Both Sides Now ... WE WISH!

I’m no expert on the issue of celibacy and Catholic priests. Fortunately, I don’t need to be to critique an NPR Morning Edition report headlined “Letter From Priests’ Lovers Reignites Celibacy Debate.” A Journalism 101 student could handle this post.

Let’s start with the question posed by the GetReligion reader who passed along the link: “Isn’t it standard journalistic practice to ‘present both sides’ when a story is news rather than an editorial?”

Um, good question.

Then again, as the perceptive reader noted, “In short, this report appears to be a thinly sourced piece of advocacy masquerading as a news story.”

GetReligion examines this story which I can't believe got past an editor in this condition. Or perhaps, as we are seeing in much of the publishing industry these days, they just bypassed an editor altogether. Truly an embarrassing piece of journalism.

Read Sam Mendes’ Apple iPhone Ad Script

Yes, film buffs and Apple worshipers, what you hear is true. Sam Mendes, the man who brought us American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, has been tapped to direct an iPhone ad. The folks at Engadget have certainly done their homework, reporting that “the ads will feature at least one spot where a mother and daughter are having a video chat conversation using the new front-facing camera.” We can confirm that this is true… because we’ve nabbed a copy of Mendes’ shooting script for the commercial.* Read it here first, after the jump.

Yes, it's a joke but a hilarious one. I'd quote a bit of the "script" but that would ruin it overall. Read it here.

Summer Reading Ideas? We've Got 'Em in Spades.

Actually, this is our Catholic women's book club summing up from last night. But that's no reason not to share it with everyone, is it? Of course not ...

Remember, this is open to any Catholic woman who can get to my house at the right time, on the right day. You don't have to belong to our parish, etc. We're a relaxed crowd and you don't have to have read the book as long as you don't mind us mentioning spoilers in discussion. There were some newcomers last night who I think can attest to that fact. Also, we have refreshments (you can see, I stop at nothing to lure readers in ... ). If you have questions don't hesitate to contact me.

We had a really wonderful discussion last night about Flannery O'Connor and how inspirational she was as a person. This is a real tribute to Abbess of Andalusia author Lorraine Murray. Everyone agreed that the book was very easy to read and told us a lot about Flannery without sugar-coating who she was as a person.

Next up is Quo Vadis. We will be reading half of it for July and finishing up in August. (As soon as I pick up my copy from the library we will know what "first half" means in terms of chapters and pages.)

Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz, an epic tale from the days when Christianity was new ... of Romans, Christians, slaves, and ... lions in the arena. Yep, we're doin' it old-school. I think that you can find this pretty cheaply from Half Price Books though I haven't yet looked. I never realized that this was written in Polish and, as it says on Amazon, "The novel has as a subtext the persecution and political subjugation of Poland by Russia."

Upcoming books were also selected. I have arranged them in alternating fiction and nonfiction sequence with the only reasoning behind anything being to keep some of the lighter, shorter books for summer reading and trying to aim close to Halloween in reading The Rite (yes, I'm all about themes).

1. The Power of Pause (September)
   
2. The Bridge of San Luis Rey (October)
   
3. The Rite: The Making of a Modern Exorcist (November)
   
4. Til We Have Faces (December)
   
5. Circling My Mother (January)
   

I have links and descriptions of these books in the July meeting post.

Please keep in mind that we have an ongoing book recommendations list which I try to keep fairly current with new suggestions. It is good for personal reading ideas as well as for selecting book club readings. :-)

Also, there were many recommendations for summer reading which was just of a generally good nature, not necessarily religious at all. I list them below for your own exploration:

1. The Help - Kathryn Stockett
2. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
3. My Life with Karol
4. Mother of Pearl
5. World War Z
6. The Heretic

I've Been Listening to The Rookie ... and I Miss Football

THE ROOKIE is set amongst a lethal pro football league 700 years in the future. Aliens play positions based on physiology, creating receivers that jump 25 feet into the air, linemen that bench-press 1,200 pounds, and linebackers that -- literally -- want to eat you. Organized crime runs every franchise, games are fixed and rival players are assassinated.

Follow the story of Quentin Barnes, a 19-year-old quarterback prodigy that has been raised all his life to hate, and kill, those aliens. Quentin must deal with his racism and learn to lead, or he'll wind up just another stat in the column marked "killed on the field."

I was listening to Luke Burrage's excellent review of The Rookie audiobook when I realized I had set it aside about halfway through in order to listen to something else (can't remember why) and forgotten to go back to it. I'm finishing up the last few chapters now. but as always Sigler writes completely entertainingly. Not a deep story but more of a coming of age story in space. The alien races created are very creative, as are the adaptations of the football rules to accommodate their participation.

Warning: when he says with glee "lots and LOTS of violence" he means it.

Narration on StarShipSofa

Just a quick mention that I am one of the two narrators in the Juliette Wade story featured in the most recent "Then and Now" episode at StarShipSofa. I remember enjoying the story and enjoying the reading but not much else since I did it a long time ago (maybe a year ago?). I'm looking forward to hearing the story as a whole again.

Then and Now episodes feature a classic sf story and a new story. Listeners then vote on which they prefer. It's just for fun. And you get two stories for the price of one. This episode also features a Philip K. Dick story.

"R" We Thinking About What We Pray?

If you love ... you will perceive the divine mystery in things, and once perceived, you will begin to comprehend it ceaselessly.

Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Brothers Karamazov

Mark Hart obviously lives his life and faith according to Dostoevsky's insight above. The "R" Father showcases Hart's musings on the Our Father (Lord's Prayer) broken down into 14 segments, all based around a single word beginning with R such as response, revelation, relationship, and reunion. A young husband and father, Hart shares the way that daily living helps remind and reinforce the lessons of the Our Father, as well as opening a more detailed look into theology as a further extension of those musings.

I truly enjoyed this book. Even when I thought that I knew where Hart was headed, he still managed to pull out a few reminders and observations that would stick with me into my own daily life. For instance, the excerpt below is one that came back to me repeatedly in the weeks after I read it and influenced my actions when interacting with other people.

"Who Art"
The Art of RESPONSE

... the minute we returned home [from a family vacation], I had to head to the airport for a work trip. My three-year-old daughter entered the room as I was pulling out my bag. "Are you leaving, Daddy?" she asked, with tears welling up in her eyes.

I was puzzled at her question, to the point of being almost indignant. Had I not just spent the better portion of five days discussing the intricate ins and outs of various Disney princess story lines? Had I not just packed up every stuffed animal in a six-foot-square radius of our home, transported them across state lines, and followed detailed instructions for their arrangement each night in the hotel bed? Had I not just stopped at every McDonald's restaurant on a ten-hour trip home, one that should have taken less than seven? How could she give me those eyes? What more could she possibly want from me? Was she so blind not to see that Daddy now had to leave and actually make money to pay for the vacation we had just enjoyed? Was she just blind to life's realities?

No, she wasn't. Like Bartimaeus before me, I was the blind one (Mark 10:46).

She had enjoyed my constant and consistent fatherly presence in the previous five days. With the idea of her daddy leaving now, there was a deep void, a true emptiness. ...

... while "who art" reminds us of God's constant presence, it also reveals his constant response to his children--to our wants, our needs, and our hearts. God is a Father who is always watching, not as a disciplinarian waiting for any misstep, but as the proud father at every sporting event, the front row with video camera in hand, refusing to miss a moment of his child's precious life. In our childishness we often want our Father present only when it suits us. How often we desire a Father to respond to our needs without desiring his response to our daily life. We want the loan when things are bad, but don't make the phone call when things are good. ...

God, our Father, is love (1 John 4:8). We teach it. We proclaim it. Do we believe it? How often do we really stop to ponder all that those three words contain? Nothing on earth proclaims love the way being present to someone does. My vacation experience drove home this fact to me: Love is spelled t-i-m-e.

The reflection continues into deeper issues related to this which were also influential on me during that same time period. Definitely recommended.

You can read another excerpt at The Word Among Us website. The book I read was a review copy from The Word Among Us.

Still insanely busy ...

... so if you've emailed and I haven't gotten back to you ... I'm working on it.

Thanks for your patience.

Oil Spill Images

In case you are like me and thought that the lack of images of wildlife covered with oil meant that it wasn't affecting things much ... here are some. (Not for the faint of heart.) Via A Momentary Taste of Being where Steven Riddle usually is talking about books.

Book Club Meets on Monday

Just a reminder for anyone in the Dallas area who was interested in dropping in on our Catholic women's book club ... we meet on Monday.

A bit more about it and a link to the club site can be found here.

Back Tomorrow

Rose is only here for one more day of her one week visit.

Also, several big projects requiring much time ... and many meetings.

Back later, y'all. :-)

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand: A Story of Surprising Depth

"Women always ask," she said. "My aunt Noreen is having migraine attacks from all the scandalized ladies dropping by to ask her about me."

"Nasty things, migraines," said the Major.

"Men never ask, but you can see they've made up a whole story about me and George in their heads." She turned away and placed her fingers where the rain ran sideways along the glass of her window. The Major's first impulse was to claim he never had given it a thought, but she was very observant. He wondered what truthful comment he could make.

"I'm not going to answer for men, or women, in general," he said after a moment. "But in my own case, I believe there is a great deal too much mutual confession going on today, as if sharing one's problems somehow makes them go away. All it really does, of course, is increase the number of people who have to worry about a particular issue." He paused while he negotiated a particularly tricky, right-hand turn across the busy road and into the shortcut of a narrow back lane. "Personally, I have never sought to burden other people with my life history and I have no intention of meddling in theirs," he added.

"But you're making judgments about people all the time--and if you don't know the whole story ..."

"My dear young woman, we are complete strangers, are we not?" he said. "Of course we will make shallow and quite possibly erroneous judgments about each other. I'm sure, for example, that you already have me pegged as an old git too, do you not?" She said nothing and he thought he detected a guilty smirk.

"But we have no right to demand more of each other, do we?" he continued. "I mean, I'm sure your life is very complicated, but I'm equally sure that I have no incentive to give it any thought and you have no right to demand it of me."

"I think everyone has the right to be shown respect," she said.

"Ah well, there you go." He shook his head. "Young people are always demanding respect instead of trying to earn it. In my day, respect was something you strove for. Something to be given, not taken."

"You know, you should be an old git," she said with a faint smile, "but for some reason I like you."

This is one of the relatively few straight forward commentaries about modern behavior found in this delightful book. However, it still managed to surprise me with that last truthful observation about earning respect. Keep in mind that the major here is speaking of the respecting of an individual versus the respecting of people in general. That is an important distinction and one which the major himself must be reminded of during the telling of this wonderful story. Adding another layer of irony is the fact that the Major's policy has failed entirely in his own son, who we love to loathe.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is a wonderful romance late in life by two people. As well it has a wonderful look at the tensions of old-style English village life versus modernization, the older generation versus the newer and generally callower generation, and various other issues of the times in which we live. All of it is handled gently and with humor.

"I wonder if it might be a little spicy for the main course," said Grace, cupping her hand around her mouth as if making a small megaphone. "What do you think major?"

"Anyone who doesn't find this delicious is a fool," said the Major. He nodded his head fiercely at Mrs. Rasool and Mrs. Ali. "However. . . ." He was not sure how to express his firm conviction that the golf club crowd would throw a fit if served a rice-based main course instead of a hearty slab of congealing meat. Mrs. Rasool raised an eyebrow at him.

"However, it is perhaps not foolproof, so to speak?" she asked. The Major could only smile in vague apology.

"I understand perfectly," said Mrs. Rasool. She waved her hand and a waiter hurried into the kitchen. The band stopped abruptly as if the wave included them. They followed the waiter out of the room.

"It's certainly a very interesting flavor," said Grace. "We don't want to be difficult."

"Of course not," said Mrs. Rasool. "I'm sure you will approve of our more popular alternative." The waiter returned at a run with a silver slaver that held a perfectly shaped individual Yorkshire pudding containing a fragrant slice of pinkish beef. It sat on a pool of burgundy gravy and was accompanied by a dollop of cumin-scented yellow potatoes and a lettuce leaf holding slice of tomato, red onion, and star fruit. A wisp of steam rose from the beef as they contemplated it in astonished silence.

"It's quite perfect," breathed Grace. "Are the potatoes spicy?" The elder Mr. Rasool muttered something to his son. Mrs. Rassol gave a sharp laugh that was almost a hiss.

"Not at all. I will give you picture to take back with you," she said. "I think we have agreed on the chicken skewers, samosas, and chicken wings as passed hors d'oeuvres, and then the beef, and I suggest trifle for dessert."

"Trifle?" said the Major. He had been hoping for some samples of dessert.

"One of the more agreeable traditions that you left us," said Mrs. Rasool. "We spice ours with tamarind jam."

"Roast beef and trifle," said Grace in a daze of food and punch. "And all authentically Mughal, you say?"

"Of course," said Mrs. Rasool. "Everyone will be happy to dine like the Emperor Shah Jehan and no one will find it too spicy."

Helen Simenson tells a story of Major Pettigrew's path to true love, sacrifice, and redemption as it can only be told in a small, unspoiled English village. That is to say, she tells it using everyday people and problems, none of which are completely good or bad. In fact, the least fleshed out character in the novel, who commits an act of villainy, is allowed to deliver a few sentences which do not alleviate our dislike of the character or their actions, but likewise lend us understanding of their own history and motive.

For Steven Riddle's comprehensive review, go here.

Super Fast Books and Movies List from the Weekend

We are having such a blast with Hannah and Rose home and Kirsten here too. It is like Christmas in the middle of the year. Consequently there has been tons of movie and book talk.

Books
For some reason, fiction is on my radar right now. Meaning novels, not sf or mystery genre stuff.

1. Just finished reading The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Honestly, if I’d really known what it was about I’d never have been interested but once I was engrossed in it I was glad to have read this excellent book. Told by two different servants and one young woman who doesn’t fit into the Jackson, Mississippi society because she didn’t immediately get married and begin a family, this is a story of their unexpected collaboration on a secret project that results in all of them crossing lines that are not acknowledged aloud but which must be crossed in order to truly know themselves. I raced through the last fourth of it. Highly recommended. HIGHLY!
2. Now am reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, which I suppose actually is genre fiction (sf maybe?). I have tried it before but either wasn’t in the right mood or was expecting something different. Hannah read it, loved it, shoved it on my nightstand, and has been nagging me about it (with that hopeful, wistful, little puppy look that a mom can’t say no to…). Began it this morning and don’t understand why I didn’t warm to it before … the writing is charmingly understated and amusing. It is about magic, English practitioners of magic, books about magic, and set in England during the Napoleonic war. Only on chapter 3, but jolly good writing so far.
3. Also began The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society because it looked light and easy AND because everyone else said it was wonderful. A series of letters between various people about reading and food in post-WWII England. That's all I know so far as I have only read about 6 letters and am just getting everyone sorted out. So far, so good. More later, I'm sure.

Movies
Remember I said "super fast!"

1. Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.): not all that it could have been but great fun nonetheless (grade: B).
2. Jennifer’s Body: warning, warning … horrible. Do not watch. (Insider info tells me that the script was a comedy but the studio got scared and cut most of the funny scenes to turn it into a horror movie. It shows. aaargh). Grade: F
3. Zombieland: finally I have found a suitable alternative for Shaun of the Dead. A true delight AND a movie that celebrates family (still chock-full of flesh-eating zombies). Hilarious though. Rule #4: watch this movie. Grade: A+. (The plus may seem extreme but Tom says that is because I had to compare it to Jennifer's Body, besides which practically anything would get a plus.)
   

Lost in Three Minutes

Brilliant. Watching the last two seasons of Lost may have a whole lot more meaning ... and it certainly is something I might be more interested in now.

In which we find They Can Only Hang You Once

Yes, we're breaking from espionage in Europe to come back home for a look at Dashiell Hammett and Sam Spade on Forgotten Classics. Join us for some very American storytelling over this holiday weekend!

You Know You Need It

The oven mitt you've always wanted but couldn't find ... Star Wars Space Slug Oven Mitt.

Thanks to Rose for putting us all on the path to discontent with her heads up on this..

I just finished reading the latest Harry Dresden novel, Changes. That's several hours I won't get back again.

What the Sam Hill was that supposed to be?

It was like a book version of a bad sequel to an action movie.

SPOILERS ... for those who haven't gotten this far in the series but not for this book.
So much action and yet I didn't care about it. I got the idea that author Jim Butcher didn't care either and was forcing the action to have to avoid actually thinking about character development or plot.

I have occasionally wondered if I was getting tired of the series and then something would happen that would reignite my interest such as Molly becoming Harry's apprentice or the rise of the Gray Council. This was just one damned thing after another (literally) with Harry calling in one favor after another.

And yet I didn't care.

As for the ending ... what the Sam Hill was that supposed to be?

This book wasn't as disappointing as Blackout (it would have to be monumentally horrible to match that), but it was a big mess nonetheless.

A Birthday Like When I Was a Kid

Once you get to a certain age, you lose that frisson of excitement over your birthday. Members of our household know that my birthday is special and I yield to no one in my enjoyment of my special day. However, you can't control feelings, as we all know, so it is a rare occasion indeed when we are transported back to those glorious days of our extreme youth when everything is possible and every gift is magical.

It began when I went home and did only what I wanted. Right there, that was a darned freeing feeling.

Then Tom came home half an hour early, having left work an hour early to drive to the other side of town to Cheesecake Royale where, which despite what you might expect from the bakery's name, he was picking up "the best tiramisu in Dallas."

You might think they would mention this on their website, but no. They are evidently hoping that the fact they even produce tiramisu will also be the best kept secret in Dallas. Anyway, it is truly amazing as is evidenced by the fact that we had it over ten years ago at an acquaintance's home who I no longer even recall by name. Wow. This bakery uses all fresh ingredients and starts from scratch each day. It shows. Delicious, creamy, not too sweet, and dripping a bit of fresh espresso from the lady fingers. So very good. So very much also as they sell it in a large plastic pan that is about 9x13". Hannah and Rose, we have a ton of tiramisu just waiting for you to help us eat it!

Then we grabbed Kirsten (a college friend of Hannah's who is staying with us for a few weeks as she has begun working after graduating but needs to save up some deposit/rent money) and went to Fireside Pies on Henderson. I'd been curious about the quality of their pizza since they mention a wood burning oven and hand stretched dough. Hoochy mama, that's good pizza!

They definitely encourage communal dining as diners are advised that pizzas are good to share between two to three people, as are the salads (which are gigantic). We tried Jimmy's Spicy Italian Sausage Pizza (with Scamorza & Roasted Red Onions) and the Peta Pie (Sonoma Goat Cheese, Balsamic Mustard Portobellas, Arugula, Roasted Red Peppers, Roasted Pinon Nuts & Charred Tomato Vinaigrette). Both were delicious with thin, oven baked crust and perfectly balanced flavor. The sausage pizza was definitely spicy while the Peta Pizza almost seemed as if it came with salad atop it which made it a bit difficult to eat but the balsamic element shone through and made the trouble worth it. We were all full with four pieces total left over. Tom and I indulged in an Italian beer on tap which was a flavorful lager that complemented the pizza perfectly.

In a mellow mood, we returned home where I attacked a pile of gifts, most of which were books ... my idea of the perfect birthday.

• The Help (thanks to Mom and I can't wait to read it),
  
• complete Flannery O'Connor short story collection,
  
• Flannery O'Connor essay collection (noticing a trend here?),
  
• an absolutely gorgeous book on the Vatican (from my sis who now is determined that I should visit some day after she and her husband were there about a month ago ... isn't it great when people want something so wonderful for you? It makes me feel very loved ...),
  
• A gift certificate for buying books (woohoo, another way around that New Year's resolution of no book buying ... with my own money ... thank you Kirsten!),
• In Bruges, such a profane, violent movie and yet I love it so
  
• Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet, one of the best cookbooks/photography books ever but ever so expensive
• And, of course, baby Mac. From darling Tom who understands me as no one else does. It also may help explain my feeling of being overcome by the munificence of this gift when I mention that not only are we on a tight budget but I have the hand-me-down that has made it through everyone else in the house. I was fine with that actually. But Tom wanted me to have new. What a sweetheart.
  

Then there was the fun of powering up the MacBook, setting it up, learning the new and nifty tricks it can do (can you say two-finger-scrolling? how about four-finger-scrolling!).

My cup runneth over.

Truly Amazing Use of Flash ... And Food

And then there was salsa is something that you really need to see at the home site to appreciate. It's short. Enjoy this land of luscious tomato trees, spicy jalapeño cacti and canopies of fresh cilantro where anything is possible.

More Precious Than Diamonds Is a Thoughtful Husband

For one thing, as we now know, Tom knew that I wouldn't particularly care about diamonds!

For another, he said that he considered giving me an iPad. However, on thinking it over, he realized that iPads are strictly for consuming.

"You're not just a consumer. You're a creator."

That is a gift I will treasure always.

Quick Birthday Update

Posted from my new MacBook.
Gotta love that man 'o mine. What a sweetie.