Fires in Hawaii. Flooding in California. Hurricane Idalia. How to help everyone.

"When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions. — Shakespeare, Hamlet

I have to admit that I waver in knowing who to give disaster aid to, especially when the emergencies come flooding in, both in the U.S. and abroad. 

I recently have become part of the St. Vincent de Paul society which specializes in person-to-person help with neighbors in need. I am proud to serve the Lord and my neighbors in this way. 

But I hadn't thought much about how the St. Vincent de Paul Society helps outside my own city. This message reminded me that Vincentians are working around the country and need the funds to allow them to lend a helping hand to help neighbors get their lives back to normal.

Fires in Hawaii. Flooding in California. As I write this, Hurricane Idalia is battering Florida. And dozens of storms and natural disasters that never make the national news, but still uproot lives and destroy communities.

Disasters can strike suddenly. But the recovery effort can take years.

You can help. Your support of the Saint Vincent de Paul Disaster Relief Campaign will assist Vincentian volunteers who are responding to these and future disasters.

Rather than giving towards a specific disaster, the National Council asks that you give to our general Disaster Relief Campaign. This reserve allows SVdP to respond as quickly as possible to requests for disaster aid wherever — and whenever — it's needed most urgently.

If, like me, you want to help in all the disasters that are popping up, here is a way to contribute to even the ones we never hear about on the national news.

TV You Might Have Missed 5 — Law School

Yang Jong-hoon, a prosecutor-turned-professor, teaches criminal law at a prestigious law school. He and his first-year law students get involved in an unprecedented case during a mock trial. During a mock trial class, the supervising professor is found murdered and Professor Yang is arrested as the main suspect. Showing on Netflix.

We expected that the law students would band together to prove their professor's innocence. It turns out that Professor Yang needs no one's help. He is a formidable master of the law and detection. As he fights his arrest and investigates his fellow professor's death we see that he is the coolest of cool. (As you can tell from the poster above.)

We follow not only the professor but some of the students who have a study group. Some turn out to be connected to the murder victim while others have their own mysteries for us to discover. It soon becomes obvious that the professor regards every situation as an opportunity to teach his students. Whether in class or not, even when he is in jail fighting for his own freedom, he is continually teaching. This isn't always obvious but thinking back over the series it is a tribute to the writing and what drives the character's actions.

There was a refreshing lack of romance, aside from the occasional glance sent from one student to another while they weren't looking. This was a straight up drama that's wildly intricate and inventive in the plot's twists and turns. Somehow it had plenty of drama without being emotionally over-the-top, which we appreciated too.

We found this series by looking for more shows featuring actor Kim Bum after watching Tale of the Nine Tailed where he played Lee Rang. 

However, we're now fans of Kim Myung-Min who played Professor Yang. So we're going to follow him to the Detective K film series where he plays the titular character during the Jeoson dynasty. Which means wonderful period costumes as well as mystery!

Professor Yang is off to the side while actor Kim Bum is front and center.
We can see who is expected to draw the fans! Hey, he got us here!

Face of Christ on St. Veronica's Cloth

Face of Christ on St. Veronica's Cloth, Claude Mellan, 1649

This remarkable engraving by 17th century French engraver and painter Claude Mellan consists of a single spiral line!

Beginning on the tip of the nose, the line spirals outward, its passages of increasing or decreasing thickness defining the darks and lights of the image.

Image and info via lines and colors.

Who will do it?

Sometimes, when things get hard or tedious and I don't want to do them, I ask myself this: If someone who has been as blessed as I have been is not willing to clean out the barn, who will?

Ross Perot

Ross Perot was a self-made billionaire and most of us aren't that blessed. However, most of us are very blessed indeed. I know that I am. This quote applies to me for sure.

What Monstrous Gods by Rosamund Hodge (coming in 2024)

Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia's palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep - and silencing the kingdom's gods.

Born with a miraculous gift, Lia's destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god - or die.

To make matters even worse, Ruven's spirit is haunting her.

This book begins where Sleeping Beauty usually ends, with someone breaking the spell on the briar-enclosed palace and awakening the royal family and servants. As is so often the case with Rosamund Hodge's tales, there is only one place where the connection to a traditional fairy tale is obvious before the story unfolds to become something completely different and original.

On the surface, this is an exciting adventure into an imaginative world. Below the surface there are many layers to ponder for those who are so minded.

In my case, I pondered the intricacies that connect us to the original story's title for several days after I finished it. Where do we see sleepers who need awakening? What do they find after they return to consciousness? What happens when those who were always awake find that they have perhaps been sleepwalking? If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, what happens when the beholder "wakes up" and sees a previously hidden truth?

This book doesn't come out until March 2024 so I don't want to say anything else that might spoil the book. Readers have something special to look forward to. I'm a big Rosamund Hodge fan and am happy that What Monstrous Gods proves once again that she is a master fantasy novelist. Highly recommended.

Vesuvius in Eruption

J. M. W. Turner, Vesuvius in Eruption, between 1817 and 1820
via Wikipedia and Google Art Project

'Unfortunately I met Mr. Turner at the Academy a night or two after I received this letter ; and he asked me if I had heard from Mr. Lennox. I was obliged to say 'yes.'

'Well, and how does he like the picture?'

'He thinks it indistinct.'

'You should tell him,' he replied, 'that indistinctness is my forte.'

Walter Thornbury. The Life of J.M.W. Turner,:
... Founded on Letters and Papers Furnished by
His Friends and Fellow Academicians.

The picture filled me with awe and the quote made me laugh. Turner, you have it all!

Interesting — How AI may be able to improve journalism when it comes to reporting on Catholicism

As it pertains to religion reporting, the use of AL tools such as ChatGPT is also something worth delving into. The big question for me is can these tools actually make the reporting around matters concerning the Catholic church better?

In some cases, it can — but only if AI is used properly and if the reporter asks the right questions. Let’s look at some real stories and what AI could have done to add valid content. The hope is that such tools make stories better, not worse.

 GetReligion writer Clemente Lisi is considering how AI is going to impact the journalism profession. One thing he found was that AI doesn't do a bad job of filling in the background on Catholic issues.

He looked at three current stories which led him to asking ChatGPT the following pertinent questions:

• What Catholic doctrine says regarding immigration and helping the poor and those in need?
• What does Catholic doctrine say about pre-marital sex?
• Why, in terms of doctrine, abortion is so abhorrent in terms of ancient and modern Catholic teachings.

I was impressed with the answers and agreed with Lisi that such a resource could give reporters at least a leg up on a broader understanding of issues and the sorts of questions they should be asking in their stories. Read the whole piece here.

Lagniappe: The ringing bell had a sinister sound, for no reason of itself, but because of the ears to which it rang.

I got a shoulder holster out of the desk and strapped it on and slipped a Colt .38 automatic into it, put on hat and coat, shut the windows again, put the whiskey away, clicked the lights off and had the office door unlatched when the phone rang.

The ringing bell had a sinister sound, for no reason of itself, but because of the ears to which it rang. I stood there braced and tense, lips tightly drawn back in a half grin. Beyond the closed window the neon lights glowed. The dead air didn’t move. Outside the corridor was still. The bell rang in darkness, steady and strong.

I went back and leaned on the desk and answered. There was a click and a droning on the wire and beyond that nothing. I depressed the connection and stood there in the dark, leaning over, holding the phone with one hand and holding the flat riser on the pedestal down with the other. I didn’t know what I was waiting for.

The phone rang again. I made a sound in my throat and put it to my ear again, not saying anything at all.

So we were there silent, both of us, miles apart maybe, each one holding a telephone and breathing and listening and hearing nothing, not even the breathing.

Then after what seemed a very long time there was the quiet remote whisper of a voice saying dimly, without any tone:

“Too bad for you, Marlowe.”

Then the click again and the droning on the wire and I hung up and went back across the office and out.

Raymond Chandler, The High Window

Just beautiful. There is nothing like Chandler's writing.

Rue Neuve Notre Dame à Paris

Rue Neuve Notre Dame à Paris, 1826, Eduard Gaertner

I love the way this doesn't show Notre Dame from one of the usual angles, but just as the regular Parisians living nearby would have seen it.

A Catholic Among Mormons - Scott Danielson Interview

 Scott is interviewed by Tomasso, who was a guest on our podcast. Scott tells about his spiritual journey, laced with plenty of science fiction talk. 

The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr

I am writing this review to let non-Christians know that you won't find a faithful Christian or Catholic theology in this book.

This was chosen for my book club. Early on, I could see it was problematic from a Christian point of view but I found it fascinating because I know it has been a best seller. I was interested to see what appealed to people. I'm not actually sure, now that I've read it, because I found it bafflingly illogical. However, one thing became clear. If people are looking for Christian theology, they won't find it here. This is not a Christian book.

Richard Rohr combines Nestorianism (treating Jesus and Christ as two separate people, which is an old heresy), gnosticism, paganism, and pieces of Eastern religions to serve up his vision of who Christ really is. In support of this, he cherry-picks much of the quoted Scripture, as well as several philosophers, saints, and authors (including G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis) in order to give his theory authority.

The result is something that people may find attractive, but it is not Christian and it is most definitely not Catholic.

For a more detailed description of what is not Christian about the book, read these reviews:

• ‘Everything Is Christ’—and Other Muddled Messages from Richard Rohr
• The False Christ of Richard Rohr

August

August, Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry

The month of hawking; the nobles, carrying falcons, are going hunting while in the background peasants are harvesting and swimming in the river. Behind them is the Chateau d'Etampes.

University of Chicago

A Movie You Might Have Missed #89 — All Through the Night

It's been 12 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. 

This is the last of the Movies You Might Have Missed ... until I come across another one!

I can't remember where I heard of this 1942 movie but the premise was intriguing. Humphrey Bogart is a gambler with a taste for only one bakery's cheesecake. When the baker is killed, he goes hunting for the murderer and unexpectedly stumbles upon undercover Nazi saboteurs. In New York City!

This movie is both humorous and dramatic, as with To Be or Not to Be or Night Train to Munich. I liked both of those movies better but we found it entertaining. And there were a lot of genuinely amusing moments and clever dialogue. I especially liked the opening when a group of gamblers are arguing WWII battle tactics based on their experience fighting rival gangs.

It features a star-studded cast including Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt (Major Strasser in Casablanca), Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca), William Demerest, Phil Silvers, and Jackie Gleason. All seemed to be having a lot of fun playing their parts to the hilt.

Down by the Watering Hole

Down by the Watering Hole
taken by Valerie, ucumari photography Some rights reserved.

I believe this is the definition of cute.

Sea Monster and St. Brendan

"St Brendan's ship on the back of a whale, and his men praying, in Honorius Philoponus, 'Nova typis transacta navigatio' (Linz: s.n., 1621), p.12 (British Library, G.7237)."

I love maps. I love monsters. What's not to love in this monster that is so large one might think he is an island? So large in fact that there is room for St. Brendan and his men to set up an impromptu mass?

This and many more sea-faring monsters may be seen at BibliOdyssey's post Map Monsters.

Vampires and the Roman Catholic Church

When it comes to fighting vampires and performing exorcisms, the Roman Catholic Church has the heavy artillery. Your other religions are good for everyday theological tasks, like steering their members into heaven, but when the undead lunge up out of their graves, you want a priest on the case. As a product of Catholic schools, I take a certain pride in this pre-eminence.

Roger Ebert, review of John Carpenter's Vampires

Claret Cup Cactus

Jason Merlo, photographer
Claret cup cactus in bloom, Enchanted Rock State Natural Area - Llano County, Texas

A claret cup cactus in bloom growing in the crack of a boulder on Little Rock at sunset at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Llano County, Texas.

I didn't know cacti could have beautiful names like Claret Cup. Looking at the flowers, though, you can immediately see the logic and poetry behind it.

Isn't this a stunning photo? I discovered Jason Merlo when one of his photos of the painted churches of Texas was featured on Traces of Texas on Facebook. Check Jason's galleries to see more gorgous photos of the beautiful state of Texas. He offers prints for sale too.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #88: Grand Hotel

It's been 12 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.

Grand Hotel remains a classic masterpiece as the first all-star Hollywood epic with many high-powered stars of the early 1930s. The episodic film is set at Berlin's ritzy, opulent art-deco Grand Hotel, and tells of the criss-crossing of the lives of five major guests whose fates intertwined for a two-day period at the hotel. Its ensemble cast of stars were occupants of a between-wars German hotel, all struggling with either their finances, scandals, health, emotional loneliness, or social standing in multiple storylines.

Filmsite

This is the movie where Greta Garbo's famous "I want to be alone" line originated. An all-star cast acts their hearts out in this mother of all melodramas. Continuing our journey through early Oscar winners (Best Picture, 1932) and nominees, we thoroughly enjoyed this very good movie which can hold its own against stories of today. I especially enjoyed it as a look at life, from waiting for a new baby to someone preparing to leave this mortal coil. And lots of things in-between!

I will add that we were all quite concerned about the fate of Adolphus the dachshund.

Careful Steps

Taken by Julie Kenward

Julie and I used to be internet buddies but somehow I lost touch with her. I think she's gradually shifted to different social media and I didn't keep up. Regardless, I love this photo which I first posted way back in 2014. It is timeless.

Couple with guidebook reading map

Couple with guidebook reading map. Al Lago Maggiore travel poster.

August

August, Theo van Hoytema

Church of the Light

Church of the Light, Osaka, Japan
Taken by Bergmann

The simplicity of Ando's church is part of its beauty, and of its message: built on a low budget, the concrete walls were cast on-site, and the wood used to form the moulds for that process were then recycled to make the pews. The church has no decoration, and the only windows are the slits in the shape of a cross, as important for this particular church as it is for the foundation of Christianity itself: the Cross here is the Light.

Richard Stemp, The Secret Language of Churches and Cathedrals

I tend not to like modern architecture in churches but, obviously, that is because most of them aren't very well done. This is spectacular and I'd love to see it in person.

By the way, the Richard Stemp book is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

I came in on my knees. That is the only way in.

I never came into the church as a person who was being taught. I came in on my knees. That is the only way in. When people start praying they need truths; that’s all. You don’t come into the Church by ideas and concepts, and you cannot leave by mere disagreement. It has to be a loss of faith, a loss of participation. You can tell when people leave the Church: they have quit praying.

Actively relating to the Church's prayer and sacraments is not done through ideas. Any Catholic today who has an intellectual disagreement with the Church has an illusion. You cannot have an intellectual disagreement with the Church: that's meaningless. The Church is not an intellectual institution. It is a superhuman institution.

Marshall McLuhan, The Medium and the Light: Reflections on Religion

Absolutely. And the more you pray, the more you are drawn into this superhuman institution.

Breakfast Time

Hanna Pauli, Breakfast-Time, 1887

Isn't this a lovely, sun-dappled scene? I can hear the birds, feel a cool breeze, small the coffee.

Rafael Sabatini — Entertaining, Intelligent Swashbuckling

I just reread Scaramouche for an upcoming podcast discussion. I wanted to remind everyone of what a wonderful author Rafael Sabatini is so I'm rerunning this post from 2018.

I discovered Rafael Sabatini through the audio of his two most popular books, Scaramouche and Captain Blood. I didn't realize for some time that these were just a small sampling of Sabatini's work.

He wrote 31 novels, not to mention numerous short stories and other works. As if that weren't impressive enough, he spoke seven languages and then learned English specifically for writing because, he said, "all the best stories are written in English." He had to write for 25 years before achieving fame with Scaramouche  (After which the publishers said, "Wait, look at all these other great books he's written!" and rushed them into print.) Sabatini just kept on writing even more great books.

I love knowing that there are so many of his books out there to read. They are all adventure and romance novels with clever dialogue and elaborate plots. Heroes, swordfights, and chivalry abound though often with characters that go against our expectations, which just adds to the enjoyment. Almost all of them have historical backdrops and characters which are accurate, while being part of an exciting story.

Think of Sabatini as the Georgette Heyer of adventure. He's tops for a real page turner that doesn't dumb it down while simultaneously not needing to be deep to keep your attention.

Most are available from the usual places, public domain books can be found on Project Gutenberg or ... your local library probably has a ton of them. They were very popular once upon a time.

THE SEA-HAWK
My exploration of Rafael Sabatini's books began with noticing this title which is the name of my favorite Errol Flynn movie. Turns out the title is about all they took from the book, if indeed the book was at all involved.

This is the tale of a family feud, betrayed brotherhood, and love gone awry which results in galley slavery, more than a flirtation with Islam, and every exotic story device that can be imagined. It all works. It's a bit over-the-top sort, but I was hanging on every chapter, reading breathlessly to see what happened next.

What makes the story even better is that Sabatini evidently was scrupulous in being historically exact. Yes, Lord Oliver existed and did those things. Now, that didn't keep Sabatini from inventing and exaggerating to give us this swashbuckler. And I'm ok with that. I'm not reading these for the history, though that doesn't hurt it a bit.

ST. MARTIN'S SUMMER
Garnache is a wily and accomplished swordsman sent by the Queen to rescue an heiress who is being held prisoner by a mother and son so they can take her estate. A lot of my enjoyment of this book is due to Garnache's unbridled temper, which has been the bane of his career. Watching him struggle to overcome it and the result of his ill-timed explosions is a lot of fun because we can sympathize with his frustration.

He despises the fairer sex, "Let me tell you that this is the first time in my life that I have been concerned in anything that had to do with women." This makes it more ironic when the main players in the story are all women: the Queen of France, the girl he must rescue, and the wicked Marquise de Condillac who foils his attempts repeatedly. Poor Garnache does nothing but deal with women, except when he's sword fighting, of course.

THE BLACK SWAN
This hit the spot for swashbuckling adventure. Wanting a break from thinking and chaos and the real world, I borrowed the movie from the library and we were delighted with the old pirate adventure featuring Tyrone Power and Maureen O'Hara. Sparks flew. Swashbuckling and preening. And so forth. Naturally I had to get the book. Which was tons better. Tons.

Priscilla Harradine is sailing to England, accompanied by Major Sands who is at least twice her age and, unbeknownst to her, hoping to marry her. Also on board is Charles de Bernis. And that's lucky because when their ship is boarded by the infamous pirate, Tom Leach (sailing the Black Swan) Charles is able to save them all from certain death (and worse!).

The interest lies in watching Monsieur de Bargis nimbly navigate minefields in dealing with pirates, officious boors (Major Sands, of course), and everyone who keeps threatening bodily injury and death to the small group of people he is trying to save under very trying circumstances. One of which is the aforementioned boor who we love to hate. Of course, there is a love interest but it is handled in the most delicate way which was most enjoyable to watch unfold.

SCARAMOUCHE
Lawyer Andre-Louis Moreau has never believed strongly in any philosophical point of view. When his best friend goes to face the arrogant Marquis de la Tour d' Azyr for slaying a poacher, everything goes wrong. Andre-Louis finds himself on the run, eventually joining an acting company, but with a sense that he must speak up for his friend's beliefs, even if he doesn't really believe them. Andre-Louis's natural gift for rhetoric and logical argument are used for both humorous and dramatic effect.

This book pulls us into the arguments for and against revolution, while enjoying romance, revenge, betrayal, treason, and, of course, sword fighting. I love watching Andre-Louis become what he pretends to be.

It's extremely enjoyable swashbuckling on the eve of the French Revolution. This might be the perfect companion volume to A Tale of Two Cities, though it also had strong echoes of Nicholas Nickleby because of the theater connection.

THE SNARE
There are multiple snares in this swashbuckler by Rafael Sabatini. Set in Portugal, under Wellington's command as he forms a clever trap for Napoleon, this is a tale of jealousy, love, betrayal, and friendship ... all set into motion by one stupid, selfish brother. Atypically, this is no swashbuckler with most of the story taken up by a legal trial.

I really enjoyed it although the trial toward the end was a bit lengthy for my taste. I didn't expect military strategy to form such a big part of the plot but was fascinated by this look at the Napoleonic wars.

CAPTAIN BLOOD
Dr. Peter Blood is sentenced to slavery and exile in the islands after his arrest for treating wounded rebels. When he escapes, no ship sailing the Spanish Main is safe from his natural talent for piracy. He does, however, have an Achilles heel — his love for Miss Arabella Bishop who was the only kind person during his slave days. Rescuing her and redeeming his reputation will take all his skill.

This is the best known of Rafael Sabatini's books. It is just a touch less over the top and a bit more complete in characterizations. I did get tired of all the sailing maneuvers toward the end but that's just me. I listened to B.J. Harrison's fine narration of the novel. It made perfect listening while working on a long project.

BELLARION
Bellarion is a naive, monastery educated orphan who gets sidetracked on his way to finish his classical education in the big city. Faced with a series of emergencies, his native intelligence leads to an unsuspected ability to solve problems and strategize. His unexpected rise into a responsible position leads to intricate political intrigue and warfare.

Unfortunately, the story often ground to a halt because of the numerous battles and sieges recounted. I understand it is based on real history and people (except for Bellarion) but I feel good storytelling should have been able to communicate a lot of these events without taking me through it blow by blow. However, it is a good story overall and with my battle-skimming abilities I enjoyed it well enough.

THE HOUNDS OF GOD
Margaret Trevanion has been raised with an unusual amount independence and self-reliance which leads to her spurning the neighbor we suspect she loves and taking a survivor of the Spanish Armada as her prisoner. Who we do not trust, though that distrust is based on very little. (Heavens, I might as well be Elizabethan with that attitude!)

Others have commented on how different the second half of the book is from the first. The Spanish Inquisition and royal rulers are a large part of that difference. I actually really enjoyed both parts. Elizabeth I's note to King Philip made me laugh out loud and these two self-centered rulers are perfect foils. Likewise, we are shown several contrasts within the Inquisition and these are both entertaining and give food for thought about motivations and the result of lying to oneself (Brother Luis, I'm lookin' at you!).

The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux

Matins :  Arrest of Christ - The Annunciation, Jean Pucelle, 1324-1328

I'm always fascinated by these sorts of books and wish something like them were readily available today. They combine the best of words and images to help draw you out of yourself and into an encounter with God. There is also usually a playful element that I really love, as witness from this closeup.

Sunflowers on the Banks of the Seine

Gustave Caillebotte, Sunflowers on the Banks of the Seine, c. 1885-1886

Somehow I always think of sunflowers on the plains, being from Kansas. Not in France on the banks of the Seine!

A Movie You Might Have Missed #87: Manhattan Murder Mystery

It's been 12 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 man in the apartment down the hallway is so awfully nice. He has one of those deep, expansive voices, and a face that breaks naturally into a smile, and the kind of big, disorganized body that's somehow reassuring. Therefore, obviously, he must be hiding something. And when his wife dies of a heart attack, it cannot be as simple as that. There must be more to it. Something deep, dark and ominous.

This is the way Carol's mind works. She can't help it; she was probably raised on Nancy Drew. She drives her husband nuts. He wants her to shut up and go to sleep, but all night and all day her mind is at work, threading together facts and possibilities into an obsessive theory: This nice guy has killed his wife, and unless she does something about it, he'll get away with murder.

Roger Ebert

What follows is a screwball murder mystery investigation, Woody Allen style. It stars Allen and Diane Keaton which tells you a lot about their dynamic if you ever saw Annie Hall. They work very well as a married couple.

I haven't seen this for about 10 or 15 years. It really holds up both as a tightly-plotted mystery and an examination of comfortable, middle aged marriage. I've always liked it but this time I was laughing out loud. In fact, I laughed out loud so many times that it got kind of embarrassing.

My mother hadn't ever seen a Woody Allen film. She liked this one a lot, which led to a minor Woody Allen festival of our favorites — most of which, it turns out, are movies practically everyone missed. I have featured many of them in the Movies You Might Have Missed series already right here.

Summer

Alphonse Mucha, Summer, 1896
via WikiArt

I love this Art Deco style and the depiction works, right down to the sultry, languid expression.

Lagniappe: Faithful in their infidelity

The charming Genovese, Florentine, and Neapolitan countesses had chosen to stick, not with their husbands, but with their lovers, and Albert had come to the painful conclusion that Italian women at least have this over their French sisters — that they are faithful in their infidelity.

Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

You expect adventure, swashbuckling, and revenge. You don't expect the humor. Or, at least I don't.

Love Basics for Catholics by John Bergsma

When you begin to see the Bible as a book of love, it will change the way you view love, sex, marriage, family, and your personal relationship with God.

Bergsma focuses on what nine biblical marriages tell us about God’s relationship with us, including: 

• Adam and Eve—who show us that marriage is the culmination of all creation and that marriage can be an image of the Trinity 
• Ruth and Boaz—who display the tenderness and virtue of a marriage;
• Solomon and his bride in the Song of Songs—who illustrate a positive, healthy view of the body and physical beauty
• Jesus as Bridegroom of his people, the Church.

He also provides insight into Church teachings on marriage and relationships—such as monogamy, the single life, the Sacrament of Matrimony, and Jesus’s words about divorce—to show how these teachings come from the love God shares with his people through the covenants in scripture.

As with John Bergsma's other Bible Basics for Catholics books this is an excellent basic coverage, in this case how the Bible is the story of how marriage in the Bible shows us God's love for his people. 

I really enjoyed the gradual development of complexity as we followed the marriages featured in salvation history. I hadn't thought of them in a linear fashion as being an "evolutionary story" of how marriage would be understood, but it's all right there, as John Bergsma shows us. So we get both an in-depth look at marriage and God's love for his people in one handy-dandy, easy to understand book.

As with the Bible Basics book, Bergsma uses the trick of simple stick pictures to help make the main points memorable and I was happy to see them. They really are wonderful memory aids.

Clinique Cheron

Clinique Cheron, Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen
via J.R.'s Art Place

This just makes me happy. I love the idea of this vet wanting an ad. I love the profusion of loving animals. And I love the artistic style.

Story of an Egg (Ondu Motteya Kathe)

Janardhan is a Kannada language teacher who's 28 and eager to marry. But every time his parents arrange a marriage, the bride turns him down because he's an "egghead*" which is to say that he's bald.

He seeks advice from two sources. One is a friend at work who is also balding but has been happily married 4 years and has quiet, wise advice. The other is his favorite actor Rajkumar, who is not only a Kannada legend but an Indian cinema legend. Janardhan channels his hero's words of wisdom through Rajkumar's photo benignly smiling down on him and memories of movies and songs. Between the two, he gains courage to approach women.

As he goes along, we recognize how different relationships will work out. These familiar beats allow for both comedy and empathy. When Janardhan finally meets a woman who would be a good match, he doesn't recognize it and winds up having to work through some of the very issues that he himself was a victim of.

We really enjoyed this this sweet, charming film which felt a lot like an American indie movie. I knew how it would turn out, after a certain point, but felt genuine anxiety toward the end where I wanted to urge Janardhan to go get his woman! This is a real tribute to Raj B. Shetty who wrote, directed, and starred in the film. 

The Times of India commented: "The film is probably the best tribute to Dr Rajkumar made on Kannada screen till date and the subtle references to the late matinee idol and his films are a delight to any film buff." That's something we weren't in any position to appreciate, but it is clear that Shetty did a first class job on several levels.

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

*It's funny to think about slang because in America an egghead is a super-intellectual, often impractical, scientist-type.

A Chance of Thunderstorms

A Chance of Thunderstorms
taken by Brian at the blue hour

I really struggled with which photo to share from this post. Do click through on the link and go enjoy all of them. Simply wonderful.

6:30 in the Morning

6:30 in the Morning, Edward B. Gordon

From the painter:

6:30 in the morning at the Spree in Oberschöneweide. The river has almost no current. Smooth as a mirror. Occasionally one sees dogs on the bank, pulling their still tired people on the leash after them. The ducks are sunbathing and the boats are still rocking softly in their sleep. From far away you can hear the wheels of the S-Bahn, clack clack, clack clack, clack clack, always in the same rhythm, short long, short long, short long. The beginning of a beautiful summer day.

Barbie is a mixed bag of entertainment.

Here's an excellent, insightful review of Barbie from Mrs. Darwin who gives not only her and Darwin's take, but also that of their four daughters, aged 13-21. Here's a bit that made me laugh, talking about how this will be viewed in the future at sleepovers. Then go read it all for yourself at Darwin Catholic.

In the end, the movie's frenetic pace grinds to a halt as Barbie is encouraged to actualize herself into being human by the ghost of her original American promoter, Ruth Handler (whose historical significance in Barbie's propagation consisted of manipulating markets by bypassing parental gatekeeping and selling a German sex doll directly to children through the medium of commercials on the Mickey Mouse Club). This is the lull where, in sleepovers yet to come, the girls (who mainly want to watch fun Barbieland antics and the Kens' farcical yet satisfying dance-off) wander off to have cake or open presents or check memes together. No one wants to watch Barbie being human in a movie which doesn't have a firm grasp on what it means to be human. It succeeds at moments because Gerwig, who is a talented procedural filmmaker, gives Barbie flashes of real insight. (A moment of wonder, where a stunned, luminous Barbie realizes the individuality of each person at a park, touches transcendence.) But she can't extend that humanity to every character. As a result, where the movie is absurd fun (and that's most of it), it works, and where it tries to be deep -- well, what better time to engage in real-world interactions like cake and sharing memes? Not every movie is so considerate as to telegraph where you can stop paying attention to it.

In Praise of Shadows

In Praise of Shadows, Calligraphy and View

There are shadows to the same extent as light. Humans may only see the light side.

Japanese culture and traditions have valued shadows.

But it can be hard to feel.

Maybe you know little of the shadow side. It can't be helped.

There are a number of gorgeous photo of light and shadow and how they are used in Japanese esthetics of everyday living. At the end is a link to the documentary, In Praise of Shadows. I will definitely be watching it. Click through and check it all out.

The Angel of Terror

This can't really match the description of the cover of the book that Freddy was reading. However, it is one of my favorite Edgar Wallace books. 

Here's another cover which is much closer to the description of Freddy's book. It also is a favorite of mine, which tells you something about my taste in light reading.

The cover of the book Freddy was reading

The book the Honorable Freddie was reading was a small paper-covered book. Its cover was decorated with a color scheme in red, black and yellow, depicting a tense moment in the lives of a man with a black beard, a man with a yellow beard, a man without any beard at all, and a young woman who, at first sight, appeared to be all eyes and hair. The man with the black beard, to gain some private end, had tied this young woman with ropes to a complicated system of machinery, mostly wheels and pulleys. The man with the yellow beard was in the act of pushing or pulling a lever. The beardless man, protruding through a trapdoor in the floor, was pointing a large revolver at the parties of the second part.

Beneath this picture were the words: "Hands up, you scoundrels!"

P.G. Wodehouse, Something Fresh

Oh, how many books I've enjoyed which were decorated in similar style. Actually, I have it on fairly good authority (from somewhere I now can't recall) that this was talking about Edgar Wallace's novels. Which I love. Really, really love. 

So here we have the double whammy for hedonistic reading — Wodehouse and Wallace.

Mademoiselle Vaughan

Paul Helleu, Mademoiselle Vaughan, 1905
via French Painters

Sometimes we need a dose of chic around here and no one embodies that better than Mademoiselle Vaughan.

Unless it was my friend June who was an original member of our movie group at Caruth Haven retirement community. She died almost 10 years ago but I still think fondly of her. She often surprised me with her movie suggestions. It is thanks to her that I saw Bernie. She was always turned out to a T and I miss her elegant manners, her sense of humor, her chic (of course) and, most of all, her sparkling self.

What ho!

“What ho!" I said.

"What ho!" said Motty.

"What ho! What ho!"

"What ho! What ho! What ho!"

After that it seemed rather difficult to go on with the conversation.”

P.G. Wodehouse, My Man Jeeves

For pure hedonism and sinking into novelistic inanity — hilarious, but inane — there is none better than Bertie Wooster.

Schönschreibmeister Sample

Schönschreibmeister Sample
via BibliOdyssey

I'm a sucker for typography and calligraphy. This is like the best of both. Do go over to BibliOdyssey to see all the samples. They are exquisite.

Jeeves and Nietzsche

“You would not enjoy Nietzsche, sir. He is fundamentally unsound.”

P.G. Wodehouse, Carry on, Jeeves

Still sinking as a hedonist into Wodehouse quotes. There is none better than Jeeves.

How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice by Austen Ivereigh (UPDATED)

I recently had occasion to quote one of Catholic Voices' ten principles of civil communication: "Shed light, not heat." Naturally, the principles and examples are oriented toward discussions of faith and belief. However, I have found the general principles help with any sort of contentious discussion.

Perhaps those of us who think we're always polite could benefit from a refresher course in civil conversation. I'm going to reread it and am rerunning this review in case anyone else is interested in the book.

I reviewed the original edition in 2013, but neglected to update it when I read the new edition which is equally fantastic. Both reviews are below, with the update coming first.

How to Defend the Faith Without Raising Your Voice: Civil Responses to Catholic Hot Button Issues by Austen Ivereigh

As I mentioned in my review of the first edition below, this is a book every Catholic should read.

I'll take this space to say why the revised edition is necessary. In three short years, debate in the public square has shifted in a way that has often bewildered me. How to Defend the Faith explains that whereas questioners and critics used to be those outside of Christian faith, they are now often secularized Christians. They hold to basic principles that originated with Christian teachings but are so divorced from those teachings that they can't see the connection any more. That leaves a Catholic on shifting ground if one tries to anchor explanations of hot button issues in a Christian understanding. We're having discussions with people who aren't interpreting things with a common framework.

How to Defend the Faith helps understand the shifted frame from which critiques originate and how to reframe our responses so that we are all on the same page. Your questioner may not agree with you (and winning isn't the point - explanation is), but they will at least have a better understanding of the Church's attitudes toward contentious issues in the public square.

ORIGINAL EDITION REVIEW

This is a book that every Catholic should read.

The reason I say that becomes abundantly apparent in the subhead: Civil Responses to Catholic Hot-Button Issues.

We know how it feels, finding yourself suddenly appointed the spokesman for the Catholic Church while you're standing at a photocopier, swigging a drink at the bar, or when a group of folks suddenly freezes, and all eyes fix on you.

"You're a Catholic, aren't you?" someone says.

"Um, yes," you confess, looking nervously at what now seems to resemble a lynch mob.

The pope has been reported as saying something totally outrageous. Or the issue of AIDS and condoms has come up. Or the discussion has urned to gay marriage. And here you are, called on to defend the Catholic Church by virtue of your baptism, feeling as equipped for that task as Daniel in the den of lions.

Yes, we've all been there.

Or perhaps you are a Catholic who does not feel called to defend the faith but is one of the crowd waiting, wanting, a good explanation for whatever issue has been raised.

Either way, this book is here to help.

The introduction lays out the vital need for good, civil communication that sheds light but not heat. This is followed by nine chapters that discuss challenging questions which seem to get on everyone's nerves, such as the Church speaking up about politics, assisted suicide, clerical sex abuse, or defending the unborn. Austen Ivereigh discusses the overall context for each issue, the positive intention behind challenging questions, the Church's historical and current positions, and more. This is all with the goal of helping us be more knowledgable and know how to reframe issues so that there is a chance of being a positive voice for the Church.

Why the Church Opposes Euthanasia

In common with a long-standing tradition of western civilization, the Church believes that dying naturally is a vital part of life's journey, in many ways the most meaningful part. Dying can be described as a process of healing. Important things happen on that journey, and suffering and pain are often a part of it. As Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo ... said: "Compassion isn't to say, 'Here's a pill.' It's to show people the ways we can assist you, up until the time the Lord calls you."

Dying, then, is a highly meaningful gradual process of renunciation and surrender. Although some die swifty and painlessly, very often the pattern of dying involves great suffering, because (and this is true of old age in general) it involves letting go of those thing which in our lives we believe make us worthwhile and lovable: our looks, intelligence, abilities, and capabilities. This is what the great Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung called "necessary suffering," the suffering endured by the ego, which protests at having to change and surrender. The idea that this kind of suffering is part of growth is not a uniquely "religious" view, although Christianity -- with the Cross and the Resurrection at its heart -- has perhaps a richer theological understanding than most secular outlooks.

The above excerpt is not the whole argument or rationale by any means. However, it was so well put for what I knew instinctively but had never had to articulate. It is one of the reasons I may wind up reading and rereading this book ... not only to absorb the points for the sake of discussion but for my own soul's sake.

Above all Ivereigh reminds us that where there is no trust, there can be no understanding or true conversation. To that end, he ends with ten points which should frame our mindset. These are the points that have stuck with me the most. I can't tell you the number of times in simply dealing with difficult situations daily that I have remembered to "shed light, not heat" and to "look for the positive intention behind the criticism." This doesn't mean not speaking up for the truth, but it does remind us that the goal is not always "to win."

I mentioned above that I thought every Catholic should read this book. I would go farther and venture to say that if you are curious about how the Church can justify a position you don't agree with, then this book is for you. That is how impressed I was by Ivereigh's even-handed, civil discussion of the positive motives of both sides of conversations on contentious issues. You may not wind up agreeing with the Church, but you will definitely see that there is a reasonable, logical context for her position.

How to Be Blind

Andrew Leland is losing his vision. He writes in The New Yorker about learning to navigate the world sightless at Colorado Center for the Blind. 

This can be rather nerve-wracking to read if you worry about being blind. I don't worry about it exactly but, unsurprisingly, it does make me anxious. If the possibility comes to mind then I quickly move my mind off of it.

In this case, I got rather anxious reading about Andrew Leland's initial trials in becoming independent. As it went, however, I grew very interested in all the things he was able to do. By the end, I felt actually hopeful. If I lost my vision, I'd want to be pushed into being just that independent.

Here's a bit of the piece, which you can read free at The New Yorker. 

I began to appreciate the novel experiences that blindness gave me. The notion that blind people have better hearing than the sighted is a myth, but relying on my ears did change my relationship with sound. Neuroscientists have found that the visual cortices of blind people are activated by such activities as reading Braille, listening to speech, and hearing auditory cues, such as the echo of a cane’s taps. At lunch, one day, Cragar’s wife, Meredith, who was visiting from Houston, came into the room carrying their fifteen-month-old daughter, Poppy. The sounds that she made—cooing, laughing—cut through the room like washes of color. I didn’t quite hallucinate these colors, but I came close. In the coming weeks, I had several mildly psychedelic experiences like this, a kind of blind synesthesia. The same thing happened with touch. I played blackjack with a Braille deck, and, after a few days, began to intuitively read the cards as if I were seeing them. In the art room, a teacher taught me to pull a wire through a mound of wet clay. Later, as I described the experience to Lily and our son, Oscar, on a video call, I had to remind myself that I’d never actually seen this tool or the clay. It was so clear in my mind’s eye.

My sense of space gradually transformed. Walking the carpeted halls of the center’s lower level, I could see a faint black-and-blue virtual-reality environment lit by some unseen light source. Sometimes my cane penetrated one of the velvety walls, and I had to redraw my mental map. When I was out in the city, Charles sometimes informed me that what I thought was Alamo Avenue was actually Prince Street, or that east was actually north, and I had to lift the landscape in my mind, rotate it ninety degrees, and set it back down. I could almost feel my brain trembling under the strain. But it was also kind of fun.

Andrew Leland, How to Be Blind, The New Yorker

Via The Dispatch's Morning Newsletter

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida

From a Trip to St. Augustine, Florida; via J.R.'s Art Place

Gorgeous! I loved visiting St. Augustine several years ago. The architecture is really beautiful in a lot of places.

Lagniappe: Egbert and the Civil Service

As from boyhood up [Egbert] had shown no signs of possessing any intelligence whatsoever, he had gravitated naturally to England’s civil service... But though he could drink tea as well as the next man and had a gift for crossword puzzles, he did not really like being in his country’s service, however civil.

P.G. Wodehouse, Another Christmas Carol

Still reading novels in a hedonistic way.

The Waking Bog

Taken by Remo Savisaar, click through the link to see it better

Simply gorgeous. It must be wonderful to live somewhere with views like that.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #86: Tokyo Godfathers

It's been 12 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 a Christmas movie that I reviewed way back in 2004 and can practically guarantee you have missed.

This Japanese tribute to John Ford's western "3 Godfathers" is fresh and original in a way that Western animation does not even consider. It centers on three homeless people: a middle aged drag queen, an alcoholic former bicycle racer, and a teenage runaway girl. Their discovery of a baby in a trash dump sends them off to find the baby's parents. They make unlikely guardians, of course, and along the way they grow, chiefly by confronting each other and themselves about the lies they've told each other about the past. Hana, the drag queen, names the abandoned infant Grace and insists that she has been sent by God. Coincidences and miracles happen increasingly throughout and seem surprisingly Christian for a Japanese film.

The juxtaposition of humor and drama are deft and play off each other in unexpected ways. At one point Hana is dramatically describing how he will commit suicide by jumping off a bridge. We have been primed by this time to find Hana's pronouncements quietly comic. Then the viewer realizes that someone in the background is taking the exact measures that Hana describes. Both humor and drama are in play as they also realize it a beat later and rush to stop the person from jumping. We never were disappointed. Although one expects an overall happy ending the plot twists on the way were original and unexpected.

It is rated PG-13 and some of the material is not suitable for children.

Brains enough for two

And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.”

P.G. Wodehouse, Mostly Sally

In the spirit of reading as a hedonist, let's look at a little P.G. Wodehouse, shall we?

Snack with Fried Egg

Snack with Fried Eggs, Georg Flegel

Reading Scripture and entering into a conversation with God

One must not read Sacred Scripture as one reads any kind of historical book, such as, for example, Homer, Ovid or Horace; it is necessary truly to read it as the Word of God, that is, entering into a conversation with God. …

One must start by praying and talking to the Lord: "Open the door to me". And what St. Augustine often says in his homilies: "I knocked at the door of the Word to find out at last what the Lord wants to say to me", seems to me to be a very important point. One should not read Scripture in an academic way, but with prayer, saying to the Lord: "Help me to understand your Word, what it is that you want to tell me in this passage".

Pope Benedict XVI, Meeting with the Youth of Rome, 2006

This is something I have to keep relearning. It's a conversation and to listen to the Lord and to look for him through his Word.

Strawberries

Octav Bancila, Strawberries