bollywood features film stills, plot timelines, star and producer profiles, plus historical insights, lesser-known facts, and behind-the-scenes gossip on such iconic movies as Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and Bajirao Mastani.

Yes, we knew this would happen at some point, right? I found a book on Bollywood! The cover alone tells us that they understand a big part of the appeal — those colors are glittery, shiny, and sparkly. I don't know how I came across it but was thrilled to see the library had a copy, which I instantly ordered.

This is fun for dipping into, especially considering our family's current obsession with Indian films. It was a wonderful surprise to discover how many of the most recent "great movies" we'd seen and how many of the stars we knew. Rose has been pulling a lot of our viewing choices from a Time Out Best 100 Bollywood and Hindi Movies list, supplemented with top grossing, well reviewed films from after that list's date. She has done a great job, evidently.

We're enjoying all the background materials and finding new movies to put on our list from this book.  In fact, it has been in high demand, with one person putting it down only to have another snatch it up for their own reading. So, naturally, I bought one for our own home library! A necessary household resource, you know.

The Dark Meat of the Angel

Not that she is not enjoying the holiday [Spring Break] — as it is sometimes called. She really likes to see three helpings of mashed potato, thick slices of steak, and mountains of toasted angel cake with chocolate sauce systematically stoked into young furnaces. There was chocolate angel cake once: an innovation, a departure from tradition. Mrs. Appleyard had a read a rule in the paper. Even she is not proof against all human frailty.

It was Sally who summed it up politely.

"Thank you," she said. "I don't think I care for any more of the dark meat of the angel."

Louise Andrews Kent, Mrs. Appleyard's Year

This is such a charming and gently humorous book. I recently reread it as my pre-lights-out book. It was perfect for powering down before sleep.

Excellent Hunter

Excellent Hunter, Remo Savisaar

Listen Up — Daily Poem

The Daily Poem offers one essential poem each weekday morning. From Shakespeare and John Donne to Robert Frost and E..E Cummings, The Daily Poem curates a broad and generous audio anthology of the best poetry ever written, read aloud by David Kern. Some light commentary is included and the poems are read twice.

I really enjoy this podcast which says something since I often struggle with liking poetry. David Kern's commentary has gotten more in-depth as the show has gone on, but without making the episodes longer which I appreciate. Each episode is between 4 and 10 minutes.

Listen to episodes here or subscribe.

Fan - a solid thriller

Gaurav develops an obsession with a movie star who looks just like him. He goes to Mumbai to meet his idol, but he refuses to grant him five minutes of his time. Gaurav is enraged and plots to destroy his hero.

They had me at Shah Rukh Khan playing his own stalker. Normally I wouldn't care about this sort of movie but was curious to see how Khan carried off the dual roles. I'm happy to say this is a solid thriller and a real star vehicle for King Khan who proves he can really act. I also enjoyed the fact that this had some very tense moments but without indulging in the extremes that Hollywood would have included.

Rating — Bollywood Medium (mostly straight forward but with some concepts it is helpful to have come across before. Such as, in this one, knowing that Bollywood fandom is taken to ridiculous levels such as huge crowds waiting outside a star's house just to wave to him on his birthday ... or people having small shrines to their favorite stars.)

ALSO
Hannah and Rose discuss it at An American's Guide to Bollywood.
Scott and I discuss it at A Good Story is Hard to Find.

Staying Catholic at Christmas. A Gospel reading for the scandal in the church.

I'm a little behind on my blog reading but this piece works for any time of year, I think. I really liked this linking of the "begats" to the current scandal.

Anyway, I myself like it when we dig into the boring parts and pull out the plum of deeper meaning that speaks to us here and now. I need to be reminded of Christ's lineage and what it means ... and what the gospel writers were saying.

Go read the whole thing, but here's some of what I liked.

If you only know the Bible vaguely, this litany of names probably sounds a bit pompous, an attempt to elevate the infant Jesus by linking him to great patriarchs and noble kings. But the truth is roughly the opposite: The more you know about Genesis or Chronicles or Kings, the more remarkable it is that Matthew announced the birth of the son of God by linking him to a pack of egregious sinners.

[...]

Take a line like “Judah begat Perez and Zerah of Tamar.” Just a typical nuclear family, right? Here’s McCabe with the real story: “Judah slept … by mistake, with his daughter-in-law Tamar: She had cheated him by disguising herself and dressing up as a prostitute … [When] Judah heard that his daughter-in-law had prostituted herself and become pregnant, he ordered her to be burnt alive. He was disconcerted when he discovered that he himself had been the client and that the child, Perez, was his.”

[...]

Crucially, in claiming the divine is entering the world through this line of “murderers, cheats, cowards, adulterers and liars,” Matthew isn’t offering some particularly Christian innovation within the larger biblical story. He’s simply picking up what his own people, the Jewish people, already said about themselves: We’re the chosen people of the one true God, and to prove it to you here’s a long story about how awful and promiscuous and murderous and fallible we are, how terrible our leaders often turned out to be, and how we deserved every exile and punishment we received.

If you don’t find that message credible, well, I understand. But if you find it strangely compelling, then you’re close to the case for remaining Catholic at a time when the corruption of the church is driving a number of very public defections from the faith.

Ross Douthat, Staying Catholic at Christmas

Kahaani - a mother of a story

Vidya Bagchi arrives in Kolkata from London to find her missing husband Arnab. Seven months pregnant and alone in a festive city, she begins a relentless search. With nothing to rely on except her memories and a photo, all clues seem to reach a dead end and she slowly realises that nothing is what it seems.

We put off watching this for weeks because the description sounded depressing. Wow, were we wrong! This thriller blew our minds. Hollywood would be proud to have made this movie.

You might not want to take that recommendation seriously because it is foreign but just as in the French movie Tell No One, it is hard to convince people how good this is. Just watch it.

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

Hannah and Rose discuss it in episode 48 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

Copyrighted Works are Entering Public Domain for the First Time in Over 20 Years

Woohoo! The drought is over!

For the first time in over 20 years, on January 1, 2019, published works will enter the US public domain.1 Works from 1923 will be free for all to use and build upon, without permission or fee. They include dramatic films such as The Ten Commandments, and comedies featuring Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. There are literary works by Robert Frost, Aldous Huxley, and Edith Wharton, the “Charleston” song, and more. And remember, this has not happened for over 20 years. Why? Works from 1923 were set to go into the public domain in 1999, after a 75-year copyright term. But in 1998 Congress hit a two-decade pause button and extended their copyright term for 20 years, giving works published between 1923 and 1977 an expanded term of 95 years.

Duke Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain,
Public Domain Day 2019

This probably doesn't seem like a big deal in general. But to people who love LibriVox where you can get free audio books, Project Gutenberg where you can read or download free books, and the many podcasts which read books aloud this is big news. Those places, and many more, all depend on public domain books and that source has been shut off for a long, long time.

At my podcast, Forgotten Classics, there were many times when a book was just shy of that cut off date and it was terribly frustrating knowing that no one cared about it but me. And that I still couldn't share it with others.

I admit it gives me a certain gleeful feeling to know that Steamboat Willy's Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain.

We can blame Mickey Mouse for the long wait. In 1998, Disney was one of the loudest in a choir of corporate voices advocating for longer copyright protections. At the time, all works published before January 1, 1978, were entitled to copyright protection for 75 years; all author’s works published on or after that date were under copyright for the lifetime of the creator, plus 50 years. Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse’s first appearance on screen, in 1928, was set to enter the public domain in 2004. At the urging of Disney and others, Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, named for the late singer, songwriter and California representative, adding 20 years to the copyright term. Mickey would be protected until 2024—and no copyrighted work would enter the public domain again until 2019, creating a bizarre 20-year hiatus between the release of works from 1922 and those from 1923.

Smithsonian Magazine

At any rate, we will now add to the public domain year by year as each January 1 rolls around. And that makes it a Happy New Year for me!

Picture Miss Seeton — a delightful, cozy mystery

Picture Miss Seeton
by Heron Carvic

Miss Seeton is a retired, often bemuddled British art teacher with a slight psychic ability for drawing things more accurately than they appear. Picture Miss Seeton, the first in the series, is an absorbing novel in which an elderly and naive drawing mistress, finds herself suddenly involved in the baser side of life, becoming embroiled in a murder and its subsequent mayhem.

This was a delight to reread.

I'd forgotten just what an endearing character Miss Seeton is with her ever-present brolly and continual misunderstanding of what's going on around her. To balance that, though, there is the fact that she was a school mistress and you realize she must have been a good one because she brings that sense of judging people to different situations. If only she understood just what the situations were.

This would go in the "cozy mystery" category as well as the comic category, while still being a very  satisfying mystery.

Here's a bit of the beginning of the book in which Miss Seeton reflects on the opera she just saw.

"L'amour est tum tum

De something..."

So colorful. Not romantic—no, one couldn’t call it that; if anything perhaps a trifle sordid. Carmen, herself, for instance, no better than she should be. In fact, if one were frank, worse. And the other girl, the young one; it was difficult to feel sorry for her. Her fiancé, quite obsessed with his mother—obviously weak and easily influenced—would have made a most unsatisfactory husband in any case. Still, for him to stab Carmen at the end like that—so unnecessary. Almost contrived. Though, of course, one must not forget that foreigners felt differently about these matters. One read that people abroad did frequently get emotional and kill each other. Probably the heat.

Heron Carvic wrote the first five Miss Seeton mysteries. Although the series continued with other authors none of them really rang true. Those first five though are great fun.

Big in Bollywood

27-year-old American-born Omi Vaidya, a struggling actor in L.A., miraculously lands a dream role in the Bollywood film “3 Idiots.” Curious to better understand the world of Bollywood, four of Omi’s buddies armed with cameras fly to Mumbai to document his big premiere. Within a week of release, “3 Idiots” skyrockets to box office success, becoming the most successful Indian film in history and transforming Omi into an overnight megastar.

But being a national sensation in India is not all glitz and glamor. Aside from the language barrier, Omi struggles with the pressure of his newly acquired fame and continuing his career momentum while trying to maintain a healthy domestic life back in Los Angeles. Set against the backdrop of Mumbai, Big in Bollywood is a film about what it is to be successful in show business, seen through the eyes of Omi’s best friends, who witness his career transformation firsthand.

We watched this last June and it provided the impetus to watch 3 Idiots.

This was immensely helpful in our plunge into Bollywood and also just a fun documentary about an American's experience as part of a huge hit film in a foreign culture. I realized I never reviewed it and that it might be helpful for anyone else interested in trying movies from India.

2019 Resolutions — Reading and Viewing

  B O O K S  

Reread the books I own. Do I still love reading these books? Only one way to find out as I tend to buy them and keep them as treasures on the shelf, but often forget to reread them.

Also, though this goes along with rereading, I recently began rereading Charles Dickens' novels in order. Am only partway through The Old Curiosity Shop, but will be intermittently pursuing this goal during the year.

Reading "I'll get to them sometime" books I keep skipping over. I've been given gifts, made impulse purchases, and as so many of us do ... have them in a fairly small but growing stack of books that I always overlook for something else that grabs my attention. This seems to me to go hand in hand with rereading, since the ultimate goal is to enjoy the books I've got and to get rid of the ones I don't care for.

  M O V I E S  

More Bollywood! More Tollywood! More Indian movies in general ... as if that were possible. But the fascination continues.

Also, we have watched a couple of director William Wyler's early movies (1930s) and will continue with his filmography through the year ... whenever we need a bit of American culture to leaven the Indian movies.

Best of 2018 - Movies

In 10 words or less, my top picks from the movies we watched last year. As always, the movies may be old, but my viewing was brand new in 2018.

Paddington

Charmingly old fashioned, playful mystery.
(My review here.)

The Lost Weekend

Riveting story that surprised me with great performance.
(My review here.)

Black Panther

Fresh, exciting design with fascinating ideological point of conflict.
(My review here.)

Coco

Love, family, memory, and loss anchored in Mexican culture love letter.

(My review here.)

Jumanji: Return to the Jungle

The Rock and Jack Black make this tons of fun.
(My review here.)

A Foreign Affair

A forgotten Billy Wilder treasure. Romantic comedy with deeper commentary.

Indian Films

We tried Baahubali and went straight down the rabbit hole.
(Reviews of favorites/discoveries with newest on top.)

Our favorites:

- Baahubali 1 & 2 - 

- Lagaan - 

- Om Shanti Om -

- Tashan -

- Dhoom 3 -

-Omkara -
- Lootera -

- Barfi! -

- Bajrangi Bhaijaan -
-PK-

Tom wrote a reflection of our Year of Bollywood which may be read here.

PK

A humanoid alien (Aamir Khan) lands on Earth naked on a research mission in Rajasthan but is stranded when the remote control for his spaceship is stolen.

Tom describes this best:

2014 satirical comedy-drama about an alien who gets stuck on Earth - it is not E.T. Instead it is a lighthearted view of humans through the childlike PK, played by the always intense Aamir Kahn. (PK means tipsy in Hindi.)

Amazingly charming, it uses India’s religions (which is almost all of them) as a backdrop to finding his way home.

It is really much better than my description. Look at it this way: it cost $12 million to make and had a box office of $140 million.

This was unexpectedly delightful and would be a good introduction to Bollywood since it is a bit more Western in how the story is told, with a few songs and dances to carry the story along. I especially enjoyed the religious angle, as well as the ingenuity with which PK has to figure out how to live on Earth using language instead of telepathy. And, of course, there is Aamir Khan (my favorite of the Three Khans).

Scott and I discussed this on episode 205 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

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

Best of 2018 - Books

In 10 words or less, my top picks from the books I read last year. You may find old books here but if they're on this list, then they were new to me!

The Man Who Was Thursday

by G.K. Chesterton

We were warned. The subtitle is "A Nightmare." Loved it! 
(My review here.)

Cool & Lam series 

by A.A. Fair (Earle Stanley Gardner)

Bad-tempered Bertha Cool and clever, attractive Donald Lam. Detecting perfection.
More here.

Big Book of Rogues and Villains

edited by Otto Penzler

Mostly good-hearted rogues or villains being foiled. Delightful!
(My review here.)

The Boys in the Boat

by Daniel James Brown

Inspiring, informative, historical. Going on my "best ever" list.
(My review here.)

The Best Cook in the World

by Rick Bragg

Personalities, old customs, and hard times — more memoir than cookbook.
(My review here.)

Brideshead Revisited

by Evelyn Waugh

I respect and admire but didn't love. Will definitely reread.  

(My review.)

The Black Swan / St. Martin's Summer

by Rafael Sabatini

Totally entertaining swashbucklers/romances.
(My reviews here.)

The Fellowship

by Philip Zaleski and Carol Zaleski

Far superior to other books I've read on the Inklings.

(My full review)

Mother Angelica's Answers, Not Promises

 by Mother Angelica with Christine Allison

Solid advice, instruction, inspiration.  
(My review here.)

A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament

 by John Bergsma and Brant Pitre

Informed opinion, trustworthy scholarship, fascinating reading.

 (My review here.)

Discovering the Catholic Herald

I received a copy of the Catholic Herald in the mail a few days ago. Occasionally I receive samples from different publications and usually find they don't add much beyond what I'm already reading on the internet.

In this case, however, every time I picked up this weekly Catholic news magazine to take a look through before tossing it out, I kept finding I was slowing down and reading it with attention. That in itself was rare but I also liked the features such as the global map showing what was happening in the Church worldwide. (Oh, right, the U.S. is not the center of the Catholic world!) I liked the schedule of daily mass readings tucked into a corner. I liked the blend of news analysis, editorials, and pieces looking at common elements with a Catholic eye.

You can read a lot of this online at their site. In fact, they say the reason they began a U.S. edition (this is originally a U.K. publication) is that half their website visitors were American. However, there was really something gripping for me in having a magazine to pick up and peruse for a few days.

My copy was from Dec. 7, not the gorgeous double issue whose cover I show above. And it isn't cheap. But that is the price of a decent magazine these days, I have a feeling. Anyway, take a look. You might like it as much as I do.

UPDATED — Thank You! The Bayeux Tapestry by Lucien Musset

There was no card or other acknowledgment in the package containing this treasure. I was going over my list — yes, checking it twice against the many treasures I have stacked in my closet. And then I opened it and ... found something filling me with great delight!

Early in our marriage Tom and I went to France and one of the places he was determined to go was Bayeux. You know, so we could see the tapestry.

"The what?" I said, which is how Tom found out my utter lack of English/French historical knowledge.

We toured it just ahead of a pack of English schoolchildren on a field trip. As I read the captions and followed the story this wonderful piece of art told, I became a fan just like Tom. I've never forgotten that experience.

Naturally I was dying to read this book which "presents a full-colour reproduction of the entire Tapestry, with a detailed commentary alongside each episode, equipping the reader to follow the story blow by blow and this marvellous work of art step by step."

And now, thanks to some kind person, I can! It looks simply fantastic now that I've had a chance to briefly glance through it and I can't wait for tonight when I can settle in and begin. Thank you so much!

UPDATE
I read it quite leisurely and it was everything I hoped for and more. Highly recommended.

Caught My Eye: Secular Advent, Muslim Youth Guarding Churches, Taiwan's Silent Majority

The Secular Christmas Season is Actually Secular Advent
From National Catholic Register comes a point of view to help counter frustration with the "Christmas too early" feeling.

Then one year it dawned on me: For most people the Christmas tree, Christmas lights, the music, the parties, the cookies, etc., are actually Advent activities. They call them Christmas decorations, but when they come down right after Christmas Day, they actually are Advent decorations. If they were really for Christmas, then they would stay up for the whole of the Christmas season. And realizing this changed my whole outlook.

Muslim Youth to Help Guard Indonesian Churches at Christmas
I love this story which you can read at the Catholic Herald.

More than 90,000 police and soldiers and a moderate Muslim youth group will help guard nearly 50,000 churches across Indonesia, including some previously attacked by terrorists, during the Christmas period.

How Taiwan’s ‘Silent Majority’ Blocked Same-Sex ‘Marriage’ Momentum
A fascinating story since I didn't know Taiwan's take on these issues.

Until local elections that were held Nov. 24, Taiwan was considered the San Francisco of Asia — the most “gay-friendly” country in the region, set to redefine marriage to include same-sex couples, as ordered by the country’s highest court.

What happened instead surprised even Catholic clergy deeply involved in defending pro-family laws.

In a set of five referendum questions, Taiwan overwhelmingly affirmed traditional marriage and voted to remove content reflecting gender ideology from elementary- and junior-high-school curricula; 66.1% of approximately 19 million eligible voters participated.

Read the whole thing at National Catholic Register.

I finished my Christmas shopping.

That calls for a warrior's celebration. Luckily, I've got it all lined up. There aren't any captions, but you can get the vibe of the thing.

(I love the YouTube comment on this: My cat and goldfish listened to this song, now the cat is a tiger and the goldfish is a shark.)

Watch it full screen.