Psalm 8 — the Back Parts of God

As you see the grace of the Savior extended everywhere, so many being saved, if you wish to raise your voice to the Lord, sing Psalm 8; or you can use the same psalm as well as 84 in thanksgiving for the vintage harvest.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

Did David, the shepherd, compose this after being out with the sheep all night and seeing the glory of the night sky?

This psalm gives us so many quotes that are part of Western culture, such as "what is man that thou art mindful of him?". I love this one and it has clearly touched so many deeply that they wanted to give the context of its joy and praise in their own writing.

Thierry Legault, The Veil nebula (NGC 6992) in Cygnus,
with permission
See more images and this one larger at Mr. Legault's website.

Here is the insight that I love the most.

8:1 The Lord's Name is Majestic

Only the Back Parts of God. Gregory of Nazianzus: The Majesty, or as holy David calls it, the Glory, is manifested among the creatures that it has produced and governs. These are the back parts of God, which he leaves behind him, as tokens of himself like the shadows and reflections of the sun in the water, which show the sun to our weak eyes, because we cannot look at the sun himself, for by his unmixed light he is too strong for our power of perception.  On Theology, Theological Oration

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

This is just the best, referring back to Moses in Exodus 33:19–23 when he asks to see God's face and is told that he'd be overcome and so will get to see the back of God. Here we are with creation, as Gregory tells us, seeing God's back parts. Just wonderful.

Now on to some of the other great insights inspired by this psalm.

Balancing Deity and Humanity

It seems to me that I seldom meet any strong or exultant sense of the continued, never-to-be-abandoned, Humanity of Christ in glory, in eternity. We stress the Humanity too exclusively at Christmas, and the Deity too exclusively after the Resurrection; almost as if Christ once became a man and then presently reverted to being simply God. We think of the Resurrection and Ascension (rightly) as great acts of God; less often as the triumph of Man. The ancient interpretation of the Psalm 8, however arrived at, is a cheering corrective.

C.S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms

What is mankind ...?

The dignity of human beings is stressed in this passage in a way unparalleled in the ancient Near East. According to Mesopotamian sources, men and women were created to relieve the workload on the lesser gods who were forced to cultivate land in order to feed the gods. When the growing human population became too noisy, the gods thought to extinguish human existence through the great flood. As a result of the flood, food offerings to the gods were no longer forthcoming. Only then did the gods find that humans were nonexpendable after all. Although humanity survived the flood, the gods decreed certain afflictions to keep the population from ever growing out of control again. According to Ps 8, far from being expendable slaves to the gods, human beings are the special objects of the Creator's care in the vast universe.

NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

8:3 The Work of God's Fingers

Makes One Wonder. John Chrysostom: "What is it about human beings?" ... Taking full account of such marvelous care and such wonderful providence on God's part, and the arrangements he put in place for the salvation of the human race, [the psalmist] is struck with complete wonder and amazement as to why on earth God considered them worthy of attention. Consider, after all, that all the visible things were done for their sake. For them the design implemented from the time of Adam up to his coming; for them paradise, commandments, punishments, miracles, retribution, kindnesses after the Law; for them the Son of God became human. What could anyone say of the future they are intended to enjoy? So all those things are going through his mind when he says, to be thought worthy of such wonderful privileges, what must the human being be? I mean, if you consider what was done and is being done for their sake, and what they will enjoy afterwards, you will be stricken with awe, and then you will see clearly how this being is an object of such attention on God's part. Commentary on the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

I also love this connection to Genesis and God's creation.

Sheep and oxen / ... birds of the heavens and fish of the sea.

The language of this compact but embracing catalogue is  a deliberate recasting in somewhat different words of the first Creation story ever, but the audience of the poem is surely meant to hear in all this a beautiful poetic reprise of Genesis 1. The eye moves downward vertically in the poem from the heavens to the divine beings who are God's entourage to man's feet and, below those, to the beasts of the field and then to what swims through the sea (which no longer harbors a primordial sea beast).

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

Lord, our Master, / how majestic Your name in all the earth.

Although biblical literature, in poetry and prose, exhibits considerable fondness for envelope structures, in which the end somehow echoes the beginning, this verbatim repetition of the first line as the last, common in other poetic traditions, is unusual. It closes a perfect circle that celebrates the harmony of God's creation. ...

Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible: The Writings

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

A Movie You Might Have Missed: 34

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.  

I'll just get this out of the way first. This might be the worst poster/dvd cover I've ever seen for a movie.

Be not afraid. Watch it anyway.

This movie's unique blend of talent includes Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover and Mia Farrow. If it is hard to imagine what they all have in common, then you are in the right frame of mind for Be Kind Rewind.

Mr. Fletcher's (Danny Glover) Be Kind Rewind VHS rental store is in decline. Despite his claims that jazz pianist Fats Waller was born there, the building housing his business is going to be demolished unless he can finance renovation. When Mr. Fletcher goes on an annual trip to memorialize Fats Waller, he leaves sole employee, Mike (Mos Def), to tend the store.

Naturally this is when things go very wrong. Through a freak magnetic accident, all the tapes in the store are erased, leaving Mike and his friend Jerry (Jack Black) to come up with a way to satisfy rental customers. They reshoot movies on demand using their own cameras.

Part of this movie's charm is the combination of standard bumbling comedy with wacky brilliance. Fair warning: the first part is a bit more of what one expects from a Jack Black movie. When we watched it with friends during a movie night, my husband and I looked at each other thinking, "What have we done?"

However, the middle and end suddenly take an unexpected turn which winds up combining a love of movies, personal creativity, history, community, and ... of course ... Fats Waller, whose story is wound through the movie. (For the record, our friends loved it.)

By the way, this was directed by Michael Gondry who is known for his distaste of CGI. This has led to some very creative sets and movie making in order to come up with effects in his movies. A wonderful example in this movie is when Mike and Jerry are on the chain link fence. Just watch for it. You'll see what I mean.

Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill

Hiroshige, Meguro Drum Bridge and Sunset Hill, 1857

If the divine creator has taken pains to give us ...

If the divine creator has taken pains to give us delicious and exquisite things to eat, the least we can do is to serve them with ceremony.

Fernand Point, La Pyramide

Ida Lupino, They Drive By Night

 

Ida Lupino in They Drive By Night, costume by Milo Anderson
via Silver Screen Modes

The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback

Giuseppe Castiglione, The Qianlong Emperor in Ceremonial Armour on Horseback, 1758
Via Wikimedia

No special reason for this ... I just liked it!

None of the virtues are simple.

"Dealing with him was distasteful," she said. "He was similar to some of our donors. Outwardly quite charming, but I don't value charm. There are other qualities I value, such as perseverance and honesty." My face must have changed. She smiled again. "You have a right to disbelieve that, after what you've heard, but honesty is a complicated virtues."

"I always thought it was one of the simpler ones."

"None of the virtues are simple," Margaret O'Connor told me. "Only the sins."

S.J. Rozan, Concourse

A Movie You Might Have Missed #33 — Sunset Blvd.

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed. 

"The poor dope. He always wanted a pool."

This movie starts off watching a dead man floating in a pool, with a voice over from the man himself. You then hear this quote and you remember that Billy Wilder's dialogue crackles with verve and multiple layers of meaning. We then flash back to see the story of Joe who is an aspiring screenwriter but on the run from repo men when he dodges into a driveway to throw them off the track. He finds a dilapidated house from the 1920's and Gloria Swanson as the equally dilapidated former silent screen star who lives in the past and is planning her comeback. Joe finds himself lured into becoming her rewrite man and gigolo.

It is an unforgettable film that is a blistering expose of Hollywood which still holds true today. Interestingly many stars of the silent screen had parts in this to add authenticity and Cecil B. DeMille actually played a much more significant role than we would have thought ... and did so with surprising gentleness and charm.

Cemetery Gates

Cemetery Gates, Marc Chagall, 1917
via Wikipaintings

This painting fascinates me. First, because I love cemeteries. Walking in them, photos or paintings of them ... I am drawn to them and, to a large degree, find them soothing. This is not really soothing, instead being energetic.

The gate is marked with Hebrew. The shape of the sky behind the tombs looks like crosses rising into the air (that is my Catholic lens, I realize), the blue is bright and full of energy and draws me up away from the somber lighting around the gates and ground. It seems full of hope ... expectancy ... and active.

"Me," said Poirot, "I lead a very moral life."

"The English," said Poirot, "are a very moral people."

Lord Dittisham said: "Confound them, they are!"

He added, looking at Poirot, "And you?"

"Me," said Poirot, "I lead a very moral life. That is not quite the same thing as having moral ideas."

Agatha Christie, Five Little Pigs

Psalm 7 — God Has Prepared His Deadly Weapons

When certain people plot against you, as did Ahithophel against David, and you are informed of this, sing Psalm 7, and place your trust in God, who will deliver you..

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

Another lament. So many laments in a row. This one, though, has some interesting twists such as showing God threatening the enemy and the psalmist saying, "Hey I haven't been perfect in the past, but this time I definitely deserve justice."

7:6, The Fury of Enemies

Arise, he says, using the word to mean "appear"; he employs a human and obscure expression as though God were asleep, when really he is hidden and unrecognized in his secret plans.

St. Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms

Yes. How often does this happen to us too?

7:8, My Righteousness and Integrity

Not Perfect Righteousness. Theodoret of Cyr: In these words the divine David has not left a testimony to his own righteousness: we hear him protesting the opposite, "because I acknowledge my lawlessness, and my sin is always before me"; and, "I said, 'I shall declare my lawlessness against myself to the Lord,'" but he calls it justice in the matter before us. I committed no wrong, in fact, he is saying against Absalom or Ahithophel or those arrayed in battle with them against me. So I beg to be judged in the light of this righteousness and innocence and not in the light of the faults previously committed by me. I ask for judgment on these current grounds and not for a payment of penalty at this time for other sins.  Commentary on  the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

This strikes me in the light of confession and being able to pick ourselves up, trust in God's forgiveness, and moving forward to try to do better.

7:12, God's Weapons Prepared

Yahweh prepares to mete out the punishment ... stringing and drawing the bow and preparing to let fly with flaming arrows at the enemy. This well-drawn portrait of the ready archer stops just short of release — bow straining, eye on the target; Yahweh is poised, ready to act. The picture encourages the enemies to reconsider their opposition in light of Yehweh's sure defense of the righteous.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

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

I would happily understand [the bow in this verse] as the holy Scriptures, where the rigidity of the Old Testament is bent and subdued by the strength of the New Testament, as by some sort of bowstring. The apostles are launched from it like arrows, or divine proclamations are hurled from it. These arrows he has fashioned ... to make those who are struck by them blaze with the love of God. ... Once struck by these and set on fire by them, you must blaze with so great a love for the kingdom of heaven that you scorn the tongues of all who block your path and want to call you back from your fixed resolve. ...

St. Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms

I like the point that thinking of what Yahweh can unleash might make the enemy change his mind. How often I've had that same experience — often by considering that I'd have to confess a deed I was contemplating. Nothing like that for making you choose the righteous path instead of sin.

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

Red Hen

 

Red Hen, Himmapaan.

Mistake and Imagination

Your mistake was not in imagining things you could not know — that is, after all, what imagination is for. Rather, your mistake was in unthinkingly treating what you imagined as though it were an accurate representation of the facts.

Daniel Gilbert, Stumbling Into Happiness

How the Whale Got His Throat

How the Whale Got His Throat, illustrated by Himmapaan
Illustration for How the Whale got his Throat, in Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories,
published in a limited edition of 1,000 copies by The Folio Society, 2012

Which Way to Go From Here

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.

“I don’t much care where –” said Alice.

“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

“– so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation.

“Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Jesus' Resemblance to Joseph

Jesus must have resembled Joseph in his way of working, in the traits of his character and in his way of speaking. Jesus' realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations in his teaching — all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.

St. Josemaria Escriva, Christ is Passing By

White-Tailed Eagle

White-Tailed Eagle, Remo Savisaar

 

Reading all the immense annotated editions of the classics

Another gem from Edmund Crispin. In this case from The Case of the Gilded Fly.

He had bought, and read, all the immense annotated editions of the classics in which the greater part of every page is occupied with commentary (with a slight gesture to the author in the form of a trickle of text up at the top, towards the page number).

A Snowman Straight Out of Miyazaki

 I picked this up from J.R.'s Art Place where he says:

A friend pointed out that this snowman looks like he stepped out of a Hayao Miyazaki film.

Woman with a snowman, early 20th century. Collotype with hand coloring; unknown photographer, from the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Of course, after featuring My Neighbor Totoro yesterday, I couldn't resist sharing this.

Psalm 6 – Prayer for Healing

When you feel the Lord's displeasure, if you see that you are troubled by this, you can say Psalm 6.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

There is great food for thought in the points made about asking God to judge as a father and not an authority. There is a nice difference there in the love and personal concern that a father brings versus a more disinterested judge. Surely that is the frame of mine we should always have when we turn to God.

Also, the idea that the psalmist is asking God to restore the right, the intended, order is one that reminds me about how the world was meant to be, versus what it is.

I like the way this illustration shows David surrounded by dangers — a wild animal, a man with weapons, a centaur — but he keeps his eyes on God.

Psalm 6 illustration from A Book of Hours from Namur

6:1, Not in Anger

Like a Father, Not a Judge. Theodoret of Cyr: He does not beg to be uncensured but rather not to be censured in anger, nor does he plead to avoid discipline but not to suffer it with wrath. Discipline me like a father, he asks, not like a judge; like a physician, not like a torturer. Do not fit the punishment to the crime; instead, temper justice with lovingkindness.  Commentary on  Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

6:3, How Long, O Lord, How Long?

The psalmists did not lament just the personal, individual, or societal suffering they saw and experienced. They also complained because ... the rightness that should have been an integral part of a world created by Yahweh seemed to have run amok in suffering, pain, injustice, oppression, and death. Life was not just difficult, it was not only painful, it was also very, very wrong.

... The psalmists' sense of rightness demanded that God act to reestablish his intended order. Thus, the psalmists felt free to ask, "God, what are you doing? Where are you?" By these tough questions hurled at God the psalmists were aligning themselves with the tough-minded worldview that the world as we have it is not the world as it should be or as God intended . The world is broken and needs divine help to restore it.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

 Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

None but the most blindly credulous ...

 From the disclaimer page of The Moving Toyshop by Edmund Crispin.

NOTE
None but the most blindly credulous will imagine the characters and events in this story to be anything but fictitious. It is true that the ancient and nobel city of Oxford is, of all the towns of England, the likeliest progenitor of Unlikely events and persons. But there are liimits.

It is a nutty story and what he says is absolutely true.

Still life with orange and plum

Robert Spear Dunning - Still life with orange and plum

 Right now citrus is at its height. I've been enjoying grapefruit which are my favorites but that orange looked so bright and tangy that I had to share it.

Stagecoach Mary

Mary Fields: Freighter, cook, domestic worker, star route mail carrier,
first African-American woman star route mail carrier in the U.S.

Also Catholic. They forgot to mention that part.

I first heard of Stagecoach Mary on the American Catholic History podcast, which I recommend you listen to right here.

The Reality of Tuna Casserole

 I refuse to believe that trading recipes is silly. Tuna fish casserole is at least as real as corporate stock.

Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to finish watching all the TV shows it's downloaded.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Light, entertaining, fun, exciting. All that with a sense of humor and a mystery to solve in order to keep everyone alive. I like that Murderbot uses its free will to spend all day watching TV, if possible. I also liked the reason that it was capable of the killing that makes it name itself "Murderbot."

In a way, it felt a bit like it could have been from the Firefly universe. Or maybe Futurama? Every time Murderbot said "kill all humans" - and it was said a fair number of times - Bender flashed before my eyes.

I've seen a few complaints that this is too short and episodic feeling. You mean just like the entertainment that Murderbot loves to watch so much? Maybe that's why I liked it. Sometimes all you want is a good episodic adventure with a likable hero struggling against the odds. And that's what we've got here.

Returning to the mud

The French in another context call this "nostalgia for the mud." They mean a bourgeois romanticization of impoverishment. But I mean it in spiritual terms. Every time I recognized the truth and lived it, I was happy, and when I did not, I was not. And yet I always returned to not-happy, as if that were ... warm and happy mud.

Peggy Noonan, John Paul the Great

The Ferry

The Ferry, E. Phillips Fox

 I love the brightness  of the women's gowns against the brown of the wharf and ferry.

The Night of the 3rd Ult.

The Night of the 3D Ult. [copyright 1890]. First edition, first issue.

Set in London, in a lower class boarding house, and concerns the doings of both a police detective and a private detective. Bleiler calls the ending of this novel “almost brilliant.” OCLC locates only three copies of this title, including the deposit copy at the Library of Congress. A significant and very scarce detective novel.

Image and description via Books and Art

This sounds like just my type of book. Too bad it is so rare.

Psalm 5 — The Holiness of God and the Power of Words

When you see the evildoers planning to lie in wait for you, and you wish your prayer to be heard, get up at dawn and say Psalm 5.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms 15

There is an emphasis on the power of words here which really struck me — from the beginning where the psalmist beseeches, "Hear my words, O Lord" and toward the end where the enemies' mouths are compared to an open sepulchre.

Jewish sepulchre, 1st century

 5:1 Hear My Words, O Lord

God Weighs Our Words, and So Should We. Asterius the Homilist. God judges your cry: whether you have cried out against anyone unjustly, whether you have trumpeted unjust anger with your cry or whether you, overcome with such wrath, have called for the striking down of the innocent, like those who stoned Stephen: "Shouting with a loud voice, they covered their ears and in one spirit united against him they rushed him." And their shout became a vehicle of murder. God, therefore tests your words ... Homilies on the Psalms

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

There is something about the shout being a vehicle of murder that really brings home how careful we should be before we speak.

5:9 An Open Sepulcher

By telling lies and employing seductive flattery, people draw to themselves those whom they entice to sin, and they swallow them, so to speak when they make them turn to their own style of life. When this happens the flatterers die through their sin, and so it is right to refer to those by whom they are drawn in as open graves; indeed they themselves are somehow lifeless in that they lack the life of truth , and they gather into themselves the dead whom they have slain by lying words and empty hearts, making their victims into copies of themselves.

St. Augustine, Expositions of the Psalms

This seems like a horror novel, doesn't it? The undead swallowing up those they have enticed to them and making them into clones? We think of slander or gossip as a fairly benign sin but this helps see below the surface to the unholy horror that can come from using words wrongly.

 5:4-6, You Are Not a God Who Takes Pleasure in Evil
5:7-8, But I By Your Great Mercy

The psalmist begins with a phrase that describes the essential nature of Yahweh from which human consequences flow: God is incompatible with evil. Where God is, evil cannot coexist. ...

It is this understanding of the essential nature of God that informs Israel's unique perception of the holiness of Yahweh. In general, the ancient Near Eastern concept of holiness was devoid of any essentially moral element. Holiness was defined by reference to the gods; to be holy was to be what the gods were. Morally, the ancient Near Eastern gods demonstrated no clear distinction from humans. they acted in anger, in lust, or for personal gain. ... Their chief distinction from humans was that they were powerful and lived forever. Thus they were considered the source of both good and evil in human experience ... often completely unrelated to any human responsibility.

Israel's understanding of the character of Yahweh broke with this longstanding tradition. As the psalmist's statements imply, Yahweh's holiness was defined by his essential character. Yahweh is eternal and powerful, but he is also essentially good and incompatible with evil. As a consequence, those who align themselves with evil will suffer the consequences of divine rejection. ...

Yahweh's holiness has two sides. Not only is it incompatible with evil, ... it is also characterized by his relentless goodness" toward his creation and those humans who live in it. ... Yahweh's holiness is not just the basis for his judgment on sin but is at the same time the foundation for his work of salvation.

Psalms Volume 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

I do love the fact that the Hebrew worldview is reflected so thoroughly in something like this psalm. Of course, it is liturgical and so should, of course, show us something of God. But I never thought of it in just this way when reading this psalm before.

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here. 

Andy-cane

The holidays are past and we regretfully give up our candy canes until next year.

But we've got something even better — our Andy-cane!

I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy

The optimist's pleasure was prosaic, for it dwelt on the naturalness of everything; the Christian pleasure was poetic, for it dwelt on the unnaturalness of everything in the light of the supernatural. The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had heard that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring. The knowledge found out and illuminated forgotten chambers in the dark house of infancy. I knew now why grass had always seemed to me as queer as the green beard of a giant, and why I could feel homesick at home.

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Yes. When you find out you've been using the wrong orientation then everything comes into the proper focus. And you sing for joy.

Waratah

"Waratah" by Lucien Henry, 1887.
Waratah, a blossoming shrub, is a plant native to Australia.
Via J.R.'s Art Place

 I never heard of such a plant and this painting fascinated me. Here's more about it.

Wood in the Snow

 

Woods in the Snow, Peder Mørk Mønsted

It snowed here on Sunday and that is a really rare sight. The snow didn't get this deep and didn't even stick although, surprisingly, it was as much as eight inches deep in places to the south.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #32 — The Body Snatcher

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

Here's the real benefit of going to an actual video rental store. You walk in looking for I Walked With a Zombie because B-Movie Catechism and Zombie Parent's Guide both recommended this "Jane Eyre in Haiti" flick.

You leave with the double-feature dvd including The Body Snatcher because that's the only way it comes. I Walked With a Zombie was fine but short and rather light-weight. Go to the above linked blogs to read full reviews.

We looked dubiously at the art for The Body Snatcher. I could vaguely remember the Robert Louis Stephenson short story upon which it was based. What the heck, we had the rest of the evening so we started watching ... and were rewarded with a real prize.

In 1831 Edinburgh, Dr. Wolf MacFarlane (Henry Daniell) needs corpses for his students to learn anatomy. When young medical student Donald Fettes (Russell Wade) is promoted to his assistant, he makes the acquaintance of cabbie John Gray who provides the corpses. After a sinister conversation about the hospital not having enough dead poor people to provide the need, it becomes clear that Cabman Gray (Boris Karloff) is all too resourceful about providing supplies for the school.

There's a subplot about a poor little girl who needs spinal surgery (the very thought of such a thing in 1980s Edinburgh should send shivers down your spine if nothing else does) but it is not important. The key is Karloff's fantastic acting as the sinister Gray. I never saw him as Frankenstein but fell in love with his portrayal of this jovially menacing character. Yes. Jovially menacing. That is just how good he was.

The atmosphere is appropriately dark and spooky, the subject ghastly, and the doctor provides a lovely study in habitual actions turning you into someone who will do things that you'd never have thought possible when you began practicing medicine. Directed by Robert Wise and produced by Val Lewton, this is a dream team combination that hits every point perfectly. Yes, even factoring in the sweet little girl needing surgery.

Highly recommended for any time but especially now that Halloween is coming up.

And if it comes with I Walked With a Zombie, that movie make a perfect atmosphere provider before you launch into the main attraction.

Meditation on a Pudding

Let us seriously reflect of what a pudding is composed. It is composed of flour that once waved in the golden grain, and drank the dews of the morning; of milk pressed from the swelling udder by the gentle hand of the beauteous milkmaid, whose beauty and innocence might have recommended a worse draught; who, while she stroked the udder, indulged no ambitious thoughts of wandering in palaces, formed no plans for the destruction of her fellow-creatures; milk, which is drawn from the cow, that useful animal, that eats the grass of the field, and supplies us with that which made the greatest part of the food of mankind in the age which the poets have agreed to call golden. It is made with an egg, that miracle of nature, which the theoretical Burnet has compared to creation. An egg contains water within its beautiful smooth surface; and an unformed mass, by the incubation of the parent, becomes a regular animal, furnished with bones and sinews, and covered with feathers. – Let us consider; can there be more wanting to complete the Meditation on a Pudding? If more is wanting, more may be found. It contains salt, which keeps the sea from putrefaction: salt, which is made the image of intellectual excellence, contributes to the formation of a pudding.

Samuel Johnson

All Things Made New by Stratford Caldecott

 

All Things Made New explores the Christian mysteries by studying the symbolism, cosmology, and meaning of the Book of Revelation, as well as the prayers and meditations of the Rosary, including the Apostles' Creed and the Our Father. These reflections lead us step by step to the foot of the Cross, and to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb, where all things are made new.

I love Stratford Caldecott's writing. I first encountered him through The Power of the Ring where he looked at Tolkien's writing through a Catholic lens. The Radiance of Being was a wonderfully honest (and sometimes mind bending) examination of science and world religion (spoiler — Catholicism wins).

Both left me eager for more so I embarked on this look at the Book of Revelation. It is phenomenal.

The first six chapters walk us through the images and symbols of the book with the focus on the Revelation as the bookend to both the creation in Genesis and the Incarnation. Caldecott also looks at how the book will transform us personally if we enter into the mysteries of the Church as shown in the Revelation. This was all fascinating.

The real gems of All Things Made New for me are found in chapters 7 through the end of the book where he gives his reflections on the Creed, The Lord's Prayer, the Rosary and the Way of the Cross. Not only do we get deep spiritual insights but there are comments about the symbolic and numeric symbolism inherent in each. (Who knew?) The examination of the actions of the Son and Holy Spirit as reflected in the Creed were especially wonderful to me. I go in and out of saying the rosary — lately more "out" than "in — but the reflections on the individual mysteries of the rosary as well as the way of the cross were so illuminating that it made me seriously consider taking up my rosary again.

This was the first book I finished this year and it is going on my 2021 Best Books list. Now that's a good start!

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

In 1922 Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin.

Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him a doorway into a much larger world of  discovery.

It is with sheer delight that I move this from my 2021 Book Challenge list to my Best of 2021 list. I read it first of my challenges simply because there are so many requests at the library that I wouldn't be able to renew it. 

It is a wonderful balance of whimsy and history, fairy tale and reality. It tells us how to survive the rules imposed by others and how to turn dreams into reality. 

I didn't expect to be breathlessly excited by the last act but I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. Not a thing was introduced that wasn't called back into use by the end. And the end was absolutely perfect. Now I've got to buy my own copy.

The Hiding Place — going on my "annual reading list"

I just reread this for an upcoming book club meeting. It has resonated over the past few days, informing my faith and drawing me closer to Jesus.   I realized that its been years since I read it. And, partner, that's too long!

My original review is here. This is a bit but do go read the whole thing. And then, read (or reread) the book.

I was struck by the timelessness of the message and the values contained therein. Casper ten Boom models God the Father for his children, and those with good fathers recognize how powerful that can be. Those of us who were not so blessed can recognize in this hero a model of God the Father that we can relate to and call our own. Their mother, though not a key figure in the story, is instrumental in showing how it is possible to live a fully Christian life when home caring for a family, or when stricken by illness.

Betsie's point of view displays a Christ-like love for their captors even under the most terrible circumstances. Corrie is the example for the rest of us. She is uncertain, afraid, and needs the examples of Betsie and her father to keep her eyes on Christ. Even so, Corrie steps out in faith throughout the book whenever there is a need.

The Hiding Place also serves as a warning. I was quite surprised at how certain attitudes portrayed in the book resonated with our times; the Nazis showed utter disdain of the elderly, the very sick, and "feeble minded" because they were not productive members of society. If the ten Booms couldn't comprehend such attitudes, I realized with chagrin I understood them all-too-well as the utilitarian ideas of our "modern" society. As Flannery O'Connor said,

If you live today, you breathe in nihilism . . . it's the gas you breathe. If I hadn't had the Church to fight it with or to tell me the necessity of fighting it, I would be the stinkingest logical positivist you ever saw right now.

Best of 2020 — Podcasts — updated

My top picks from podcasts I discovered last year. As always, they may be old, but my listening was brand new in 2020. In no particular order. Links are mostly in the podcast name.

The Burrowshire Podcast

Brandon Vogt and Fr. Blake Britton are best friends, two Millennial Catholics living near Orlando, FL. “The Burrowshire Podcast” is an extension of their friendship, sharing conversation about faith, culture, books, and the spiritual life.

I was turned onto this by my podcasting partner, Scott Danielson, who has really enjoyed it. I soon saw why. I already liked Brandon through his prolific blogging and work with Word on Fire. His conversations with Father Blake are really fun and inspiring. Their friendship comes through clearly and I love the way they view the world as they discuss topics ranging from Chesterton to faith and politics to leisure to the liturgy of the hours. The podcast is aimed at millennials but you don't have to be that age group, as Scott and I can attest.

Morning Glory — updated

An hour-long Catholic morning show hosted by Gloria Purvis and Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers, this ranges far and wide in topics from traditional Catholic devotions to current events and the Catholic response. 

 

I've become a daily listener even though I don't always agree with some of the takes on current events. But there is always a Catholic focus with which I can agree and my point in listening isn't to be agreed with, but to be informed. Sometimes being challenged is part of being informed. If nothing else, it makes me think through my own views more thoroughly. (Links and my review here.)

UPDATE: I was very sorry to hear today that EWTN cancelled Morning Glory. I'm going to miss it from my daily schedule, especially since I don't think there was anything else like it out there. It was the only EWTN show I listened to, which testifies to its uniqueness since Catholic radio is not my thing.

Episodic Table of Elements

A science-history podcast exploring the culture and chemistry behind every element on the periodic table. Each episode stands on its own, but the show does provide a basic chemistry education that builds on itself over time.

I enjoy the way the podcaster finds unusual stories or links to the elements.

Shelf Wear

Scott Danielson (my partner in crime from the A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast) invites friends to participate in book and story discussions. No particular theme except that each friend picks a book they love. It has provided an eclectic set of books for consideration.

American Catholic History

American Catholic History finds the hidden gems and compelling stories of Catholic Americans who have contributed to their nation by virtue of their faith over the past three centuries.

The topics range from people (Frank Capra, James Longstreet, Babe Ruth) to places (Loretto Staircase, St. Mary's in Galveston) to events (Annie Moore as the first immigrant to pass through the gates of Ellis Island). At about 10 minutes per episode it is short enough to fit into any schedule and I look forward to it each week.

Novel Conversations

Frank Lavallo hosts two readers and the three of them summarize the world’s greatest works of classic literature, giving their reactions along the way. If SparkNotes had an audio best friend, it would be us! 

 

This is wonderful for listening to if you don't ever plan to read the book but want a good overview. Conversely it has lured me into interest in books I wouldn't have otherwise considered. For example Cannery Row is on my 2021 To Read list because of listening to this podcast.

Classic Movie Musts

A weekly movie podcast that aims to provide artistic and historical context to classic films. So whether you’re seeing our featured movie for the first time, the 10th time, or sometime in between, this podcast is meant to be a fun and helpful companion guide to classic movies.

This is one of my favorites. The only caveat is that the description covers the whole movie plot so if you don't want spoilers then skip that episode until you've watched it.

Catholic Answers Live

A daily, two-hour radio Q&A program dedicated to Catholic apologetics and evangelization.

 

This is the sort of thing I usually don't like. However, Rose has become very knowledgeable about the faith after regularly listening to it to help her RCIA small group.  So I thought — hey, what can it hurt? I mostly listen to Jimmy Akin's episodes but they've got something for everyone.

Soundtrack Podcasts

I did a feature on these earlier this year. Read about them here.

From the Great Library of Dreams

Mr. Jim Moon reads classic tales of the weird and the wonderful! Here you will find stories of the magical, the mysterious, the marvelous, and the macabre! 

 

This used to be a feature of the Hypnogoria podcast which has now been pulled into a different spot in order to just feature the stories. I really like the readings of these weird tales.

Best of 2020 — Movies

My top 10 picks from the over 130 movies we watched last year. PLUS the movies I'm proudest of watching.

As always, the movies may be old, but my viewing was brand new in 2020. In no particular order.

PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT

Don

1978, starring Amitabh Bachchan  

I loved this, though it would never go on my "best of" list. The accomplishment was in watching a 1970's Hindi movie and loving it. That's something I thought I'd never be able to do. But I've seen so many now that it just seemed to come naturally.

 

 

2020 BEST MOVIES

War

If you want an action thriller with a lot of over the top lines, big in Bollywood acting, and two top male stars in exotic locations doing impossible stunts ... then this is your movie. We really enjoyed it, including my 85 year old mother who laughed through a lot of it (as we did too - over the top, remember?) and said she never needed to watch another action movie. "This one captured the essence of all of them," she said. (My review here.)

Kumbalangi Nights

Four brothers, a sleepy fishing village, and very unexpected twists. As the story goes on it is clear the director is telling us about families, how they are formed, and how they grow. The movie's twists were truly unexpected and there is a clear religious element that interested us as Kumbalangi is about 40% Christian. (My review here.)

The Warrior

A warrior renounces violence only to become prey himself. This is the movie that persuaded Irrfan Khan to continue acting and was pitched to him as almost being a silent film. That may not mean much to those who don't know Khan but the Indian film world owes this a great debt. It is a movie with spare dialogue, gorgeous settings, and the acting done with great subtlety, even as many of the actions show the brutality that accompanies being a warrior. It is hard to describe this but the rewards are great. (More reviews here.)

Gaslight

If you only know the term "gaslight" but not where it came from, then you need to watch this movie. After the murder of her aunt, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) leaves London for Italy to start a new life. While there, she falls in love with the charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). They marry and return to London where Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.(My review here.)

Mughal-E-Azam

A classic 1960 Hindi epic — Prince Saleem chooses love over throne. This perpetrates a war between the prince and his father the great Mughal Emperor Akbar, and threatens to bring an empire to its knees.

 

We watched this as part of our education in the great Indian films and to see some of the great actors of Bollywood fame. I liked the acting and the poetic nature of the dialogue. I especially loved the classical Hindi dancing and singing. It really made me think of some of the big old Hollywood movies and on that basis I could understand it even better.(My review here.)

Ford v Ferrari

American car designer Carroll Shelby and the British-born driver Ken Miles work together to battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. This is more of a character study of friendship than of following the story of the car development in a strictly truthful way. Nonetheless we all enjoyed it a lot.

Billu

This was really charming. A barber's claim to be friends with a mega-star is put to the test when a movie is shot in his small village featuring, of course, that star. We are left wondering if the barber is telling the truth and what will happen if he can manage to meet the star face-to-face.

 

I am hard put to think of another movie that successfully blends big movie glitz with thoughtful small village reality, or in other words Shah Rukh Khan's style with Irrfan Khan's. But this one pulls it off.
(My review here.)

Karan Arjun

What fun it is with Salman and Shah Rukh being murdered and reincarnated and coming home to avenge the landlord's crimes against the family. Just as mummy wanted! 

 

I especially enjoy the mother and the goddess Kali's involvement - two mothers knowing what's right, even is one of them is a bloodthirsty goddess holding a human head. Definitely for advanced Bollywood viewers. Otherwise it is just going to seem like one of those old, weird Indian movies.

Johnny Gaddaar

Vikram decides to elope with his girlfriend Mini for a better life. For this purpose he decides to steal the money collected by his business partners for a drug deal. Everything goes horribly wrong.

 

An homage to French neo-noir while being a wonderful example of that very thing. Definitely recommended and you don't have to be a Bollywood fan to appreciate this film. It is Hollywood quality, despite coming from India. (My review here.)

Sarvam Thaala

This is the tale of a young man struggling to overcome the hurdles of low caste and shallowness (and possibly his Christianity if I read some of the derogatory comments from the villain correctly) to learn classical Indian drum playing from a master artist. 

 

We all know the familiar beats of such a story but this movie hit them so well and enjoyably that this was a real crowd pleaser for our family. It's an engaging movie that an adventurous American viewer would like.  (My review here.)

Best of 2020 — Books

My top 10 picks from the over 190 books I read last year. PLUS the books I'm proudest of having read.

You may find old books here but if they're on this list, then they were new to me! In no particular order.

PERSONAL ACCOMPLISHMENT

Crime and Punishment

by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

I got through this with the help of the Close Reads Patreon episodes.  Generally riveting but not my favorite.  However, it was something I thought I'd never read so I'm happy I read it.

 

 

2020 BEST BOOKS

For the Life of the World

by Alexander Schmemann

Any Christian can get a great deal of insight and inspiration from this wonderful book. He looks at the connection between daily life and the sacraments and liturgy of the church. As a result, we are repeatedly drawn into fresh realizations about how present God is in everyday life ... and how connected that is with the liturgy.One of the most inspirational books I've ever read. 

(Full review here.)

So You Want to Be a Wizard

Diane Duane

Nita and Kit find a book that unlocks their power to be wizards. They wind up on a dangerous quest to defend good against the evil Lone Power. This is a book for kids and those parts are standard. However, Duane's world-building is stellar and that is what elevates these to the level adults can enjoy. The second half blew my mind.

(Read reviews here.)

Lincoln's Battle with God

by Stephen Mansfield

Throughout his life, Lincoln fought with God. ... On the day he was shot, Lincoln said he longed to go to Jerusalem to walk in the Savior’s steps.What was the journey that took Abraham Lincoln from outspoken atheist to a man who yearned to walk in the footsteps of Christ?

 

An even-handed telling of Lincoln's faith journey. Yes, he had one.

(My full review here.)

Miss Buncle's Book

by D.E. Stevenson

A light and delightful story about Miss Buncle who is greatly in need of money and so writes a book about the people in her village. This book causes a great uproar as people see themselves in the mirror and react with outrage or thoughtfulness, often in ways that mimic the book and changes people's lives ... including Miss Buncle's.

The Splendid and the Vile

(A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz)
by Erik Larson

Erik Larson looks at Churchill's ability to lead and inspire when things seemed hopeless, which is to say during the time before the Americans finally entered the war. He does a fantastic job of making you feel you understood those struggles, those times, and those people. By the last third of the book I was fully invested in the people and the story. In fact, I had tears of joy about the victory celebrations.

When Books Went to War

by Molly Guptill Manning

I am used to the image (probably from movies) of a WWII soldier pulling out a book to read in a spare moment, any time, anywhere. However, I didn't realize the huge effort that went into helping our soldiers' morale stay high by providing those very books. This book tells that story.

(My full review.)

Chicken Every Sunday

(My Life with Mother's Boarders)

by Rosemary Taylor

One of the boarders who ate Mother's chicken every Sunday summed it up when he said, "I was told that in your house I'd have good food and some fun." They all had fun, and they all became part of the family. 

 

When Books Went to War kept mentioning this as one of the top books the troops liked and read aloud to each other in gales of laughter. I can see why. It kind of feels like Cheaper by the Dozen but is funny in a different way. It also touches on more adult themes, albeit in completely acceptable, subtle ways because this being told through the author's childhood memories and understanding. It makes you feel as if you are in on the jokes from an adult's view.

(My review here.)

Tuyo

by Rachel Neumeier

Ryo has been left as a sacrifice in the hopes that their enemy will  allow the rest of the warband to escape into the wilds of the forest. So we start with Ryo waiting for his fate and wishing he could take back his angry words to his older brother, who’d made the painful decision to leave him. While also hoping that he doesn’t disgrace himself by buckling in the face of torture and trying to prepare himself for the upcoming encounter. However, in the event, he isn’t remotely ready for who he ends up facing…— Good Reads review 

 

I loved this old school fantasy set in a wonderfully imagined world. It was fresh, imaginative, and original.

The Square Emerald

 by Edgar Wallace

At one point Edgar Wallace was one of the top-selling mystery authors in England. His books often have ridiculously complicated plots and big twists. 

 

What a delight this was. Edgar Wallace often writes strong, intelligent women as side characters or, in the case of a favorite of mine - Angel of Terror - villainesses, but here we have a true female detective driving the story. In fact, this was very female-centric because the villain is also a woman.

(Read reviews here.)

Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture

Inspired by Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), this series's commentary is composed solely of very readable pieces of the Church fathers on the scriptures. This is an ecumenical venture with editors coming from Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish backgrounds.

 

 I've been using the one on the first half of the Book of Psalms and one on the Gospel of Mark. Both are extraordinary commentaries.

 (More info here)

New Year’s Day in San Francisco’s Chinatown

New Year’s Day in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Theodore Wores, 1881

2020's best gift

No need to sum up 2020 except to say that we have been blessed in this year of pandemic with good health, continuing work, and having our immediate family all around us. Once the library opened up for pickup of books we were fairly well taken care of.

I certainly am able to count my blessings in more concrete terms than ever before. Here's the biggest one — our grandson Andy! He's just over 2 months old now and we have the great privilege of providing daycare a couple of days every week. So we get to see him grow and learn about the world.

Andy, Christmas Day 2020

Waxwings

 

Waxwings, taken by Remo Savisaar

24 — Time Travel, South Indian Style

A scientist invents a time machine but his evil twin brother is after it and will go to any lengths to get the device in his hands.

We can't get enough Suriya. Luckily director/writer Vikram Kumar knew that and cast him in a triple role in this movie. Suriya played the inventor, the evil twin brother, and the inventor's grown son. He was so good that I kept forgetting it was one actor instead of three, which is saying something. 

I wish Christopher Nolan watched 24 before he did Tenent. Nolan only wishes he knew how to explain a complex time travel plot the way this did. I really loved the way VK carried off 24's complicated plot which called back to every little thing that was used at the beginning of the film. VK didn't miss a trick. 

It's at least half an hour too long and a slow starter which is often the case for Indian films. The love story was odd, partly because they didn't give Samantha enough to do except stand around looking adorable. However, there was also an odd stalker-ish element to the funny way the guy was keeping her interested in him. I don't think it played that way in India at all, but eventually it seemed a bit mean.

This phrase has been used in our home by everyone more than once by now - the morning after viewing - "I'm a watch mechanic. This is child's play to me." It gets funnier each time you see it in the movie and we love it. 

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

Chicken Every Sunday by Rosemary Taylor

One of the boarders who ate Mother's chicken every Sunday summed it up when he said, "I was told that in your house I'd have good food and some fun." They all had fun, and they all became part of the family -- Jeffrey, who lost his front teeth and won his independence, Rita Vlasak, who loved anything in pants, including Father, Miss Sally, who loved Miss Sally and cold cream, the Lathams, who bought a mine, and even the hell-bent-for-heaven Woolleys, who were sure God had sent the skunk to hide under the house because the family didn't go to church on Sunday. If you have room for some fun and old-fashioned enjoyment, Mother's sure to have room for you.

When Books Went to War kept mentioning this as one of the top books the troops liked and read aloud to each other in gales of laughter. I can see why. It kind of feels like Cheaper by the Dozen but is funny in a different way. It also touches on more adult themes, albeit in completely acceptable, subtle ways because this being told through the author's childhood memories and understanding. It makes you feel as if you are in on the jokes from an adult's view.

There is a whole chapter on what Mother fed the boarders and another on the way the family made their boarders part of the family. That must have felt like a wonderful touch of home to men in very difficult conditions. Other chapters were equally fun but managed to make the boarding house a window into unusual situations with twists you only read about in O'Henry stories like buying shares in a goldmine tracking a possible German spy, dealing with a millionaire's eccentric mother-in-law, and more.

I really enjoyed this and am considering tracking down a copy for my own library.