Top Discoveries of 2009: Movies and Audiobooks

I couldn't resist, especially since I've been making notes for these categories since the beginning of the year. So I dodged back in to drop some of them on y'all (oh, how I've missed doing that in the last few days). These are not necessarily new as of 2009 but things that I discovered in 2009.

Click through the links for reviews. Where there are none I made a few notes which, admittedly, are brief, but it is this or nuttin'.

So here goes ... with no particular order within the lists, except chronologically I suppose.

Top Movies
In a year in which we watched fewer movies than ever, these were the stand outs.

• In Bruges
• Lagaan
• Star Trek
• JCVD
• Gran Torino
• Stranded
• Spaced: ok, not a movie but whatever. This is the television show that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) did before their movies. Somewhat slow moving it is nonetheless hilarious. Chock full of sci-fi, pop culture, and video game references, it chronicles the adventures of a guy and girl who pretend to be a couple in order to fulfill the rental requirements for a decent flat. You either will like this or you won't. We all do except for Rose who prefers to ignore it while doing soduku. But 3 outta 4 ain't bad!

Top Audiobooks

• The Adventures of Jimmie Dale by Frank L. Packard (free from Librivox, click through for full story description): done by various readers, one of whom read two or three chapters evidently to practice his English which was excruciating to listen to. However, this tale of dashing adventure from the turn of the century set in New York's gritty underbelly took no great harm from my skipping those couple chapters. This story made me a Frank L. Packard fan.
• Lamentation by Ken Scholes (reviewed for SFFaudio): not just the best audiobook I heard, but very possibly the best science fiction I "read" all year. Wow.
• The White Moll by Frank L. Packard (free from Librivox, click through for full story description): the White Moll, an angel of mercy in the New York slums, is falsely accused of a terrible crime. She must now use her intelligence, grit, and knowledge of slum gangs to outwit both her accusers and the police. This story made me a fan of narrator Rowdy Delaney whose low key style proved addictive.
• Giants of the Frost by Kim Wilkins (reviewed for SFFaudio): just when you think this is a typical romance story (enough already of the whining girl protagonist) it takes a very interesting turn for the better into Norse mythology.
• The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (free from Librivox, click through for full story description): surprisingly Doyle considered his historical novels to be his best and I must say this book makes a strong case. A story of knight errantry, wooing a fair lady, and learning the ways of the world during England's Hundred Years War with France.
  

The Thoughtfulness of Pope Benedict XVI

Back in the day when the Pope was Cardinal Ratzinger, Pete Seewald did a series of interviews which give us great insight into the way our Papa thinks. And I like it. Here's a great example directly swiped from Webster at Why I Am Catholic. Tge non-italicized words are Webster's commentary. Go there to read all of his post.

In the interviews that became God and the World (Ignatius Press, 2002), German journalist Peter Seewald asked then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:

In the course of two thousand years of Christian history, the Church has divided time and again. In the meantime, there are around three hundred distinguishable Protestant, Orthodox, or other churches. There are way over a thousand Baptist groups in the United States. Over against these there is still the Roman Catholic Church with the pope at her head, which claims to be the only true Church. She remains at any rate, and despite every crisis, indeed the most universal, historically significant, and successful Church in the world, with more members today than at any time in her history.

This question asked by a skeptical young journalist, no Catholic at the time he asked it, might seem to be what Frank would call a “fat pitch.” Did Ratzinger, in his answer, knock Protestantism out of the park in a grand slam of triumphalism? No, the cardinal laid down a thoughtful bunt single—then stole second, third, and home:

I think that in the spirit of Vatican II we ought not to see that as a triumph for our prowess as Catholics and ought not to make much of the institutional and numerical strength we continue to enjoy. If we were to reckon that as our achievement and as our right, then we would step outside the role of a people belonging to God and set ourselves up as an association in our own right. And that can very quickly go wrong. A Church may have great institutional power in a country, but as soon as faith is no longer there to back it up, the institution will break down.


Perhaps you know the mediaeval story of a Jew who traveled to the papal court and who became a Catholic. On his return, someone who knew the papal court well asked him: “Do you realize what sort of things are going on there?” “Yes,” he said, “of course, quite scandalous things, I saw it all.” “And you still became a Catholic,” remarked the other man. “That’s completely perverse!” Then the Jew said, “It is because of all that that I have become a Catholic. For if the Church continues to exist in spite of it all, then truly there must be someone upholding her.” And there is another story, to the effect that Napoleon once declared that he would destroy the Church. Whereupon one of the cardinals replied, “Not even we have managed that!”


I believe that we see something important in these paradoxical tales. There have in fact always been plenty of human monstrosities in the Catholic Church. That she still holds together, even if she groans and creaks, that she is still in existence, that she produces great martyrs and great believers, people who put their whole lives at her service, as missionaries, as nurses, as teachers, that really does show that there is someone there upholding her.


We cannot, then, reckon the Church’s success as our own reward, but we may still say, with Vatican II—even if the Lord has given a great deal of life to other churches and communities—that the Church herself, as an active agent, has survived and is present in this agent. And that can only be explained by the fact that He grants what men cannot achieve.

Letter to the Editor

From the peerless Dr. Boli, of course.

Sir:

It is patently obvious to the most casual observer that our nation is not ready for the year 2010. Where are the orbiting space resorts and commercial interplanetary liners? Where are the extraterrestrial races with whom we ought to have established contact years ago, and with whom we should now be enjoying a flourishing trade? Where is the universal liberal democracy we were promised? Where is the end to hunger, poverty, and disease that was so confidently predicted?

There is no gentle way of putting this: we have fallen behind. Worse, we are in danger of becoming a nation of cynics because of it. We have a great deal of catching up to do if we are to restore the faith of the public in the year 2010.

I therefore urge your influential publication to put all its weight behind supporting the bill currently before the United States House of Representatives, commonly called the Catch-Up Act of 2009, which would postpone the beginning of the year 2010 until after December 3683, 2009, at which time a Special Committee would evaluate the nation’s preparedness and decide whether to extend the month of December for a further 3652 days. I also urge your editorial staff to refrain henceforth from facetiously referring to the bill as the “Catsup Act,” as we have had quite enough of that already from the opposition in Congress.

Sincerely,
[Name Withheld by Request],
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, D.C.

I value this holiday message as much as the excellent reading I know I will hear

Download the Life of Our Lord here.

We Are the Beggars Music Review: Solid Praise and Worship

This debut album from Ike Ndolo is an interesting mix of quiet, passionate praise and worship songs spiced up with the occasional rock song. The lyrics tend to be simple but that is not necessarily to their detriment. After listening to the CD several times I found, to my surprise, that the louder rock anthems I originally liked best were not what grabbed my mind's ear as I would catch myself humming some of the straight forward songs. This is despite the fact that, although the album is well produced, it tends to be a bit conventional in places with musical changes predictable to anyone who has heard much praise and worship music. This is not the case in every song but it is there.

Ndolo's talent is obvious and although the album is being marketed to the youth group demographic there is much here to recommend it to all ages, especially considering that older listeners are usually well attuned to appreciate the passion of an electric guitar.

My personal favorite was Wade in the Water which instantly went into my God Mix playlist. An adaptation of an old spiritual, this song broke the more conventional sounds of the other songs and the hint of banjo in the background speaks to Ndolo's self professed love of bluegrass (which we share). My interpretation is that this might be more to Ndolo's personal taste and I hope that future albums will see the producers let this talented young artist break free from convention a bit more and trust his own musical inclinations.

Tom's pronouncement: "Solid." High praise indeed from someone who is all about the music and not moved much by praise and worship music unless it is good music in itself.

Definitely recommended. It is a bit late to get this for Christmas unless the local Christian store is lucky enough to have it on hand. However, it would be a great way to spend that Christmas cash if you are looking for a way to lift your heart in praise of God. (Although now that I think of it, you can download the mp3s instantly. I tend to forget that, preferring to have an actual CD in my hands.)

You can hear samples and order the album here. I received this CD as a review piece but would give it the same rating regardless.

My Christmas Wish: That More People Would Make This Their New Year's Resolution

This all boils down to the need for more tolerance – not of other cultures, but tolerance of being offended. Instead of taking every word or phrase as a personal attack on a policy, creed, or preference, we should invoke that age-old rhyme regarding the sticks and the stones. I’m not sure when nit-picking language became a crucial part of our culture, but it needs to stop if we ever hope to be able to communicate the things that are really on the hearts and minds of the American people.

From an article at Curator magazine.

I suppose this gives you some idea of what our household is really like ...

... when I tell you that we were decorating the tree, the whole family together, conversation flying since all four of us hadn't been together since April

Then it happened. We suddenly ran into a wall over something that we just could not agree on. The uncomfortable pause while searching for a new subject, that point we didn't want to go past or it would get ugly ... came when considering whether Stephen Hawking's motivations for coming up with string theory were because he just was pursuing a great scientific idea or was actively searching for ways to avoid any hint of God in how the universe was created.

Yes. I know.

Can you spell "geek?"

We sure can.

The Uninvited, chapters 8-9

Now playing at Forgotten Classics as well as a source for ghost stories (of a sort) for Christmas. Ghost stories for Christmas, you may ask. If you have to ask, then you have to listen to get the answer. To the first few minutes of the podcast at any rate.

The Book of the Shepherd: Gnostic Twaddle Disguised as a Sweet Fable

I was asked if I'd like a review copy of The Book of the Shepherd: The Story of One Simple Prayer and How It Changed the World. The email commented, "... we believe this story of one simple prayer and how it changed the world does a superb job of examining the role of personal action in making the world more peaceful, and how peace on earth should begin with me."

My response was, "I must admit that I am dubious about this book, having read the first few pages at HarperCollins' site and also having just heard the first part of The Pilgrim's Progress. The Book of the Shepherd seems much of a muchness with that 300+ year old book.

However, if you believe I am wrong, then I am willing to read the book to see for myself."

Frankly, if I'd been them, that would have been enough to check me off the list. However, I received the book late last week and read it over the weekend.

My short review: the fable presented in this book is one of the biggest loads of sweetly simpering twaddle that has everything about 2/3 right. It should be avoided by all literature lovers and all practicing Christians.

I kept thinking that something was off as I read it, kept thinking "gnostic gospels?" but hadn't read any gnostic gospels. I got to the end and it turns out (Bingo!) that one of the author's sources was The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels which puts orthodox Christianity on trial as being formed from political and social reasons. Add to that her grateful credit to Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass and my sense of something being "off" proved completely justified.

The author wrote the story to illustrate the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi that most of us know relatively well.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

However, the author forgets what St. Francis never did. As praiseworthy as that prayer is, St. Francis's words are not gospel in themselves. He never would have urged us to interpret them without having Jesus Christ in the heart and center of them. This book is missing that heart and center.

I generally do not give bad reviews, especially to review books, preferring simply to ignore them. However, in this case, I felt my warning to the publisher was enough to justify setting that policy aside, especially as I feel this book is potentially dangerous to those of unformed faith. In fact, I had to scrape off the coffee grounds from this book after I plucked it from the trashcan in order to give you the dubious sources the author quotes. That is how much I care, folks. Avoid this book.

My advice is that excellent advice for how to live is found in the Gospels. If you want another source, then pick up a true classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. If reading it seems daunting, then this version on audio (both dramatized and a straight reading) is excellent. There is also this version at Librivox, free for the downloading. I admit I haven't heard it so can't comment on the quality of the reading. However, the point is that there is plenty of good material available without having to resort to The Book of the Shepherd.

Hi Matt ... and Tell Kirby Hi for Me ...

It's a small world thanks to the Internet and I find it out more all the time.

One of my very best friends, Joan, tells me that her lovely eldest daughter's boyfriend (who I hear is a heckuva good guy) told her about this great new blog he discovered.

Yep, we come full circle. And to think I can remember the days when I volunteered to be the Cookie Mom (yes, I'm also stupid) for the Girl Scouts which Joan headed up.

Matt, if you're ever in Dallas be sure to let me know. I'd love to meet you. (And now you know that your good reputation has preceded you!)

In the News ... Catholic Edition

Just a couple of things that I wanted to highlight more than in my Google Reader feed (sidebar). Both via the indispensable New Advent.

Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII Declared Venerable
Which is official recognition of their heroic virtue. They and nine others now qualify for the title "Venerable" and may be beatified with the approval of a miracle. That isn't all. Go read the list here of people who obeyed God with their all in all in those special vocations for which he created them. May their lives inspire in us the desire to do the same.

Bishops to Government: We're Not Backing Down on Abortion. Period.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is demanding that Pres. Barack Obama’s health-care revolution not include subsidized abortion — and the bishops are demanding honesty on the issue.

At a high-level Washington, D.C., insider dinner recently, a fellow Catholic made a highly cynical, harsh, and scandalously inaccurate accusation: that in the current debate, the bishops’ conference would trade abortion for immigration. That’s simply not true. As many disagreements as I might have on prudential matters with some of my fellow churchmen who are bureaucrats — and bishops! — on issues like immigration and health care, I recognize that their message on abortion is clear and unmistakable. As Francis Cardinal George of Chicago, president of the conference, has put it: “No one should be deliberately killed.” Even if some Catholics serving in Congress don’t accept that defending the most vulnerable human life is a matter of human rights and a moral imperative, the bishops’ official teaching is that abortion is a non-negotiable: We can’t have taxpayer funding of abortion, period.

Read it here. Lend them your support in prayer and in contacting your elected officials to join your voices with theirs.

A Cradle Catholic, A Convert, and An Atheist Walk into a Christmas Party ...

... and come out with a glittering truth in defense of the Church.

“There’s need and there’s truth. Truth is truth, regardless of what man’s needs may be. If there is a diamond in the middle of the road, it doesn’t matter what anyone is doing in the road. The jewelers can be corrupt. The diamond merchants can be guilty of horrible abuses. And people can lust after the diamond or they can ignore it altogether. It’s still a diamond.”

Read what led up to it and what happened after this statement at Why I Am Catholic.

It's About Babies. And, Yes, You Will Like It.

The trailer anyway. If the opening vignette doesn't grab you, then nothing will. And the ending shot is priceless.


Via DarwinCatholic with whom I must agree when they point out:

Pay close attention to the first rock-pounding sequence and reflect on St. Augustine's assertion that the effects of original sin are quite obvious in babies, who are pretty selfish by nature.

"It is good that you exist."

Man is that strange creature that needs not just physical birth but also appreciation if he is to subsist . . . If an individual is to accept himself, someone must say to him: “It is good that you exist” – must say it, not with words, but with that act of the entire being that we call love.

This is just a tiny bit of an excerpt from Pope Benedict that The Anchoress quotes in a searching and insightful post. She travels from seeing President Obama as a rather chilly, off-putting individual to looking beneath the surface to his "I" as Pope Benedict would put it. To seeing the person behind the surface elements.

This is a hugely important reminder to us all, especially in the last days of Advent. It is easy to talk the talk, but when it comes to walking the walk ... well, politics and personality and history and every other element that make us different individuals can rise to the surface and make us forget that we are to love one another as we love ourselves.

In this, The Anchoress leads us to consider where to turn in following Mother Teresa's command:

Find your own Calcutta.

It isn't as far away as you might think.

It is in the in-laws who interfere and don't appreciate our beloved family members.

It is in the teacher who picks on our children.

It is in the checker in the grocery store who doesn't smile and isn't nice and won't accept our coupon. Or who chats too much and wants to be our friend. (Depending on my mood ... because it's all about me isn't it?)

In fact our Calcutta is within ourselves. As we struggle to live the command to love one another no matter how unlovable those "others" seem to be.

Read The Anchoress's piece and let us ponder it in our hearts. We must ask where we are being called to love until it hurts ... to show them that "It is good that you exist."

"I am curious. Why do you list those for whom you privately pray?"

In case anyone else has this question about The Basics.

1. So that others may pray for them also.
   I am continually surprised and pleased at just how many people do that very thing.
   
   
2. So that we may praise God together when a prayer is answered
   (Hint: check the prayer list from the link above ... and see what I mean)

Thank you for asking!

Mouth Wide Open ... for Bagna Cauda

A little something about a traditional Italian peasant dish that is perfect for cold weather ... from John Thorne's Mouth Wide Open at Forgotten Classics podcast.

As well as a couple of Christmas podcast highlights.

Enjoy!

Evolution Going Great, Reports Trilobite

"It's a wonderful time to be alive," said the tri-lobed creature, its protruding feelers and antennules twitching spasmodically with anticipation. "To be born during this, the Cambrian Explosion—why, I couldn't imagine a better period, really. It's all happening right now! I mean, if things keep going the way they're going, what with evolution taking off and everything, pretty soon we'll have huge, towering reptiles roaming across the earth."

"Can you imagine it? Reptiles!" the trilobite added. "I'm not even sure what those are!"

The top story of The Onion's Top 10 Stories of the Last 4.5 Billion Years (warning: site often contains explicit content).

Tom's personal favorite was "Sumerians Look On In Confusion As God Creates World."

Members of the earth's earliest known civilization, the Sumerians, looked on in shock and confusion some 6,000 years ago as God, the Lord Almighty, created Heaven and Earth.

[...]

"The Sumerian people must have found God's making of heaven and earth in the middle of their well-established society to be more of an annoyance than anything else," said Paul Helund, ancient history professor at Cornell University. "If what the pictographs indicate are true, His loud voice interrupted their ancient prayer rituals for an entire week."

Not every story hits the mark for me but most are truly hilarious, as are a lot of their runners up.

The first steampunk on TV ... of course, Wild Wild West!

I don't know why this never occurred to me before, but when Amy H. Sturgis discussed steampunk and Wild, Wild West in her fact article on StarShipSofa podcast (it is the first thing up, by the way, in case that is all you might care to hear) I was thunderstruck.

Because to anyone who loved that show the way I did, it is obvious once it is pointed out. (Robert Conrad's physical perfection, which Amy acknowledges, is largely what drew me to the show, but I stayed for the clever plots and steampunk-ish elements ... though we didn't have a name for them at the time.) When I mentioned it to Tom, he instantly got it too.

Which is what led to the fact that I just got the notice from the library that my request for the complete first season dvd set is ready to pick up. I am really curious to see how this stands up ... or if my love for the show will blind me to imperfections.

So Haloscan is being replaced ...

... and I'm thinking I'll just switch over to Blogger comments.

I know I'll lose the old Haloscan comments but I can live with that.

Any ... ahem ... comments on that?

Books for Beginners on the Catholic Basics

Note: I have added "beginners to the header for this. As a reader pointed out, Peter Kreeft's Catholic Christianity is a great book on the basics. However, I wouldn't throw it at anyone who is tentative about Catholicism. It is as intimidating as the Catechism in sheer size alone, although not in tone. It does belong on a list of solid basic books that would include the Catechism thought.

Like many other dioceses around the country, Dallas is also promoting the Catholis Come Home idea. I like it. Our parish has a group, headed by our stalwart Deacon Ken, who are working hard to have a series of witnesses and talks during January for those who have questions or problems they are working through in coming back to the Church.

One question that has arisen is what would be good book recommendations to give?

Well, I'm not working on the campaign (being overextended everywhere in my life right now), but that never stopped me from giving my opinion about good basic reading about Catholicism. So I'm sharing with y'all a few trustworthy books that I recommend which are not as intimidating to newbies (or even old timers, sometimes) as the Catechism.

BOOKS ON THE BASICS

• Pocket Guides
  I can highly recommend the Pocket Guide to Confession and also the Pocket Guide to the Mass. In fact, I take the Confession guide out for a spin when preparing for that sacrament and then it comes with me to the church.These are $6.95 each so again this is a fairly inexpensive resource. Our Sunday Visitor has these.
  
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Catholic Catechism
  my review here


• Catholicism for Dummies
  I haven't reviewed this but looking through my archives it turns out that I have used it extensively. You can check out some posts that feature quotes from the book.


• The How-To Book of Catholic Devotions
  I haven't reviewed this either but it is by Mike Aquilina and that is enough. He's entirely reliable. Also I read it and kept it. I don't have book room to waste on something I don't trust.


• Why Do Catholics Do That?
  I can't believe I haven't done a review of this book because it is one that I actually keep extra copies of so I can give it to people who have questions. I will put the Amazon review here as it already says what I think:

  Why Do Catholics Do That? by Kevin Orlin Johnson assumes nothing and tells all. As such, it's not only an ideal catechism companion but also a source of infinite wisdom for students of art history, politics, literature, philosophy, and pretty much any other subject connected with Catholic history. In a voice refreshingly free of condescension (and full of humor, witnessed in chapter titles such as "Saints: How You Get To Be One"), Johnson defines and expatiates upon hundreds of topics, including the Mass, the rosary, the cross, the eucharist, and the pope. Why Do Catholics Do That? is destined for the all-time top 20 list of indispensable desk references. Whether your interest in Catholicism is devoutly religious or defiantly secular, you'll be glad Kevin Orlin Johnson has fulfilled his vocation so faithfully. --Michael Joseph Gross

• Compendium to the Catechism
  Hopefully a lot of people know this one. A greatly simplified version of the catechism that does not look as intimidating and has the scoop ... but which may lead those who are afraid of the Catechism into investigating further as well.

UNUSUAL BOOKS THERE MIGHT BE NEED OF
Ok, these are not orthodox BUT it occurs to me that these would be very handy in case a Catholic who wants to come home is grappling with issues with a Protestant spouse. Links go to my reviews.

• The Lure of Saints - about why venerating saints is ok


• The Rosary: A Journey to the Beloved --- obviously, about the rosary and why Protestants should take up this form of prayer

I do NOT advise Sweeney's book about Mary (Lure of the Saints author) as it has a couple of chapters where he gets kinda wonky.