"Comedy is, in some way, the point of everything."

It is the dismissal of comedy as "un-important" that worries me.  ... RCA and I had a similar discussion a few weeks ago, when she said "I just don't see the point of Comedy." I'm still a little shocked by that statement--it has left me speechless for three full weeks, because, it seems to me Comedy is, in some way, the point of everything.  Dante's journey through the afterlife is called a "comedia" for a reason.  And while slapstick and puns and romantic comedies are not la comedia in this fullest sense, they share something of it's nature.  Comedy is about justice and about reason--even at its most absurd. A pun is funny because it surprises our reason with a new connection.  Slapstick is funny because no one deserves a pie in the face.  The Misanthrope is funny because he is absurd, and yet, we pity him and see ourselves in him, and the only way to deal with such absurdity in ourselves is to throw up out hands and laugh.

Margaret at Ten Thousand Places defends comedy very well (go read it). Once again, Margaret says what I am thinking with her speechlessness in the face of a complete rejection of comedy.  (That quote which serves as my headline? It's going straight to the pool room ... uhhh ... quote journal.)

She also, perhaps, justifies why my movie of choice for this week's A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast is The Castle. Scott and I find a surprising amount to say about this quirky, warm little-known Australian comedy, as well as family, marriage, manners, and being friendly.

It's All Downhill From Here

Since we've been talking zombies today, here's a little midweek entertainment, courtesy of Doug Savage.

He's got a book out ... didja know? Take a look.

Those Zombies Are Nothing That a Little Lysol (and a great big chainsaw) Can't Clean Up

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator, is a fun romp through the zombie genre that is more akin to Shaun of the Dead than to the more "serious" zombie books I've read (World War Z, The Reapers Are The Angels).

The zombie apocalypse is actually somewhat in balance at the point in which this book takes place. Neeta Lyffe is following in her mother's footsteps as a zombie exterminator. Due to some legal problems she is in need of extra income which is why she agreed to participate in a television reality show in which she trains wanna-be zombie exterminators. The winner will win a million dollars and the others, should they survive, will have been trained in a useful occupation. Naturally, each person has their own reasons for wanting this training and we see a bit below the surface into each person's motivations. Neeta herself loathes the necessity that made her agree to the series but is determined that each person will be properly trained. This puts her into direct opposition with the show's producer who is all about the visual thrills and exploiting every emotion to titillate viewers.

Author Karina Fabian is very imaginative in her creation. For example, the zombies are repelled by common household cleaners. They have some dregs of habit left when they rise from the grave which makes them inclined to "visit" their loved ones or drawn to cultural icons they used to frequent. This is an amusing twist which Fabian exploits for full comic or adventure value as needed.

Fabian is Catholic but repeatedly mentioned that the book is not Catholic. True enough but there is a solid worldview beneath this fantasy which Catholics will appreciate. I know that I did.

I truly enjoyed this light, amusing book. I became invested enough in Neeta to worry that she might be dating the wrong person, to worry about who might die in the ending climax, to become annoyed with the troll that haunts a fan forum for the show. It is a quick read, but one that I anticipate rereading whenever I need a lift in spirits. My review copy was a Kindle file and I'm putting the actual paperback on my wish list so I can have a real hands-on book on my shelf.

Note: As I said, I received a review copy of this book. Guess what? I'd have liked it anyway.

A Simply Terrific Book About The Eucharist

I really loved Jesus and The Jewish Roots of the Eucharist by Brant Pitre. Read my review at the Patheos book club to find out why it made me say, "For I was blind but now I see ..."

You can read Chapter One here.

An author interview is here.

What Do These Have in Common: Murder. Pope Leo XIII. Zombies. Outer Space. Sherlock Holmes.

All are connected with Karina Fabian.

Neeta Lyffe, Zombie Exterminator
Karina wrote Neeta Lyffe, which I just finished reading (at breakneck speed) last night and enjoyed very much. Review coming soon, soon, soon! Suffice it to say for the moment that I am buying an actual book to have on my shelves. Read more here.

Infinite Space, Infinite God II
Which we'll just call ISIG-II to make things easier, shall we? Karina edited this and, if it is like the last one, I'd bet we'll see a story from her in it. That is the next book in my reading queue on the Kindle. Karina's blog tour for the book will be hosted here on Tuesday, April 19, so you have plenty of time to get your own copy and be ready to join in.

You may recall that I enjoyed the first Infinite Space, Infinite God and I am really looking forward to this book. Karina's website describes it thusly:

Twelve science fiction stories featuring Catholic heroes. Meet a time traveler who sacrifices his life to give a man a sip of water, and the nun who faces venomous snakes to save a friend. Share the adventures of priests who battle aliens and machines in order serve the greater good. Infinite Space, Infinite God II spans the gamut of science fiction, from near-future dystopias to time travel to space opera, puzzles of logic to laugh-out-loud humor and against-the-clock suspense. A great read for any science fiction fan--a must-read for the Catholic sci-fi lover.

 Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes
Karina must like to stay very, very busy, she is helping a friend organize a blog tour for Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes.

Yes, the Vatican and Sherlock Holmes. It can hardly get better. We'll host the blog tour for that book on Thursday, April 7, so get reading! Karina says:

Do you or your readers like mystery? Sherlock Holmes? Then I invite you to join the virtual book tour for Murder in the Vatican: The Church Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes, written by Ann Margaret Lewis.

About the Book: A sudden death in the Vatican. An international incident over stolen artifacts. A priest’s wrongful imprisonment for murder. In this collection of three as yet untold tales, hinted at in the original Holmes stories, the voices of Dr. John H. Watson and the legendary Pope Leo XIII reveal how the great Sherlock Holmes brought these grim ecclesial cases to startling and poignant conclusions. Learn more here.

This book has been receiving critical acclaim from both mystery and Sherlock Holmes organizations, including the Chesterton Society.

Happy Valentine's Day

Tom and I will be going out for cocktails to a new place that has a good reputation and then strolling down the street for pizza. Yes. Pizza. Lady's choice, so that makes it ok, right? And it is some of the most delicious pizza you've ever had. Which is what matters most.

The Anchoress had more than just herself on her mind and, therefore, has some loverly links for the day. Check it out.

Global Warming, Climate Change, Whatever You Call It: It Isn't Making the Weather Weirder

In the climate models, the extremes get more extreme as we move into a doubled CO2 world in 100 years," atmospheric scientist Gilbert Compo, one of the researchers on the project [The Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project], tells me from his office at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "So we were surprised that none of the three major indices of climate variability that we used show a trend of increased circulation going back to 1871."

In other words, researchers have yet to find evidence of more-extreme weather patterns over the period, contrary to what the models predict. "There's no data-driven answer yet to the question of how human activity has affected extreme weather," adds Roger Pielke Jr., another University of Colorado climate researcher.

Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal.

Though, as Mike Flynn points out, that doesn't stop people from making up theories of weather change affecting just about anything.

NYT columnist Paul Krugman has determined that the Egyptian uprising was due to Global Warming™ [I mean, Climate Change; I mean, Climate Disruption]. The rationale is that Global Warming results in droughts (when it isn't causing increased rainfall or snow) which leads to reduced crops, which leads to higher prices, which leads to mobs crying out for governments to sprinkle magic pixie dust to make food cheaper. It's a wonderful theory. Except for one thing.

Another interesting instance of "what everybody knows" versus the facts.

Why 911 Wildlife Is So Amazing, Relocating Racoons, and Other Interesting Info

The raccoons Bonnie deals with are almost exclusively orphaned, usually by efforts to remove the mother from someone's house or backyard. This is, in fact, one example of a reason live-trapping can be inhumane. Most people can't tell if a raccoon (or squirrel, opossum or skunk) is a lactating mother, and taking her to another location could mean leaving her babies to fend for themselves.

Crowded Creatures has the scoop. Take a look around the other posts at this new blog to find out why coyotes probably didn't eat someone's dog and tips about what to do in event of a dog fight.

Yes, this is written by our very own Hannah whose two dogs have swelled our dog population to "pack" status. Check it out.

Reviewing "The Art of Eating In"

Cathy Erway needed an interesting subject for the food blog she was considering beginning. She decided to give up eating out, though that would be difficult for a young twenty-something in New York City, and begin cooking her meals at home. What began as an interesting experiment became something of an obsession. As Cathy's blog, Not Eating Out In New York, grew in popularity, she threw herself into the project with an increasing passion that lasted two years.

My review is at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Mubarak Out, Anchoress Cites Marian Connection

Just this morning I was looking at the front page photo on the Wall Street Journal of that stubborn, stubborn man and saying, "What does it take for him to get a clue?"

Evidently he got it and got out.

The Anchoress realized that today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and has a list of other historic events that have occurred on Marian feast days. An interesting list to look over ... check it out.

Steven Riddle's Review of The Reapers Are The Angels

Think James Lee Burke filtered through Cormac McCarthy's The Road with zombies.  Boy, that really wasn't very helpful was it.  Let me try another pair of words: unexpectedly lovely.

Such is my respect for Steven that I'm not sure what made me happier, reading that he liked the book or his opening paragraph about our compatibility as reading partners. I feel super smart now.

As you know, I can also strongly recommend the audio version. It is amazing.

Google Salutes Edison's 164th Birthday

Google celebrates Edison's birthday with a wonderful animated gif in which gears turn and the light illuminates. Go check it out.

I know a bit too much about Edison's shameless self promotion, shameless to the point where others were done down to achieve it, to celebrate him as wholeheartedly as I could. His behavior during the AC/DC war, his treatment of Nikola Tesla, his behavior toward Georges Méliès, and his film licensing monopoly which is why the motion picture industry moved to California are just a few examples. However, there is no denying the fact that he is an American icon.

The Google tribute is truly striking, no matter who inspired it.

Blogging Around: A Few Interesting Things

• A blog I like is Riparians at the Gate where Jennifer Fitz blogs about catechesis, books, prayer, economics (an interesting continuing series) and occasionally points out an interesting blog that I want to read too ... which is what made me mention her to you.
  
  
• Thomas L. McDonald at State of Play tells the origin of tarot cards and shows some delightful images of French tarot.

  Tarot cards were not created for "divination," but to play games. Some people dispute this, claiming that the trump cards of a tarot deck (called the "Major Arcana") can be traced back to Jewish Cabbalism or ancient Egyptian mysticism.
  
  This is the worst kind of pseudo-history, and yet another example of new agers inventing ancient "sources" for modern practices in order to give them a patina of credibility. There is no evidence at all that the Trumps were adapted for fortune-telling purposes before the 18th century, while the cards themselves date back at least several hundred years earlier. Any person or source that claims otherwise is just making things up.

  
  
• Is Whispering Harmful to Your Voice? Doesn't everyone know that it is? The NY Times' "Really" column looks closer. Because it isn't that simple. Naturally.
  
  
• 5 Complaints About Modern Life That Are Statistically B.S. from Cracked.com. Things that everybody knows like "everything is so expensive" and "people are getting stupider" ain't necessarily so. Keeping in mind that this is from Cracked.com, don't be surprised at a certain amount of bad language flung about for emphasis. That said, their articles make me laugh and teach me at the same time. Rose gets the credit for pointing me to their articles.
  
  
• Another blog I like, Strange Herring, is a new one to me. (Can't remember where I saw it linked originally.) Lots of links and some interesting short stories about subjects such as why SlingBlade is the most explicitly Christian movie ever made or "Italians We Like: Steve Buscemi." And gems such as this:

  Medieval Italian Manuscript Feeds Entire Colony. Safeway Stocks Up on Dante, Ariosto.
  
  So this book, written in 1293, started to decay, as really old things tend to do. But it was decaying in a manner that caught the eye of microbiologists. Turns out it was home to “an entire ecosystem.”
  
  Now you know how the mainstream press will play this: “Vatican Library Withholds Food for Millions. Pope Blasted.”

Stephen Sommers to Direct "Odd Thomas." NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

We remember Stephen Sommers don't we?

He began his career with The Mummy which was quite enjoyable and has slid steadily downhill ever since, winding up with a bump at G.I. Joe.

The guy whose personal quote is "Don't let them tell you less is more. More is more."

The director who Industrial Light & Magic created their own personal CGI demands scale for.

He'll be directing a movie about one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. And not only that ...

Looks like Stephen Sommers wrote the script himself, and is producing it as well.

/Film

This news just gets better and better, right?

(Thanks to Rose for the tip on this one.)

Google Salutes Jules Verne's 183rd Birthday

Seriously, you have to go check this out.

It is the best of ingenious art used as homage. When you move the lever the image seen through the sub windows moves. If you don't move the lever, you are floating on the waves, so naturally the image bobs because the sub would be bobbing.

When Beowulf Knits Socks ...

It might look like this.

I especially like this since I am fighting off the urge to buy a book (darn that book fast) called What Would Madame Defarge Knit? (Edited by Heather Ordover at CraftLit with many original patterns based on classic books).

Thanks to Theocoid for this, who got the link from Mark Shea.

When Superheroes Play Poker

This is funny.

I laughed out loud. At work.

You have to like superheroes. And not mind a bad word.

Thanks to Rose for this one.

iPhone App Aids in Confession and Carries Imprimatur (corrected)

A new app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch has been “developed for those who frequent the sacrament and those who wish to return” in what is the first known imprimatur to be given for an iPhone or iPad app.

I'm sure that I am late in noticing this, but a pal sent me the link, asking what I thought about it. I thought I'd post this as it is how I let Tom know about interesting Catholic news.

It actually just looks like another way to organize your thoughts more than anything.

I, myself, resist cell phones, apps, and all that. That's just a personal thing. I have so many gadgets. So I use note cards. They are easy to stack and don't need batteries.

This app looks no worse than having a printed out examination of conscience, and prompts to get through confession (which I have handwritten on a note card).

Though I do NOT write down a list of sins ... they are burned onto my mind until I talk to the priest! (So much safer that way.)

CORRECTION
The original headline said this carries a Vatican imprimatur and I had clicked around and found numerous stories from reputable sources which said that very thing. However, it turns out that they didn't really check their sources any further than I did. There is an imprimatur but it was bestowed by an American, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend.

The place to get the real story as well as see all the ways the story was misrepresented in the news it at the always-valuable Get Religion.

In other news ... Kif and Wash got into a serious, no-holds barred fight for supremacy

This was last Friday when Hannah and I went in the back yard to frolic in the 5" snowfall with the dogs.

Playing, which always has an edge of hierarchy for dogs, turned in the blink of an eye into fighting between Wash (the Boxer) and Kif (part Staffordshire Terrier). Wash won, but that was only because Hannah hit Kif over the head with a plastic lawn chair to make him stop. She wielded it like a Valkyrie, doing this mother's heart proud, especially as I was racking my brain to think of how we could shock Kif enough to get him to stop.

Otherwise, I shudder to think what might have happened. I had Wash's collar but he kept on fighting and with Kif underneath no one could get a hand inbetween them to grab Kif's collar.

Hannah grabbed Kif and moved him across the yard.

Zoe and Zapp had been bouncing excitedly around the edges (mentally chanting, "fight, fight, fight!"). They had no doubt who "won" and immediately ran after Kif and attacked him. Luckily, they weren't as passionate and I was able to call them off with voice alone, because I couldn't let go of Wash.

Wash had multiple puncture wounds to both legs with a few bad enough to need stapling.

Kif had to have his ear sewn up in a couple of spots so the honors were about even.

The next day, we were filled with trepidation about how to have these two dogs in the same household. However, we followed the Barkbuster's lady's advice. We reintroduced them to each other in the yard where the fight broke out, with a hose ready and waiting in case of renewed trouble. But both dogs knew that Kif had disengaged first. Neither cared it was because of a lawn chair and both felt Wash had won.

So, unbelievably to me, we are now back to where we began.

Except that it seemed to clear the air in some way that we humans couldn't really see.

Wash has a new bounce in his step and a take-charge manner in the pack proper. Questions about chew bones get settled by him, he gives a sharper reprimand when the others try to push him around and he is first up for guard duties.

Kif, surprisingly, has gotten braver around me and now will look me in the eye. Crazy. But it is as if he now knows just where he belongs and feels more secure. Hannah thinks it is because in Wash he sees a strong leader.

Who knows?

Whatever the reason, we have peace and it seems to have done both dogs some mental good. It is just too bad about the wear and tear on our mental good. Not to mention the vet bills!

Gulliver's Travels, the Catholic Church, and the Meaning of Life

You never know just where the conversation is going to go when you participate in an SFFaudio podcast.

Jesse Willis (SFFaudio host), Gregg Margarite, and I all read Gulliver's Travels and then discussed it yesterday. This is a longish podcast at almost two hours, however, readers of this blog may find the discussion extra interesting since it eventually ranged all over the place with the last hour popping in and out of faith discussions.

It was a fascinating discussion to participate in and a truly wonderful example of Socratic learning (for me anyway) with a couple of folks who are willing to pursue learning wherever they find it.

Click through and have a listen.