Worth a Thousand Words

Violin Player by Barcelona Photoblog

Some Quick Reviews

1. Bone Dance: A Fantasy for Technophiles by Emma Bull***** ... perhaps this is best described as cyberpunk fantasy. Sparrow is an expert at collecting old technology that has survived a near apocalypse, especially movies and music, for collectors who have enough money. This book flips premises three times, while continuing the story line as if the reader already understands all the cultural references that characters are making. Somewhat challenging to hang on during the flips but it is well worth while for the interested reader. Highly recommended.
   


2. In the Country of the Blind by Michael Flynn***** ... less science fiction than a thriller written around the premise that around the time of the Civil War, a secret society discovered an equation that predicts historical events. They still exist today and will go to any lengths to keep their identity a secret. Unfortunately for Sarah, who is merely trying to uncover a good name for a real estate development, her research uncovers them.
   


3. Lourdes: Font of Faith, Hope, and Charity by Elizabeth Ficocelli**** ... despite my complete lack of interest in Lourdes, Ficocelli's writing was compelling enough to draw me through the book to the end. A combination history of Lourdes and guide to how it is set up today, this is highly recommended for anyone who has any interest in this famous Marian site.


4. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley**** ... discover the original behind the monster movies. Victor Frankenstein clearly shows mankind's shortsightedness in many ways (or as I said to Rose, "What a moron!"). The monster ironically is anything but monstrous as he shows the ideal of "tabla rasa" and what mankind could be if given the opportunity. As well as a study of how repeated rejection will sour the sweetest personality.


5. Helvetica***** ... are you a "typomaniac?" If you come out of this movie with a crush on Helvetica, as Hannah's friend Jenny did, then you know that the answer to that question should be yes! This documentary, done on the typeface Helvetica's 50th birthday, manages not only to tell us about this particular typeface but to remind the general viewer that type is now a design element that is all around us. In the various attitudes and feuds of the type designers that are interviewed, one also gets a glimpse of the passion that art arouses. Yes, even those who practice the art of graphic design. We had to wait for over a month to rent this documentary as it was always out every weekend. Which just goes to show how quirky our neighborhood is, full of designers and advertising people.


6. Moliere**** ... this movie is a la "Shakespeare in Love" but much better done. On the point of his triumphant return to Paris, Moliere flashes back thirteen years to remember a pivotal time in his life. This is a very funny movie on several levels and if one knows his plays it is undoubtedly even funnier. As someone who does not know Moliere's work, I can recommend the movie anyway.


7. 30Rock - The first season**** ... not a movie but surely logging in all these hours counts for something! Absolutely hilarious and we could kick ourselves for not having watched sooner. Set behind the scenes of a variety show a la Saturday Night Live, this focuses on the writers, actors, and management.


8. Extras - The first season**** ... again not a movie but a truly funny and sometimes poignant British television series. Focusing on an actor who seems doomed to always be an extra and desperately wants to get a line in a production, this character-driven comedy is funny on many levels. Not the least of that comedy is that each episode features a well-known actor who is shown "behind scenes" with humor deriving from the fact that they are playing against type of their well known public personas. This is when you realize what good sports Kate Winslet, Patrick Stewart, and Ben Stiller really are. Doubtless I would realize that about British actors Ross Kemp and Les Dennis except I never heard of them before.

"E" for Excellent

Wife and Mom of Two kindly awarded Happy Catholic a rating of "E." Thank you very much!

Now it is my turn to pass this on to ten other bloggers. As always, my problem is where to draw the line. All the blogs I read are excellent ... or I wouldn't read 'em.

However, since I must choose ... here goes with an eclectic mix of places you might not have seen me mention lately ... or at all ... but that I find irresistible:

1. The Way of the Fathers
2. Barcelona Photoblog
3. Mary's Aggies
4. The Mad Tea Party
5. The Doctor is In
6. Finding Grace Within
7. Wittingshire
8. Big Mo's Presidents Review
9. Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering
10. The Raft on the Tiber
    

Blog Talk Radio ... Again with Siggy, Fausta and Me

The three of us will be on Fausta's blog radio show at 11 a.m. Eastern (10 a.m. Central, which would be my time zone). The call in number is 646-652-2639.

The link for Blog Talk Radio is here at Fausta's. I don't understand a thing about how it works but I do know that it is podcast later so you have a variety ways to listen if you are interested. We're starting off discussing gender differences, based on Siggy's post from a few days ago.

UPDATE:
Seriously, I never, ever would have thought that I could talk about gender differences and sex for an hour and not be bored. Yeah, I know, that doesn't sound right does it? But really, the only thing more boring than that for me would be politics. But Siggy and Fausta make it so much fun! It was a blast guys! Thanks so much for having me on the show! You can listen to the podcast via iTunes soon ...

ALSO:
I just want to add that I was very excited that Laurie Kendrick was there too as I have been reading her blog for a few weeks. That girl cracks me up. And I believe that I may have a serious crush on Shane as well a great admiration for his very wise mother.

Can you tell I had a blast? Of course you can!

Not Strictly Spiritual

A great website from author Mary DeTurris who has "The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Catholic Catechism" coming out soon. Can I wait? Well I guess I must but I don't want to!

She also has a blog with an interesting post about the Antarctic and the Lenten desert. Check that out for sure.

As if that weren't enough she is a columnist ... be sure to investigate all the tabs. I've been looking around here for a couple of weeks (or maybe more) and really enjoying this site.

The Big Question of the Day ... What Are You Giving Up for Lent?

I'll go first ... I'm severely cutting back on podcast listening. I vow to daily load on a single hour each of nonfiction and fiction podcasts onto my iPod. And not to replenish when they are gone ... until the next day.

Ooooo, you wouldn't think this would be a penitential act, but I'm tellin' ya ... it will be. Just to reinforce that, when we were talking at dinner last night about what we were giving up, my husband was nodding his head more and more emphatically the whole time I was talking. That's when you know you're doing the right thing.

Adding on ... praying the liturgy of the hours, in the morning, at noon, and the evening anyway. I did this long, long ago and don't know why I drifted away as I found it beneficial in so many ways. Beginning with that regular touching base with God, of course. So this is my chance to get back into it.

Today, I'm celebrating Fat Tuesday by listening to podcasts and cleaning out my iPod (similar to the pancake feast to clean out the dairy from your pantry, but on an audio basis).

Latin Bleg

Any pronunciation tips for this?

Jam sol recedit igneus ...

Translation: The setting sun now turns our gaze to Thee.

This link is too funny not to post ... but comes with a warning.

If you are a Cowboys fan and don't mind Hitler, Nazis, or bad language, then you are going to find this hilarious. Brilliant use of war movie footage and football game subtitle dialogue.

However, the warning is serious so don't go there if Hitler, Nazis, or bad language will upset you. I'm not kidding.

Die-Hard Cowboys Fan

Note to Hollywood ...

... before making another war movie, watch the NFL We are Americans ad first.

I was thinking this because I'd recently read Andrew Klavan's brilliant article, The Lost Art of War about where modern Hollywood is missing the boat in war movies. I found the article via Libertas.

I see that today Libertas is advising that Hollywood Could Learn from the NFL just for the way to tell a story, a la Super Bowl as epic confrontation. Indeed Libertas is correct.

In Thanksgiving for a Broken Arm

When bad things happen and we can't see why, sometimes it is because we are right in the middle of living through the good that God will bring out of the bad. We don't have perspective because we're not on the other side of the event yet.

As witness, we have Sarah's epiphany about her broken arm ...

If I hadn’t broken my arm [a year ago], I wouldn’t have cut back my hours at work and started taking off two afternoons a week.

If I hadn’t taken off two afternoons a week, I wouldn’t have decided to start seeing Grandma and Grandpa once a week. ...

Go read it all.

Now That's Good Football

Finally, the Super Bowl had that rarest of occurrences, two teams who were well matched and who fought it out until the end. My favorite moment of the game ... when Eli Manning popped out running from two defenders who I thought surely had him down and then threw to ... can't remember the other player (Mary tells me it was David Tyree ... fantastic catch!) who caught the ball on top of his helmet and went to the ground clutching it for a huge advance in yards. Second favorite moment of the game was seeing big brother Peyton Manning's ecstatic reaction to the final touchdown throw in the last minute of the game.

Its a good thing that the game was good since there were not too many new commercials and, of those, few were very good. Two of those were from the NFL itself.

One was the tribute "We Are Americans" which brought a tear to our eyes. It was nice to see some unabashed pride in America.



Or how about the NFL ad featuring the oboe player working in the grocery store who'd never thought of playing football?



My other favorite ad was the Carville Frist Coke Ad. If only it were this easy, I'd spring for some Coca Cola for the government myself. However, I like this view of shared humanity under the politics.

Worth a Thousand Words

A Small Museum by Qiang-Huang

Which Candidate Would You Want to Break Bread With?

That's what The Anchoress asks, prompted by a comment from Bender (I miss Bender around here ... I'm just sayin').

She thinks she'd like Obama and family. I think I could host for Obama at dinner as he seems personable enough to keep things pleasant even if we got onto politics. Otherwise, just looking for a pleasant evening and not trying to "question a candidate" I think I'd enjoy breaking bread with John McCain. He seems real if you know what I mean.

Improv on a Mission

Place: Grand Central Station
Number of Undercover Agents: 207
The Mission: Freeze in Place at the Exact Same Moment

After five minutes they "unfroze" and moved on. Great fun to see their effect on bystanders and the varied things they were doing when they "froze. See it here.

Thanks to The Anchoress for the tip on this one. Yeah, she knows what I like.

For Hannah ...

Poor, poor Hannah ... she has an ear infection, and a very sore throat, and ... well, various other unsavory symptoms. She is taking five kinds of medicine (those A&M doctors are quick with the prescription pad) ... but although her friends are keeping her company and giving her chicken soup, there is no Mom to make her a grilled cheese sandwich. And change the Futurama DVDs whenever she wants ...

Wish you were here, sweetie ... praying for you to feel better soon. Love, Mom. :-)

If You Live in Dallas Do Yourself a Favor and Go See Ella

We just got back from this show which combines the best elements of live performance and fascinating life story. Ella Fitzgerald may have been known as "the nice one" compared to Billie Holiday but that's just because she didn't spread her life out in public for everyone to see. There was much I didn't know about Ella's life and it was told in an engaging manner that incorporated some of her best known songs along the way.

E. Fay Butler did a fantastic job singing in Ella's style and telling her story. Her scat alone would have been enough to earn the standing ovation she received at the end. The live band was also wonderful and I am going to look for that trumpet player's CDs. You can see a video clip here ... just scroll down.

For those of you who don't have the time to take in the show (or are just in the wrong place in the country) put some Ella on the CD player ... after all, no one can match those smooth tones or three octave range but the lady herself.

"And God will look at us and say not, 'Did you succeed?' but 'Did you try?'

Heather shares some of her thoughts and prayers from Adoration yesterday. It is well worth reading, as is her whole blog for that matter.

I was so happy to see that she was there at the same time that I was. It is odd how you can have known someone for such a short time and yet feel closer to them that one would think. I felt as if I were greeting a long-time pal but then realized we only knew each other from the Pro-Life March. Truly, a friend is a gift from God ...

As Heather did, I felt very familiar feelings from Adoration, though mine almost always are of an overwhelming peace, that peace which "passeth all understanding" and this has carried on into today which is, of course, very welcome. I also felt it quite appropriate that the preschool children were brought in for their Friday "church time" while we were there in adoration to pray for an end to abortion. My thoughts were so much with the abortion providers and, especially, those zealous and hard-faced "escorts" who we saw outside the abortion clinic when we were there praying not so long ago. Prayers for a change of heart, for clear sight, for the truth to penetrate.

Jeremiah, tell me 'bout the fire ...

I haven't posted this for a while, though it sits in my sidebar, ready to see.

However, I just can't get the song out of my head, which always makes me think of this which Rose did for a theology class last year ... so there's nothing to do but post Jeremiah, tell me 'bout the fire a bit more prominently.

Enjoy!

Men and Women ... Understanding the Dance

Women feel fulfilled and will respond best if they feel cherished, recognized, appreciated and acknowledged for who they are.

Men feel fulfilled and respond best when they feel needed and respected, when they believe they have an important role to play--to leave a mark or legacy. If properly developed and encouraged, men will direct their efforts to make their legacy their family.

Still, it bears remembering that while there is plenty of crossover, what makes men and women tick are different.

Siggy has written a very wise and insightful piece. If someone had told me when I was young about the truths of which he writes, then my husband would have been a much happier man earlier in our marriage. Luckily, I did come to realize much of this but it has been fairly recently. Instead, I muddled along with a lot of the misunderstandings that are communicated (and pushed down our throats) by media today. Go read it all.

Flipped Open to at Adoration

Appropriate for me and perhaps for you too. From one of the wisest books I have ever read, Beginning to Pray by Anthony Bloom.

This day is blessed by God, it is God's own and now let us go into it. You walk in this day as God's own messenger; whomever you meet, you meet in God's own way. You are there to be the presence of the Lord God, the presence of Christ, the presence of the Spirit, the presence of the Gospel--this is your function on this particular day. God has never said that when you walk into a situation in His own Name, He will be crucified and you will be the risen one. You must be prepared to walk into situations, one after the other, in God's name, to walk as the Son of God has done: in humiliation and humility, in truth and ready to be persecuted and so forth. Usually what we expect when we fulfill God's commandments is to see a marvelous result at once--we read of that at times in the lives of the saints. When, for instance, someone hits us on one cheek, we turn the other one, although we don't expect to be hit at all, but we expect to hear the other person say "What, such humility"--you get your reward and he gets the salvation of his soul. It does not work that way You must pay the cost and very often you get hit hard. What matters is that you are prepared for that. As to the day, if you accept that this day was blessed of God, chosen by God with His own hand, then every person you meet is a gift of God, every circumstance you will meet is a gift of God, whether it is bitter or sweet, whether you like or dislike it. It is God's own gift to you and if you take it that way, then you can face any situation. But then you must face it with the readiness that anything may happen, whether you enjoy it or not and if you walk in the name of the Lord thought a day which has come fresh and new out of His own Hands and has been blessed for you to live with it, then you can make prayer and life really like the two sides of one coin. You act and pray in one breath, as it were, because all the situations that follow one another require God's blessing.