Head-on Rush

Head-On Rush, Remo Savisaar

This really captures the vitality of these boar. I can feel the cold, the snow whirling up, the energy!

The Greatest Journey, part 3

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it.

Continuing our examination of chapter five of Go to Joseph we now see Mary and Joseph set out on the trip to Bethlehem. Father Gilsdorf mentions things I never thought about in connection to this journey, such as how Joseph's skills may have come in handy or the concept of Mary as a living monstrance. Truly this is giving me something to contemplate as we grow closer to Christmas.

Saint Joseph, James Tissot

Then the day came for departure on the journey south to Bethlehem. Each day of this procession, Mary, like a living monstrance, rode astride the donkey, with Joseph walking along side holding the reins. Each night, he would have needed to have found shelter. Perhaps they stayed in roadside inns? The homes of friends and relatives? But surely, most often, the carpenter had to improvise, cutting and assembling branches to construct a lean-to. Nights in any desert are usually chilled, anyway, but given the time frame, this was also the traditional season of the cold winter rains.

On all sides were threats and terrors. Wild animals still ranged the wooded hilly areas.iii Other predators, equally cunning and merciless, were the notorious robber bands who scouted the trail for pilgrims to plunder. The courage, skills, and resourcefulness of Joseph are given wordless witness by the fact that this newly married couple not only made the journey but made it safely (undoubtedly with the protection of many angels).

In the daytime, there was the tedium of ascending hills and traversing valleys. As any woman who has endure the extreme discomfort of a late term will attest, this would have caused Mary extreme discomfort. This suffering must have struck a pained, compassionate response in her loving spouse. Bystanders probably observed them quickly and shrugged. Just a young man and his young, pregnant wife and nothing more. Who would have dreamed that before their eyes had just passed their Messiah, the Annointed longed for from the ages? Even less could they discern that the Messiah was truly "Emmanuel, God with us," the very Son of God. Scripture foretold that a virgin would conceive and bear a Son, and this was that very virgin!

Try as we might, the prayers and conversation of Mary and Joseph inevitably escape our powers of imagination. What did they share? How much did Joseph advance in holiness during this Advent?

iii Keep in mind that before the Romans denuded the Middle East and northern Africa of them for gladiatorial games, these areas were home to lions and bears.

In part 4 the journey continues.

The Greatest Journey, part 2

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it.

Continuing our examination of chapter five of Go to Joseph we now begin to prepare for the trip to Bethlehem. Of course, that is of no immediate interest for contemplation if we do not also consider the spiritual side as well, which is thoughtfully brought up here. I especially like the link to Israel's history and Jesus' heritage which is brought up in the footnote. That was both a surprise and good food for thought for me personally in terms of considering Jesus' journeys. As a detail-oriented planner by nature, the idea of Joseph's pains to consider everything needed on a practical basis appeals to me also and makes me relate to him personally.

Mosaic of the enrollment for taxation before Governor Quirinius

The route of the journey was probably the same as that taken in the Visitation, which Luke tells us was through the hill country known as the shephelah, a geographical backbone down the center is Israel.ii The other routes were safe and more level, but this was the more direct route, and significantly, it was trodden by the feet of countless pious pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the great Temple feasts. This distance to Jerusalem was about 85 miles. Joesph, however, was going five miles further south to Bethlehem to register in his ancestral home as required by the imperial census.

We can be sure that Joseph set a prudent daily pace out of respect for Mary's condition that added one more penitential aspect to this pilgrimage. Perhaps, then, about two weeks were required. These very weeks would correspond to our final phase of Advent. The earlier weeks were the period of prayerful preparation.

We can meditate on these preparations with a great spiritual gain. As an expectant mother, Mary prepared the customary necessities for her Child. We hear only of the swaddling clothes, but she doubtless had many other items to gather or to make with her own hands.

The spiritual preparations, however, would have been the most sublime experiences. Every expectant mother lives in constant awareness of the new life stirring in her womb. She must make sacrifices big and small and perform other acts of self-denial, all for the advantage of her child. She does so with great joy, and --if she is a believer--she will give thanks and pray for the life within.

But Mary heightens these maternal experiences in correspondence with her exalted holiness and her knowledge of the mystery of Who this Child of hers is. For her, the first Advent was filled with love, self-giving, peace, joy, and a constant inward contemplation. Hers was not only hope, but literally expectation, longing to behold the face of this Child, hers and God's. We recall the salutation of Gabriel, "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee" ... is within thee!

In his own way, Joseph shared in this loving preparation. He, too, must have meditated on and adored the Child in Mary's womb. Enlightened now by heavenly revelation, he knew that his young wife was "blessed among women" and that "the fruit of her womb" was blessed, the Holy One of God. As a man with a mission to be the Redeemer's protector and provider, he labored arduously to assemble provisions for the journey. He would have carefully planned ahead to meet every need and to attempt to estimate the daily schedule, to plot the possible night-shelters.

ii This is also the route that King David took with the Ark of the Covenant in 2 Sam 6:2-16.

Next we will discuss the journey itself.

The Greatest Journey, part 1

I love to reread this each year, journeying through Advent, so I'm reposting it. 

Chapter Five of Go to Joseph (reviewed here) examines Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem. This seems the perfect section to share ins Advent. I will do this as a series, as is my wont. I think you'll see what a really remarkable little book this is from this chapter. This first section is rather long as I couldn't find a good breaking point until after the discussion of the timing for Mary and Joseph's journey.

Chapter Five
The Greatest Journey

Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche in Istanbul

And Joseph went from Galilee out of the town of Nazareth into Judea to the town of David, which is called Bethlehem--because he was of the house and family of David--to register, together with Mary his espoused wife, who was with child."

The Bible is laced with special journeys. Think how our father in faith Abraham journeyed from Ur along the arc of the Fertile Crescent to what we now call Israel.1 Even more pivotal was the Exodus, where Moses led the Hebrews out of Egypt, a journey that is a type of our Christian redemption and is consistently echoed in the Gospels.

Then there was the Jews' joyous return from their Babylonian captivity, made possible by the tolerance decree of the conquering Persian Emperor Cyrus (559 BC-529 BC). There are others on a smaller scale that are also significant in a religious and symbolic sense.

We have already mentioned the virtuous mission of the pregnant Mary when she rose up in haste to visit and assist her cousin Elizabeth in Ein Kerem.

But of all these travels, only one deserves to be called the greatest, the holiest, and the loveliest of all: The journey to Bethlehem. Perhaps we should call it a procession.

Earlier we mentioned the chronology proposed by Fr. Gaechter. He conjectures--from reasons of suitability--that Joseph prudently made this journey to Bethlehem very soon after his formal marriage to Mary. The motive, he believes, was to spare Mary from the questions of the inquisitive Nazarenes once her pregnancy became visible. We later learn that the people of this village were capable of angry rejection of Jesus--"Is this not the carpenter's son?"

Another argument to favor the theory of an early arrival (rather than their arriving just before Jesus' birth) is that in the final weeks of gestation, Mary would have traveled the long rugged way with great discomfort and danger.

While this early date sounds logical and prudent, it would place the journey several months before the birth of Jesus. In this scenario, Joseph took Mary directly to Bethlehem, where he was able to obtain temporary housing and make advance preparations by his labor.

Once Mary reached her term and the birth was imminent, Joseph sought more suitable shelter and privacy. He failed to find shelter in private homes. The inn itself was no place for them in the sense that privacy and decorum were impossible, so he found refuge for them in the stable of the inn.

This is possible. It does not contradict the Gospel account nor does it fail to recognize the zeal, love, and prudence of Joseph. Nonetheless, it all remains mere conjecture.

Other less drastic solutions to the obvious problems could be offered. Perhaps Joseph owned or established temporary quarters elsewhere in the north. The acclaimed Fr. Rene Laurentin calls Fr. Gaechter's work "the most daring and painstaking reconstruction," yet his conclusion is as follows:

As interesting and penetrating as the many observations of Gaechter may be, the reconstruction belongs in the realm of science-fiction. The author boldly reconstructs the events: Mary, betrothed in October 9 BC, went to Bethlehem immediately after her marriage with Joseph, five months before the birth of Jesus, which Gaechter located in March 7 BC.

Some readers may not be aware that the first Christmas did occur some years before 1 AD. We only mark Christ's birth in that year because of miscalculations by the monk Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470-c. 544), who was entrusted with revision of the calendar.

Complex as all these considerations may be, pondering all this seems very helpful even in our booklet of meditations since it often highlights the overlooked problems and decisions Joseph had to face.

Nevertheless, we will be on safer footing to follow the simpler, traditional interpretation suggested by the inspired biblical data that has nourished pious reflection throughout the centuries.

1 According to The Columbia Encyclopedia (Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press), the Fertile Crescent is a "well watered and fertile area [that] arcs across the northern part of the Syrian desert. It is flanked on the west by the Mediterranean and on the east by the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, and includes all or parts of Israel, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq."

Next we will discuss preparation for the journey.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #100 — Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot

The fight for kids begins now. Inspired by a powerful true story, the film follows Donna and Reverend Martin as they ignite a fire in the hearts of their rural church to embrace kids in the foster system that nobody else would take. By doing the impossible--adopting 77 children--this East Texas community proved that, with real, determined love, the battle for America's most vulnerable can be won.

If you're not Christian, you'll likely scoff at this.

If you are Christian, you're going to recognize it. It tells a story of heroic struggle and redemption. The Christian journey following Christ is shown in a way that everyone who's ever gone through hard reality will know. The whole story is powerful but Donna's narration reflecting on her journey struck deep chords with everyone in the family — even my 90-year-old atheist mother who said, "Do a lot of people know about this movie? They should!"

I tend not to like Christian movies because they have bad scripts, bad directing, bad acting, and a blunt message that hits you like a hammer. Angel Studios has been a refreshing change with high quality scripts, directing, acting and production. This is my favorite of their movies thus far.

Based on what I've said above you know who you are. You'll either love this or hate it. I loved it.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #99 — Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

A bookish classics professor makes an inauspicious debut at the hallowed halls of Brookfield School for Boys but eventually finds his feet, ultimately becoming something of an institution at the school.

Robert Donat not only ages convincingly from young adulthood into doddering old age, he persuasively synthesizes the various stages of the character’s life, from diffident, humorless newcomer to endearingly eccentric absent-minded professor, into a well-integrated total portrait.

Stephen D. Greydanus, Decent Films review

A complete surprise. I've always had the impression that this is a namby pamby, sappy story. Au contraire. 

Watching it for our 1940 Oscar winner/nominees viewing, we were surprised at the subtlety of the storytelling. Not many movies extoll the virtues of the shy person who just needs a little encouragement. Mr. Chips doesn't become exactly outgoing but he does learn to go from being lonely to being able to give just the good humored inspiration that his students need. 

Absolutely lovely and Robert Donat earned his Best Actor Oscar with his nuanced portrayal of a shy, quiet man who blooms in later life.

Fifth Avenue in Winter

Childe Hassam, Fifth Avenue in Winter

 

The Knitting Lesson

The Knitting Lesson by Ernest Biéler, 1939

I taught both of our girls to knit although I didn't begin when they were as young as the child in the painting. Enough of their friends wanted to learn that eventually I kept extra needles and yarn on hand as a matter of course. I'd get them knitting and purling and making a long scarf and turned them loose. I still use one of the scarves from those days on cold morning walks.

Recently my 4-year-old grandson asked to learn. He managed about 5 stitches before calling it a scarf. Small steps to begin with, right?

A skilful flatterer is a most delightful companion

"Neither does Miss Nickleby look the worse," said Sir Mulberry, bending his bold gaze upon her. "She was always handsome, but, upon my soul, ma'am, you seem to have imparted some of your own good looks to her besides."

... Mrs. Wititterly admitted, though not with the best grace in the world, that Kate did look pretty. She began to think too, that Sir Mulberry was not quite so agreeable a creature as she had at first supposed him; for, although a skilful flatterer is a most delightful companion if you can keep him all to yourself, his taste becomes very doubtful when he takes to complimenting other people.

Charles Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby

Poor Kate is being stalked by two of the most horrible men, with the help of her avaricious uncle, and without any help from her vain employer or her bird-witted mother. Her plight was truly disturbing, though made much more tolerable from the keen and humorous observations like the one above.

Julie is almost finished with the lobster costumes for the nativity. Scott's just got one Portuguese lesson to go.

  What else could it be? In Episode 346 we discuss Love, Actually.

Cat and Bowl of Goldfish

Cat and Bowl of Goldfish by Ohara Koson

Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones

The Dervan Empire has at last triumphed over Volanus, putting the great city to the torch and selling survivors sold into slavery. It is an absolute victory for the Dervans in every way but one.

Hanuvar, last and greatest general of Volanus, still lives. He travels the length of the Dervan Empire to find what remains of his people and free them.

Against the might of a vast empire, he had only an aging sword arm, a lifetime of hard-won wisdom, and the greatest military mind in the world. No matter what what man or monster stands in his way, from the empire’s capital to its furthest outposts, Hanuvar would find his people and set them free.

I have a real weakness for this sort of sword-and-sorcery tale. I don't love them indiscriminately. Conan the Barbarian isn't my style. But there is a way to tell these stories that adds a bit of humor, a touch of irony, a soupçon of larger themes than merely adventure and magic. Fellow fans will know what I mean when I mention Lord Dunsany's stories and Fritz Leiber whose Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser stories are so much fun.

I've long been a fan of Howard Andrew Jones for his wonderful book The Desert of Souls. Here's my review. I lost track of Jones after his Asim and Dabir stories ended. So I was really interested when I saw that Jeff Miller (always trustworthy in pointing to new books) was had given five stars to the first two books in the series. I agree — this first book is really good. 

Lord of a Shattered Land is a series of short stories that can stand alone but which make up one tale by the end. There is no purple prose here, just good modern storytelling set in a hostile land filled with magic, quests, and monsters — both Lovecraftian and human. As Hanuvar travels he picks up a complimentary companion and encounters others who may become allies in later books. 

This world is loosely based on the Carthaginians and Romans.  In that scenario, Hanuvar is Hannibal. The difference, of course, is that this is the author's world and it is filled with interesting characters, compelling storytelling, and a quest that we want to see fulfilled. I liked seeing new facets to Hanuvar with each new adventure. I also appreciated that Jones doesn't give an info dump on the world we're in. He reveals it as needed for the story, bit by bit. Each story adds a little to what we know. This is really well written. No purple prose here!

The Creation of the World

Antonio Canova, The Creation of the World (1821-22)

I'd never heard of Antonio Canova, though when I went looking for this image I saw that I have seen several of his works before. I was captivated when I originally saw this in 2014 in the Wall Street Journal which enchants me by having an article about art every week. I love the textures, the creative spirit surging forth energetically, the way the moon is watching God create the sun, the sun's gentle and loving look toward its creator. What a wonderful work of imagination and art this is.

Then and now - the cardinal problem of life

For the wise men of old, the cardinal problem of human life was how to conform the soul to objective reality, and the solution was wisdom, self-discipline and virtue. For the modern, the cardinal problem is how to conform reality to the wishes of man, and the solution is a technique.

C.S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Unfortunately, this is even truer now than when it was written in 1943, over 80 years ago.

Above Suspicion by Helen MacInnes

Richard and Frances Myles are preparing for their annual European summer vacation in 1939 when they are visited at their Oxford college by an old friend who has a seemingly simple job for them. But in the heightened atmosphere of pre-war Europe, nobody is above suspicion, in fact the husband and wife are being carefully monitored by shadowy figures.

This was Helen MacInnes' first book and remains one of her best. She was a popular writer of spy novels for 45 years. Frances and Richard Myles are asked by an old friend to see if the head of an European underground railroad is still in place. This is before Britain is drawn into what will become WWII. While following clues backwards from person to person down the "railway", they discover that the open, friendly Germany they have loved has changed under the Nazi regime.

This is both an exciting spy story and an interesting look at the pre-war Germany. This book was written as the Nazis increased power and published in 1941. It seems surprisingly true to life and a fellow reviewer explains why:

She married Gilbert Highet, a Classics scholar, in 1932 and translated German literature with him. Like the characters in this novel, both her and her husband spoke fluent German and spent their summers travelling in Europe. Gilbert Highet also served as an MI6 British intelligence agent and his wife's novels were so realistic that her third book, "Assignment in Brittany" was required reading for Allied intelligence agents about to be sent to work with the French Resistance. As you can tell, you are in safe hands for a realistic novel about Europe in 1939, which is where Above Suspicion is set.

I didn't know all that but it helps explain why the book is so good. I haven't reread this for many years and was happy to find it remains as good as I remembered.

And the Winner Is — 1935

Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

For the 1935 Oscars we were able to see a lot of movies and were struck again by the variety of nominees, with a lot of light hearted films included.

WINNER

A rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.

I love the fact that the stars' names were bigger than the movie name on the poster. Directed by Frank Capra during his most prolific period, this is a movie that is practically perfect in every way ... it's hard to believe this movie is 85 years old! It holds up so well! It was the first screwball comedy and has a lot to say about class distinctions, albeit in such an entertaining fashion that you don't realize it until later. 

I've seen this many times and it never disappoints. I suspect this will be my favorite Oscar winner for some years to come as we proceed.

I will add that Imitation of Life gave this a run for its money as a household favorite. Do try it.

 NOMINEES

A husband and wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.

We've seen this enough times that we didn't want to repeat it. Overall funny and enjoyable. Worthy of nomination but not as good as It Happened One Night.

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.

It was a real pleasure to watch Astaire and Rogers shine in this gorgeous piece of comic fluff. Their chemistry is undeniable and they are supported by talented comedic actors who enjoy their own minor scenes now and then. The ordering of tea, the silhouettes fooling the corespondent who I loved so much, the whistling with the bellboy - these all add richness to the movie.

The queen of Egypt barges the Nile and flirts with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.

Here's Claudette Colbert again! (I think she made 6 movies that year.) This was a much grander spectacle than I expected and it could hold up today on that basis alone. However, I also liked Colbert's performance which is what I was really curious about since I've only seen her in It Happened One Night. Very enjoyable as an addition to our Oscar nominees viewing.

A struggling widow and her daughter take in a black housekeeper and her fair-skinned daughter. The two women start a successful business but face familial, identity, and racial issues along the way.

We were all surprised at how much we liked this tale of two mothers — one black, one white — who become good friends as they struggle together against the world in raising their daughters and earning a living. It tackled surprising issues when you consider everyday life for black Americans in 1934.

I really love the 1935 winner - It Happened One Night - but we thought Imitation of Life was robbed by not winning. I was especially interested to see Claudette Colbert in her third movie nominated for a 1935 Oscar. She was red hot that year and her performance here was good.

However, it was Louise Beavers who really stood out. We'd seen her previously in She Done Him Wrong, the Mae West film that was nominated for the 1934 Oscars. In that film Beavers played a stereotypical, giggling, joking maid. Here she was allowed a role that was very unusual for any black actor of the time. Most definitely she was robbed by having no Oscar nomination for her performance, most probably because she was black as newspapers at the time pointed out.

I especially liked the portrayal of the friendship between the two women after reading that the book from which the story was adapted was inspired by a road trip to Canada the author took with her friend, the African-American short-story writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston.

This is one worth watching for a lot of reasons.

=======

All the Oscar viewing is here.

Advent: Letting Go and Going Deeper

Winter preserves and strengthens a tree. Rather than expending its strength on the exterior surface, its sap is forced deeper and deeper into its interior depth. In winter a tougher, more resilient life is firmly established. Winter is necessary for the tree to survive and flourish.

Instantly you see the application. So often we hide our true condition with the surface virtues of pious activity, but, once the leaves of our frantic pace drop away, the power of a wintry spirituality can have effect.

To the outward eye everything looks barren and unsightly. Our many defects, flaws, weaknesses, and imperfections stand out in bold relief. But only the outward virtues have collapsed; the principle of virtue is actually being strengthened. The soul is venturing forth into the interior. Real, solid, enduring virtues begin to develop deep within. Pure love is being birthed.

Richard Foster, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home

This quote seems like one more gentle reminder of a truth I've come face to face with in the last few weeks. I have been reading Father Dysinger's introduction to lectio divina again. I have found over the years that I practice my own unique form of lectio but anchoring myself occasionally in traditional instruction is always good. I find the above theme is echoed by Father Dysinger.

THE ART of lectio divina begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply, to hear “with the ear of our hearts” as St. Benedict encourages us in the Prologue to the Rule. When we read the Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the “faint murmuring sound” which is God's word for us, God's voice touching our hearts. This gentle listening is an “atunement” to the presence of God in that special part of God's creation which is the Scriptures.

THE CRY of the prophets to ancient Israel was the joy-filled command to “Listen!” “Sh'ma Israel: Hear, O Israel!” In lectio divina we, too, heed that command and turn to the Scriptures, knowing that we must “hear” - listen - to the voice of God, which often speaks very softly. In order to hear someone speaking softly we must learn to be silent. We must learn to love silence. If we are constantly speaking or if we are surrounded with noise, we cannot hear gentle sounds. The practice of lectio divina, therefore, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God's word to us...

Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B.

Perhaps it is simply appropriate to the season, to that looking forward in Advent to the One who comes to complete us, to fill that empty "God-shaped" hole in our hearts.

All I know is that in the letting go, the taking up again of lectio, I am finding a quiet peace that is the perfect antidote to the rushing of Christmas preparation. Indeed, it makes the Christmas preparation simpler and calmer, despite the fact that I am doing nothing different than usual ... on the outside, that is. On the inside, I am listening ...

Ginkgo Trees in Hyanggyo

 Ginkgo Trees in Hyanggyo

I recently discovered there is a tall and lovely Ginko tree one block over from us. I'd always admired the never-failing golden foliage in the fall but never stopped to examine the leaves. When I drove my mother by to see it, her attention to detail (especially where plants are involved) allowed her to identify it within a minute. I was astonished. I always thought of Ginko trees as being something exclusively Chinese, or more generally Asian. Perhaps they had a few in California? But now the sheer exotic nature of this tree makes it even lovelier to me.

No Room to Swing a Cat

Mrs. Crupp had indignantly assured him that there wasn't room to swing a cat there; but, as Mr. Dick justly observed to me, sitting down on the foot of the bed, nursing his leg, "You know, Trotwood, I don't want to swing a cat. I never do swing a cat. Therefore, what does that signify to ME!"

Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Dickens has some of the most amusing characters and dialogue of anyone. Not an original observation, of course, but he continually cracks me up.

Baking the Bread

Baking the Bread, Anders Zorn, 1889

See this? That's me today.

Ok, not literally. Thank goodness I've got an enclosed oven for one thing. But I'm cook, cook, cookin' the day away preparing the Thanksgiving feast. Pies, side dishes, rolls. So much cooking, with something new this year. My son-in-law is going to deep fry the turkey. I am extremely interested to see how it turns out.

Rose and I have done this together enough times that it is like a ballet as we skirt each other cooking, remembering timing and tips to each other, and listen to very American music — per Rose, this means bluegrass. I like bluegrass fine but I also like to put some jazz in there. And Aaron Copeland, George Gershwin, and (most lately) William Grant Still whose first symphony (titled "Afro American Symphony") combines the feel of both Copeland and Gershwin to be very all-American.

Talk about a fun way to get Thanksgiving dinner ready.

Turkey - the Word of the Week

 I've mentioned Word & Song before — here's my review. I'm sharing this because I was so surprised by what Anthony Esolen said last year about turkeys being in a Shakespeare play 20 years before the pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock. Read it all here.

... there’s our Word of the Week, turkey, in a play [Twelfth Night] that was written almost twenty years before the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, and before they celebrated a late-autumn Thanksgiving with great roasted turkeys! Is it the same bird? Where did it come from? Why is it called a turkey?

As best we can figure, it was the same bird or close to it, brought into Europe and Asia by Spanish traders. It quickly became a favorite — after all, you’d much prefer a big fat turkey to a skinny goose or stork. But it got to England by a circuitous route: from India, where the Spanish took it, and Madagascar, and thence to the country called Turkey, after the people, the Turks, who ruled there. The Turks themselves called the bird hindi, meaning that it came from India, and that’s also why in French it was called poulet d’Inde, Indian chicken — giving us modern French dindon. In Italy, they call it tacchino, probably imitating a tak-tak-tak gobble. If you think that’s odd, in Persia you may call it either korus e-hendi, Indian chicken, or booghalamoon — again, for the gobble. In any case, if you were living in London in Shakespeare’s time, you might well have the popular turkey as your Christmas feast.

So when the Pilgrims came to Massachusetts, imagine their surprise when they saw wild turkeys galumphing about, fattened on local walnuts and beech nuts and hazels and apples! They’d have known from experience what to do with those birds. We’ve got flocks of them where we live now, in New Hampshire, and one winter’s day they gathered, about two dozen, around a crabapple tree in the neighbor’s yard, craning their necks and hopping from the ground to snatch the fruits, yes, hopping, because they were too heavy for the branches, especially the toms.

Marlene Dietrich in Glass Bugle Beads

Marlene Dietrich, dress by Irene
via Silver Screen Modes

No skin is showing but that hardly matters in this dramatic dress. Silver Screen Modes has fascinating commentary and wonderful photos. Here's a taste.

Indeed, the main advantage of a dress made of glass bugle beads is that their weight presses against the skin. You either see the skin left exposed, or you clearly see the contours of the wearer since the beads hug the figure with from the gravity of their weight. And the beads not only reflect light, but are themselves translucent, and sewn onto the sheerest of silk chiffons. They are made of cut glass, an can be colored or lined in silver or gold. Marlene Dietrich below knew how to pose in a gown made of bugle beads. This one was designed for her by the costume and fashion designer Irene. Little skin actually shows, yet you feel that all of her is showing.

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme

This book is the charming and fascinatingly told story of Julia Child and her husband living in France. What elevates this beyond the usual food/life memoir is Child's telling of the whole picture, not just the food oriented moments. Yes, the food is there. After all, we are in France, n'est-ce pas? And this is Julia Child's story. However, just as in life, the food memories wind their way through the rest of her stories which make us understand just why she adores France. A snippet to whet your appetite.

... I had come to the conclusion that I must really be French, only no one had ever informed me of this fact. I loved the people, the food, the lay of the land, the civilized atmosphere, and the generous pace of life.

August in Paris was known as la morte-saison, "the dead season," because everybody who could possibly vacate did so as quickly as possible. A great emptying out of the city took place, as hordes migrated toward the mountains and coasts, with attendant traffic jams and accidents. Our favorite restaurants, the creamery, the meat man, the flower lady, the newspaper lady, and the cleaners all disappeared for three weeks. One afternoon I went into Nicolas, the wine shop, to buy some wine and discovered that everyone but the deliveryman had left town. He was minding the store, and in the meantime was studying voice in the hope of landing a role at the opera. Sitting next to him was an old concierge who, twenty-five years earlier, had been a seamstress for one of the great couturiers on la Place Vendome. She and the deliveryman reminisced about the golden days of Racine and Moliere and the Opera Comique. I was delighted to stumble in on these two. It seemed that in Paris you could discuss classic literature or architecture or great music with everyone from the garbage collector to the mayor.

Baby (Almost) on Board!

 Our second grandchild — Gemma Rose — should be arriving tomorrow. We've got the fun of taking care of 4-year-old big brother during the weekend. And then I will be helping out with the baby household.

Until I return, I've got years and years of back-posts including movies and books. This is your chance to peruse the archives!

Please pray that all goes well before, during, and after arrival of little Gemma.

"Happy" versus what makes us most beautifully human

This is long but do read it all.

“Presume competence,” said the disability advocates, and so I did. I learned to discard “normal” and embrace “possible.” It wasn’t easy. My daughter needed 10 times the support of a typical kid. It also felt like the truest, most human work I could do: to love someone into whomever they would become.

I was learning. Meanwhile, the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins tweeted that it was immoral for a pregnant woman to knowingly carry to term a child with Down syndrome because, according to him, disabilities decrease happiness and increase suffering. I was appalled.

When Fiona reached kindergarten in 2016, I fretted: Would her teachers think the same? That her life wasn’t “worth it”? At a standard public school, among kids twice her size, would she be dismissed as incapable, rejected as less-than?

I couldn’t know that in one year, her gross motor confidence would climb. ... I couldn’t know that in the company of typical, talking peers, my daughter’s verbal language would explode.

On her first day of kindergarten, I couldn’t know any of this—just as I couldn’t know that, on the day I learned of my daughter’s diagnosis, I was being handed a gift: the knowledge that the point of life isn’t to achieve things. It also isn’t, as Richard Dawkins implies, to avoid suffering. It isn’t even to “be happy.” ... This belief in the virtue of the “happy” and suffering-free life sterilizes and shrinks us, minimizing what makes us most beautifully human.

The point of this human life, I believe, is love. And the ridiculous and brave and risky act of love turns my heart into taffy, stretches it across the broad spectrum of human feeling. I hurt, I long, I exalt, I rejoice. And yes, my chest sometimes aches from the work of raising a rare girl. But the ache in my chest is a cousin of joy.

Heather Lanier

The Real Work of Parenting a Rare Girl

Wall Street Journal, July 25, 2020

I was so touched, especially looking at Richard Dawkins' eugenics stance (carefully couched as kindness) versus Heather Lanier's hard earned joy which reaffirms the point of life and power of love.  It is also a good reminder that there is so much we can't know when we try to see into the future. Sometimes what we find there is great beyond our ability to imagine it.

Shichi - Go -San ( seven - five - three )

Shichi-Go-San, via Calligraphy in the View

Do click through to see more photos of these adorable children in traditional dress. 

Shichi-Go-San is a traditional rite of passage and festival day in Far east.

For three and seven year-old girls and three and five year-old boys, held annually on November 15.

Shichi-Go-San is said to have originated in the Heian Period (794-1185) amongst court nobles, who would celebrate the passage of their children into middle childhood.

Hello Kitty Shinkansen (Bullet Train)

Hello Kitty Shinkansen, Calligraphy in the View

I think we can agree this is the best of all bullet trains, especially if you happen to have any little girls around when you're on it.

Green Book

Based on a real story. When Tony Lip (Mortensen), a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class African-American pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on “The Green Book” to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans.

Confronted with racism and danger—as well as unexpected humanity and humor—they are forced to set aside differences to survive and thrive on the journey of a lifetime. Winner of Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor (Ali).

I rewatched this recently before an upcoming discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find. I found myself falling in love with it all over again. More than anything it is a buddy road movie. They aren't buddies at the beginning but we recognize all the famiiar beats. The joy of the movie is in seeing the way those beats are hit in order to reveal the two men.

The strength of the two main performances buttressed by a strong supporting cast, were wonderful. And the main story, spotlighting the power of personal connection, was highly enjoyable. It deserved the Oscar - this is the sort of movie Hollywood seems to have forgotten to make anymore.

If you haven't seen it the you're in for a treat. 

A Gorgeous Bouquet

Anna Stanchi, Still Life with Flowers, c. 1643

Notes on Mark: A Parable About Seeds

Jesus scattering seeds of faith, Peter Pöppelmann
Dresden-Strehlen, Christ Church

MARK 4:26-29
This parable about the seeds is so familiar that I never realized it is only found in Mark. Of course we have all heard interpretations of the many meanings within it but I haven't ever heard this one by St. Gregory the Great.

An agricultural parable found only in Mark. Jesus compares the mystery of natural, organic growth to the expansion of the kingdom of God. The kingdom will visibly mature like grain, but the spiritual forces behind it will remain invisible. The parable of the Leaven in MT 13:33 elucidates the same mystery.

Morally (St. Gregory the Great, Hom. in Ezek 2, 3), the maturing grain signifies our increase in virtue. First, the seeds of good intentions are sown; these gradually bring forth the blade of repentance and ultimately the mature ear of charitable works. When established in virtue, we are made ripe for God's harvest.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible)

A note for reflection adds what we already know about this parable's larger meaning, but what is good for me to remember.

Despite the many seeds apparently sown in vain, God is at work to produce what will finally be revealed as a stupendous harvest. The parable illustrates the "mystery of the kingdom" that Jesus mentioned in 4:11. The reign of God will not come about through unmitigated success and uninterrupted growth. An unexpected but necessary part of the plan is the setbacks and failures that give Jesus' disciples a share in the mystery of his own suffering.

The Gospel of Mark: Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

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Sources and Notes Index  

Julie and Scott take a road trip through the South. They both like fried chicken but Scott won't let Julie play her Indian movie music.

In episode 344 of A Good Story is Hard to Find, we discuss Green Book, starring Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen.

Pug Dog in an Armchair

Alfred Dedreux, Pug Dog in an Armchair, 1857

Yes, I also like that painting of dogs playing poker. So sue me. It tickles me that this was painted in 1857.

Just Plain Fun Reading — Dragon Heist by Alexander C. Kane

Birdie Binkowitz is just a little bitter. As a young actress, she was the toast of Hollywood, definitely destined for greatness. Then the dragons had to rise up from their thousand-year slumber, take over Earth and ruin everything. Twenty years later, Birdie is living her worst life in her hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, working at her father's Seed and Feed (and Bagels).

Then, the world's smallest dragon mysteriously appears in front of the store seeking her help. He’s got a bone to pick with his fellow dragons–and he wants to hit them where it hurts.

This book was mildly entertaining during the first few chapters of set up. But I definitely cracked up when Jim (the Dragon) announced that in order to accomplish their goal, they were going to have to get a fighter, a thief, a giant, and a mage. Hey, that's dungeons and dragons quest stuff! All in modern-day Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Then it started to get fun and imaginative. My favorite character was the thief, Dottie Three Hands.

As the story went on, I became more curious about the goal of looting a dragon's lair. There seemed to be more at stake than simply getting treasure. As it turns out, that was correct and the twist was predictable but not disappointing for all that. I thoroughly enjoyed the team getting through the puzzles at the gates. I also really enjoyed Birdie's talent being that of annoying people beyond their ability to keep their minds on what they were doing.

All in all, this was a perfect summer read and I'd love it if there is a sequel.

Do not free a camel

Do not free a camel from the burden of his hump; you may be freeing him from being a camel.

G.K. Chesterton

The Shocking Behavior of a Speedy Star

The Shocking Behavior of a Speedy Star, NASA on the Commons

 I didn't know there really are such things as rogue stars. The red arc is what happens when it runs into things as it speeds through the Milky Way. More from NASA:

Roguish runaway stars can have a big impact on their surroundings as they plunge through the Milky Way galaxy. Their high-speed encounters shock the galaxy, creating arcs, as seen in this newly released image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope.

In this case, the speedster star is known as Kappa Cassiopeiae, or HD 2905 to astronomers. It is a massive, hot supergiant. But what really makes the star stand out in this image is the surrounding, streaky red glow of material in its path. Such structures are called bow shocks, and they can often be seen in front of the fastest, most massive stars in the galaxy.

Bow shocks form where the magnetic fields and wind of particles flowing off a star collide with the diffuse, and usually invisible, gas and dust that fill the space between stars. How these shocks light up tells astronomers about the conditions around the star and in space. Slow-moving stars like our sun have bow shocks that are nearly invisible at all wavelengths of light, but fast stars like Kappa Cassiopeiae create shocks that can be seen by Spitzer’s infrared detectors.

Incredibly, this shock is created about 4 light-years ahead of Kappa Cassiopeiae, showing what a sizable impact this star has on its surroundings. (This is about the same distance that we are from Proxima Centauri, the nearest star beyond the sun.)

The Kappa Cassiopeiae bow shock shows up as a vividly red color. The faint green features in this image result from carbon molecules, called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, in dust clouds along the line of sight that are illuminated by starlight.

Delicate red filaments run through this infrared nebula, crossing the bow shock. Some astronomers have suggested these filaments may be tracing out features of the magnetic field that runs throughout our galaxy. Since magnetic fields are completely invisible themselves, we rely on chance encounters like this to reveal a little of their structure as they interact with the surrounding dust and gas.

Kappa Cassiopeiae is visible to the naked eye in the Cassiopeia constellation (but its bow shock only shows up in infrared light.)

White Lilies

Anders Zorn, White Lilies
via Wikipedia

Just gorgeous. And that's enough reason to put it here to look at.

What We Deserve

It is always a terrible thing to come back to Mott Street. To come back in a driving rain, to men crouched on the stairs, huddled in doorways, without overcoats because they sold them perhaps the week before when it was warm, to satisfy hunger or thirst — who knows? Those without love would say, "It serves them right, drinking up their clothes." God help us if we got just what we deserved!

Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage

"God help us if we got just what we deserved!"

Yes. That would indeed be a terrible fate.

Can I visit it upon another? There is justice, to be sure, and it is much needed in this world. But justice must be served up with mercy. That is the delicate balance with which we all struggle.

Portrait of Mlle Brissac

Portrait of Mlle Brissac (1863). William-Adolphe Bouguereau (French, 1825-1905)
via Books and Art

I love Bouguereau anyway but this really stands out for me. It's as good as photograph. Better, in fact! Look at it close up (click the portrait) to see just how realistic everything is.

And the Winner Is — 1934

 Our family is working our way through Oscar winners and whichever nominees take our fancy. Also as they are available, since these early films continued to be hard to find.

Also the Academy was still sorting out what years the movies had to be made in order to qualify. So there are some from 1932-33 in here.

WINNER

A cavalcade of English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 until 1933 is seen through the eyes of well-to-do Londoners Jane and Robert Marryot. Amongst events touching their family are the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and the Great War.

Our least favorite of the Best Picture winners so far. (Oh wait, now we've seen The Life of Emile Zola from 1938. Turns out Cavalcade isn't as bad as we thought at the time.) It isn't terrible but it also isn't great. It just kept going and going. I did enjoy Diana Wynyard and Clive Brook's performances a lot.

 NOMINEES

A World War I veteran’s dreams of becoming a master architect evaporate in the cold light of economic realities. Things get even worse when he’s falsely convicted of a crime and sent to work on a chain gang.

How do you not get excited about a movie with this title? And it paid off. Paul Muni was really effective in the role and, amazingly, the over-the-top story was very close to the autobiography that inspired it.

The book and film were both influences in publicizing the horrors of what life was like on the chain gangs and getting them abolished. So it was both a gripping story and social change maker. We're glad we watched it.

This was our favorite of the three movies we could find for viewing, beating She Done Him Wrong and Cavalcade in our personal awards.

New York singer and nightclub owner Lady Lou has more men friends than you can imagine. One of them is a vicious criminal who’s escaped and is on the way to see “his” girl, not realising she hasn’t exactly been faithful in his absence. Help is at hand in the form of young Captain Cummings, a local temperance league leader.

This is part of our cultural history almost 100 years later as evidenced by the fact that "Come up and see me sometime" is still a known line. Also, of course Mae West's image lives on in the cliches that she herself exploited to great effect.

We liked it well enough as an iconic film and for the funny double entendres as the plot zipped along with a seemingly endless stream of men entering and leaving West's bedroom.

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All the Oscar viewing is here.

Millie Finch

Milly Finch, James McNeill Whistler, c.1884

I don't love lots of Whistler's art, but I do love this.

Notes on Mark: Plowing the Soil

Tomb wall painting in Thebes of plowing the land

MARK 4:1-20
I have always heard this talked about as if the type of soil cannot be changed. However, this commentary gave me much food for thought just by looking at Palestinian farming customs.

In first-century Palestine, it was common for farmers to sow their seed first, and then go back and plow the soil. In this way, the seed could be mixed in with different types of soil, and some hard or rocky patches of soil could be broken up and softened, helping the seed to bear greater fruit. While some of the soil may not be the most fertile at the beginning of the process, by the end, it has a far greater chance of supporting the life and fruitfulness of the seed it has received.

In a similar way, none of us should think that because we see hardness or difficulties in our lives now, that we are beyond hope of change, or that it's too late for us. God can "plow" us up at any time, making us more receptive to the work he has sown in us and more able to bear the abundant fruit that his seed is capable of producing. We should always keep our eyes and ears open, looking for ways that God may be trying to work a greater softening in our hearts, a greater receptivity to his word.

Mark: A Devotional Commentary (The Word Among Us)

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Sources and Notes Index 

Involuntary versus voluntary penance

St. Angela of Foligno said that penances voluntarily undertaken are not half so meritorious as those imposed on us by the circumstances of our lives and cheerfully borne. ...

Most of us have not the courage to set out on this path wholeheartedly, so God arranges it for us.

Dorothy Day, On Pilgrimage

You know, that never would have occurred to me. It provides food for thought about how I live my life. For one thing I am terrible about taking up voluntary penances for the improvement of my soul. It is a comfort to think that God provides anyway.

Not that I love inconvenience or hardship, but we can't escape it so this is just one more way to orient myself toward the good that can come (and is intended) from it.

Francisco Goya

Vicente López y Portaña, Portrait of Francisco de Goya, 1826
via Wikipedia

I was looking for pieces of Goya's art. Funnily enough, the painting I liked best was by someone else of Goya. He's unexpectedly stern looking considering the surreal feeling of some of his paintings. Apropos of nothing, I love his neckcloth.

How the Church Has Changed the World by Anthony Esolen

I've become a big fan of Anthony Esolen's essays from his daily posts at Word & Song. In particular the Word of the Week essay every Monday is always an engaging, wide-ranging reflection on the word from personal experience, far-flung sources, scientific or historical links, and, finally, etymology - the origin of the word itself.

When I came across this series collecting monthly essays he'd originally written for Magnificat I was excited to see that the same captivating, wide-ranging style was used. Quite often I'd find myself thinking, "Oh this is definitely about this well known saint" only to find that I was reading about someone I'd never heard of. Although that "well known saint" might have been best friends with the subject of the piece.

Esolen ranges across time and around the world to show us the many ways that the love of Christ has been expressed by the Church through history — in art, song, customs, and people. Each book has 24 essays and they make wonderful daily reading — if you can hold yourself down to one a day. I couldn't!

Empress Maria Feodorovna

Ivan N. Kramskoi, Portrait of Empress Maria Feodorovna, 1880s

I found the painting via Through an Artist's Eyes along with this:

According to Robert K. Massie, author of Nicholas and Alexandra:

Russia loved this small, gay woman who became their Empress, and Marie gloried in the life of the Russian court. She delighted in parties and balls…..Seated at dinner, she was an intelligent, witty conversationalist and, with her dark eyes flashing, her husky voice filled with warmth and humor, she dominated as much by charm as by rank.

I am sharing this because I love the look on the Empress's face. I want to be friends with her.

On the Commemoration of All Souls' Day: "OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

This had to be done. Even now, he had a stern, still handsome profile, the profile of an absolutist, a romantic. His breath indicated an arduous journey, some steep path, altitude.

He seemed to be climbing.

But with that will, that work ethic, that strength, there was also sweet Steve’s capacity for wonderment, the artist’s belief in the ideal, the still more beautiful later.

Steve’s final words, hours earlier, were monosyllables, repeated three times.

Before embarking, he’d looked at his sister Patty, then for a long time at his children, then at his life’s partner, Laurene, and then over their shoulders past them.

Steve’s final words were:

OH WOW. OH WOW. OH WOW.

From Steve Job's sister's eulogy for him.

I simply love this and can't read it enough. The whole piece is a tender, loving image that adds wonderful depth to the public persona. Her absolute honesty about his last words made me cry (but you knew that already, didn't you?).

It certainly seems like a fitting memory for today, when we pray for all souls.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #98 — Freaks (1932)

I'd always avoided this movie, worried that it would be too creepy and disturbing. We recently saw the episode of Malcolm in the Middle where the kids are saved at the carnival by a group of friendly sideshow performers. My daughter mentioned that it is amazing how Freaks still resonates through popular culture. She'd seen and liked the movie long ago. With Halloween just around the corner, it was time for me to face my fears.

I'm so glad I did because this was a really amazing movie. The plot is basic. A beautiful and conniving trapeze artist named Cleopatra seduces a carnival sideshow midget after learning of his large inheritance. His friends aren't going to let him be taken advantage of. The acting skills also can be rather basic also because the sideshow freaks are all portrayed by actual carnival performers. 

However, it was the sympathetic depiction of the true humanity and community that the freaks share behind the scenes that wowed my husband and me. Todd Browning's film feels as if it was way ahead of its time in overlooking the physical disabilities and recognizing each as a person. 

Also, just seeing them performing basic skills like eating dinner was often awe-inspiring. They were just living their lives and managing remarkably well in a way that we moderns wouldn't think possible. I wasn't surprised to see that Browning had worked in a carnival before he turned to directing. Looking up the accomplishments of these performers in real life was often revelatory about their abilities and the way they were able to enjoy life.

Freaks is billed as a horror movie, and I'm sure it felt that way when it came out. However, the only time it felt like a real horror movie to us was at the end where the community banded together to protect one of their own. Now that bit was riveting and terrifying.

Scott tries to avoid noticing Julie's shock of red wolf hair as he eats his freshly picked rowan-berries.

 Alexandre Dumas's Faustian tale of a poor shoe maker and his deal with the devil. Episode 343 of A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Join us!