Music From 100 Years Ago: In Memorium - Ray Bradbury

A special podcast marking the death of scifi writer, Ray Bradburry. The show includes a radio performance of Bradbury's story, The Veldt from 1951.

Fortnight of Films for the Fortnight for Freedom, day 2

I said most of what I had to say yesterday, so I've been keeping a few items to post daily during the Fortnight for Freedom. Use them for reflection, prayer, or as an idea for service or sacrifice toward our goal of truth, mutual respect, and religious liberty.

Now that we’re officially into the Fortnight for Freedom, it’s appropriate to reflect on how the themes of religious liberty, moral conscience and commitment to one’s faith in the face of pressure and persecution have been reflected in film.

National Catholic Register film critic Steven D. Greydanus has chosen a fortnight of worth films providentially accompanying the saint's days we will mark within these two weeks, making a perfect complement to your Fortnight of Freedom plans.

June 21: A Man for All Seasons (1966)

The Fortnight for Freedom begins on the eve of the feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More. The best possible film to begin the fortnight is Fred Zinnemann’s magnificent cinematic tribute to Thomas More, one of the 45 films of the Vatican film list. King Henry VIII declares “war on the Church,” obliging More — out of fidelity to his conscience regarding the institution of marriage as well as the Petrine primacy — to retire from public life. Over the next several years, he adheres to his principles and defends himself ably, but ultimately futilely, in the face of legal harassment, imprisonment and execution.

(Fine for all ages, but young kids won’t follow the story.)

I implicitly trust Steven D. Greydanus to recommend great lists of films, especially when it comes to connecting them with the faith.

His list includes the expected such as A Man for All Seasons and Becket. However, he also goes a bit further afield with movies you might not have thought of such as On the Waterfront. See the list here.

As a bonus, the article has links to the 1995 Vatican film list and the Register's list of 100 pro-Catholic movies, so you can do more exploring on your own.

A movie a day, connected with a saint. Perfect.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter -- A Righteous Man, Swinging an Awesome Axe

Henry Sturges: Real power comes not from hate but from truth.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer is light on history and heavy on vampires but ultimately delivers an action movie that is a lot of fun.

We first see Lincoln as a young boy, being exposed to the two things that will drive him throughout his life: a slave trader whipping a young slave boy and a vampire who delivers tragedy. So when Lincoln hates slavery and vampires ... it's personal.

Years later, on the trail of vengeance, Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) encounters Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper).  A dedicated vampire assassin, Sturges recruits Lincoln to help rid the world of evil. In the process, Lincoln follows some of the timeline that all Americans know so well, meeting Mary Todd, attending law school, debating with Douglas Stephens, and so forth. All while dispatching a large quantity of gruesome vampires at night.

This brings him to the attention of Adam (Rufus Sewell), the leader of the American vampire living in the South whose dream is to found a nation of his own. Thus Lincoln winds up fighting the war with the South on two fronts for human freedom.

I could tell you more of the story but it is really unnecessary. Just go along for the ride and have a riproaring good time enjoying the stunts and the clever weaving of basic Lincoln facts with the action/horror story.

Liberties are taken with the timeline and only the high points of Lincoln's life are touched upon, but we aren't watching this for a history lesson. We want to see our 16th president to take down some vamps in spectacular style. The movie doesn't disappoint on this front, sometimes in spectacular action sequences that are as electrifying to watch as they are outrageous in hind-sight.

In fact, it was while supremely enjoying the first of the action sequences that I suddenly thought, "Of, of course, it's that director." I have a love for Bekmambetov's Russian movies, Nightwatch and Daywatch, which are what brought him to the attention of Hollywood in the first place. This film is less complex than those but delivers similar verve and style.

A note to those who worry about respectful treatment of Abraham Lincoln. I myself was suddenly hit with those same twinges at the beginning of the movie. Young Abe snatches up his axe to visit frontier justice on the slave trader and I suddenly felt it was extremely disrespectful to treat Abraham Lincoln's memory in this way. I don't have a lot of people I idolize but Abraham Lincoln is definitely one. I had to remind myself it was just a movie, that I'd read plenty of alternate-universe science fiction with a similar premise, and I kept on watching. The movie makers were no fools and know the place that Abraham Lincoln has in the American psyche. He was treated quite respectfully and I never felt a qualm after that initial plunge into unreality.

There are some annoying points. Dressing the female vampire like a dominatrix was ridiculous (yes, I know how silly it sounds to strain at that particular gnat in a movie so grounded in unreality). Just go with me on this one.

The time that passed between Lincoln's "Eureka" moment toward the end and the fulfillment of his vision was insanely short ... I don't know why that bothered me but it was a nagging impossibility I couldn't shake.

The 3D was unnecessary and, in the screening I was at, distracting in the big action scenes. Not worth the extra money and there isn't a single effect that can't adequately be conveyed as a regular movie.

These are small points, to be sure.

Overall Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, is a perfect summer popcorn movie. Enjoy!

Ratings Note: Rated R for violence throughout and brief sexuality. I'll add that the gore splatters liberally during any slaying so if that bothers you (and it does me) then be ready to avert your eyes.

President Obama, Tear Down This Wall - Fortnight for Freedom, day 1

The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty.

The reason for this Fortnight for Freedom is the government's HHS Mandate forcing every employer to provide contraception and sterilization coverage in almost all private health plans nationwide, with an extremely narrow “exemption” for some religious employers.

It is not just a threat to Catholics but to anyone who does not want to be forced to support financially (or otherwise) things that they feel are immoral. As such, it is a threat to Americans. The way that the administration has chosen to advance their cause of contraception seems to be designed to throw up a wall between those who see contraception as immoral and those who don't understand what the big deal is. Here are twelve things that everyone should know about the mandate, if you have questions.

For my own part, I would like to be allowed to have the "right to be wrong" and follow the dictates of my conscience and my faith ... as was proposed in a book I reviewed some time ago, but which is still applicable to this discussion.

===============

This is the vigil of the feast day of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More.

St. John Fisher is not as well known as St. Thomas More but he was a martyr to Henry VIII because he would not acknowledge Henry as head of the church. For this he was imprisoned and eventually was executed. After his trial, Fisher stated his opinion, which is one that we should read and take to heart.

My lords, I am here condemned before you of high treason, for denial of the king's supremacy over the Church of England. But by what order of justice I leave to God who is searcher of both of the king's majesty's conscience and yours. Nevertheless, being found guilty as it is termed, I am and must be contented with all that God shall send, to those whose will I wholly refer and submit myself.

And now to tell you more plainly my mind touching this matter of the king's supremacy: I think, indeed, and always have though, and do now lastly affirm, that his grace cannot justly claim any such supremacy over the church of God as he now takes upon him. Never has it been seen nor heard of that any temporal prince before his days has presumed to that dignity. So, if the king will now adventure himself in proceeding in this strange and unwonted case, no doubt but he shall deeply incur the displeasure of Almighty God. And this to the great danger of his own soul and of many others, and to the utter ruin of this realm committed to his charge. Because of this, some sharp punishment will come from God's hand. Thus, I pray God that his grace may remember himself in time and hearken to good counsel for the preservation of himself and his realm, and the quietness of all Christendom.

As Fisher worried about the state of the king's soul, so should we be worrying about the state of the souls of those who would wrest away our freedom. The "sharp punishment" gives modern minds pause in doubt, but I myself think that God lets us have our ways to our own ruin like the prodigal son ... so that we may return home. Letting us choose our own punishment, in reaping what we sow, is the ultimate justice while being a nice allowance of free will.

Let us pray for our freedom, for our country, and for the souls of those who do not really understand what religious liberty means.

=================

From Margaret at Ten Thousand Places comes a slew of good links and practical recommendations to basic places. Which I completely forgot about giving. So I let her do the work.

1. If you haven't done so already, sign the Women Speak for Themselves open letter to President Obama, spearheaded by Kim Daniels and Helen Alvare, and create a video adding your voice to the almost 30,000 women who have spoken up in this forum.
2. Check out the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty's information page.  The Becket Fund is representing the 43 individual organizations in the 12 federal law suits contesting the HHS Mandate. And they need our support.  (They have been on the front lines for a long time on this issue.)
3. Check out the resources at the USCCB: Pray // Find events in your own Diocese // Learn more//Read Cardinal Dolan's new e-book // and, if nothing else, check out the 12 Things Everyone Should Know flyer (pdf)
4. Contact Congress
5. Pass along this video from Catholic Vote.
6. Join us on July 4th at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for a Mass closing the Fortnight for Freedom, with Cardinal Wuerl as the main celebrant and Archbishop Charles Chaput as the homilist.
7. (UPDATED) Read these articles by +Chaput and +Gomez

The Flannery O'Connor Summer Reading Club

I'm just finding out about this now? Of course, I'd never have discovered it if not for Brandywine Books. Thank you guys!

My biography of Flannery O’Connor–The Terrible Speed of Mercy–will be released later this summer, so why don’t we read through some of her stories? Each Monday from now through the end of August I will post an article about one of O’Connor’s stories.

They're only on story three so it won't be hard to catch up. Get it here.

True Freedom by Timothy Dolan

Today Cardinal Timothy Dolan has released a small book called True Freedom: On Protecting Human Dignity and Religious Liberty

It’s easy to take religious freedom for granted. It’s enshrined in our Constitution and praised by the Church, and most of us have grown up without questioning it. However when this liberty is threatened, when it’s not respected as a fundamental right, we’re forced to pull back and ask a basic question: why do people deserve religious liberty?

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York gives his answer in a new eBook released today. True Freedom: On Protecting Human Dignity and Religious Freedom (Image Books, 37 pages, eBook) shows how respect for human dignity—the dignity of all humans, regardless of their beliefs—undergirds the right to religious liberty. Quoting Pope Leo XIII, he begins by saying:

“True freedom… is that freedom which most truly safeguards the dignity of the human person. It is stronger than any violence or injustice. Such is the freedom which has always been desired by the Church, and which she holds most dear.”

Find out more and see at review at Brandon Vogt's blog.

 Note: I stole this from Jeff Miller's posting at Happy Catholic Bookshelf. So handy!

Movie Review: Your Sister's Sister

Photo by Steven Schard/IFC Films
Mark Duplass as Jack, Emily Blunt as Iris, and Rosemarie DeWitt as Hannah

A year after his brother's death, Jack (Mark Duplass) is struggling emotionally. His best friend Iris (Emily Blunt) advises him to go to her family's isolated cabin for solitude and introspection. However, he winds up meeting Iris' sister, Hannah (Rosemarie Dewitt), who just ended a seven year relationship. Bonding over their personal pain and a bottle of tequila leads to unexpected consequences, which are complicated when Iris suddenly arrives at the cabin the next morning. This sets into motion a tale of increasingly complicated relationships which is genuinely funny or touching, in turn.

This little movie delivers a fine evening's entertainment. I think that the twenty- or thirty-something crowd will especially enjoy it. Certainly I would recommend it to either of my daughters or their friends for a pleasant diversion.

==================================

However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that it seems incomplete as a movie, merely "fine" rather than "wonderful." I was irresistibly put in mind of John Sayles' Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) which was a small-scale character drama. In Return, friends arrived for a reunion and we saw characterizations built, dialogue expanded, and plot driven through examining characters' connections. This seems like the ultimate result that Your Sister's Sister director Lynn Shelton was aiming for, albeit with three characters instead of Sayle's seven. I began wondering why Your Sister's Sister felt less sharp and complete.

My husband and I debated why Your Sister's Sister felt as if there wasn't enough depth and had several theories. However, I came across the best way to articulate it this morning in On Stories by C.S. Lewis.

In the sixteenth century when everyone was saying that poets (by which they meant all imaginative writers) ought "to please and instruct," Tasso made a valuable distinction. He said that the poet, as poet, was concerned solely with pleasing. But then every poet was also a man and a citizen; in that capacity he ought to, and would wish to, make his work edifying as well as pleasing.

... What this comes down to for me is that there are usually two reasons for writing an imaginative work, which may be called Author's reason and the Man's. If only one of these is present, then so far as I am concerned, the book will not be written. If the first is lacking, it can't; if the second is lacking, it shouldn't.

C.S. Lewis, essay Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What's to Be Said

Lewis is not saying that every imaginative work needs to be educational, but that there needs to be a bigger picture, an overall message, a deeper motivation, even if one is only telling a fairy story. For whatever reason, Shelton is satisfied simply with the "Author's reason" and, as an audience, we can tell. Issues of budget, time, and motivation aside, this is what makes Shelton's movie a "little one," as she herself said, and Beasts of the Southern Wild a visionary one that shows great promise to come in the future.

There is nothing wrong with making little movies. Woody Allen himself says that his goal is to make one little movie every year. Allen's movies are hit or miss oftentimes. What gives them the potential for the greatness they sometimes achieve is that he always has both the Author's reason and the Man's.  Whether Shelton chooses to broaden her internal vision is going to determine whether her movies remain "little" or have the potential for greatness contained within.

=================

My final score: 3 out of 5 stars.

Ratings note: Rated R for sexual situations and strong language. Also a bottle of tequila is killed in one night, if that is an issue for any viewers.

They were attacking reason ...

Jeff Miller over at Happy Catholic Bookshelf has a link to an interview that science fiction author John C. Wright did about his conversion to Catholicism ... and other related topics. I have read Wright's conversion story several times and each time there is new information, so I just keep reading it as it surfaces here and there. In this one, I was very touched by the first lie he discovered that rocked his belief in atheism. It has to do with his son. Do go read.

We're Brave Enough to Watch John Carter. Also Brave Enough to Say We Loved It.

It swashed.

It buckled.

It had derring do, a beautiful maiden in need of rescue, a battered hero to step up and save the day. It had laughs that came naturally from the story instead of being self-aware winks at the audience. The story and set design came as a tribute to wonder, adventure, and grand story telling of the past.

In short, it had many of the qualities we loved in Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Andrew Stanton's movie has been given a bad name which should more properly go to "the toxic buzz that has curled around the movie before anyone had seen it" as Peter Travers said in his Rolling Stone review.

Travers didn't love it, but we did. And we're not ashamed to say it.

Don't Read Reviews of Pixar's Brave

Spoilers are spilled, sez Stephen G. Greydanus. He rants, spoiler free, and I applaud.

I've gotten to the point where I tend to avoid all but the most cursory looks at advance reviews because too many people tell the good stuff.

In fact, I can't tell you how difficult it was to review Beasts of the Southern Wild so that people didn't know any more than I did going into the film. But I tried. I really tried hard.

Bridge of Birds: chapters 25-26

In which there is a daring escape and the Emperor of Heaven is detected. We're nearing the end. Just two more episodes after this one and we are finished! Head over to Forgotten Classics for the episode and to vote on the next book.

Movie Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

“In a million years, when kids go to school, they gonna know: Once there was a Hushpuppy, and she lived with her daddy in the Bathtub.”

Hushpuppy is six and the Bathtub is a magical place that has frequent holidays, parties whipped up at a second's notice, and where it is more beautiful than the place where all the other people live. It also contains dangers like crocodiles and big storms that can blow water over everything and everyone who doesn't leave for higher ground. Hushpuppy's daddy shows equally mysterious qualities, alternating between pronouncing powerful life lessons and sudden unexpected rages. Mama is gone and that is also shrouded in mystery. Whether this is a land of fable or real is also a mystery until the film unfolds and we have entered Hushpuppy's world completely.

Told completely from the young girl's mind, Hushpuppy's life is a mixture of myth, half-understood facts, and fantasy, all cobbled together into a seamless whole that informs her understanding of life, the universe, and everything. Her world contains chickens and aurochs side by side with equal ease, shown in atmospheric vignettes rather than as a straight storyline. As Hushpuppy incorporates new information into her worldview, so do we, which was emphasized by having handheld cameras at her height and using music to communicate her mindset.

I am loathe to say more because I believe this movie is best appreciated without preconceptions. I won't lie. The movie finished and while everyone clapped, Tom and I sat there thinking, "What did we just see?" It wasn't because we were swept away in wonder. It was because this is the sort of movie that I had to sort through and ponder to understand what I even thought of it.

I've had that sense of disorientation thrice before, after seeing Lost in Translation, Memento, and In Bruges.  Obviously, Beasts of the Southern Wild is in good company. All are films that I eventually grew to love but that left me unsure of my feelings immediately afterward. Reflection was needed to understand all that Lost in Translation says about marriage, all that Memento says about truth, and In Bruges' message about salvation and redemption. They also required a second viewing for full appreciation and I think that Beasts of the Southern Wild is the same.

Beasts of the Southern Wild does not tell its story perfectly but when one considers this is a first-time director who was working with first-time actors, as well as writing the script, then I believe he did very well indeed. One thing I did know immediately afterward was that director Benh Zeitlin is a talent to be watched in the future. He clearly has some specific points to make but was a good enough story teller to wreathe them in this original tale of myth and mystery, while leaving viewers with questions of their own to answer. I love a director who is courageous enough to let the audience make a movie their own and that is what Zeitlin did here.

Young Quvenzhané Wallis is, as so many have observed, also a force to be reckoned with in the future. She carries the entire movie and, although it seems absurd that a six-year-old could be so formidable an actress, Wallis handled it easily. Dwight Henry, a New Orleans baker discovered by the film crew, as Wink (Hushpuppy's father) was also impressive and it was difficult to believe that he'd never acted before. He hinted at a big acting project and I am eagerly anticipating seeing his future work.

The film does sag a bit in the middle and I was irresistibly reminded that some Cannes and Sundance winners are not exactly what most regular people like me would call a good film. However, it did come together in time. With more experience Zeitlin will be able to avoid such sags altogether. The hand-held camera sequences were effective but too close and jittery for my comfort a lot of the time.

Altogether, Beasts of the Southern Wild is a film I am glad I saw, one that provided much food for thought, and one that I look forward to watching again so that I can sink more fully into the tale of a Hushpuppy who lives with her daddy in the Bathtub.

Ratings Note: PG-13 for thematic material including child imperilment, some disturbing images, language and brief sensuality.

The film comes to theaters July 4. Here's the trailer.





Here's Rebecca Cusey's interview with the director ... I would caution you to read it AFTER seeing the movie.





THOUGHTS which contain some SPOILERS
(Seriously. Go see the movie. This will still be here when you come back. Then, we can talk!)































Some of my thoughts after reflection.

• The beasts of the southern wild are the people living in the Bathtub.
  
  
• Also the Bathtub dwellers are ... the cave people. Hence, the continuing message that strength and self-sufficiency are all important, from the father, the teacher, and all residents.
  
  
• Global warming is a recurrent theme and the director said in the Q&A afterwards that he'd realized that the series of hurricanes (like Katrina) will just keep coming, so that was an important theme. As someone who married into a family from Houston, with a big branch in New Orleans, I had to laugh. That series of storms has been coming from way before this wave of global warming.
  
  However, I also have to give Zeitlin credit. There is none of the whining that usually goes with such a message. Because they are "cave men" they do not worry about trying to change the environment. Survival in harsh circumstances requires strength, bravery, and endurance. This is the lesson from everyone. And it occurs to me that it is not a bad lesson, especially when I look at some of the "problems" that I hear people complaining about, which are not problems at all.
  
  
• The big question ... the one that I still find coming back over time ... is the tension that we are shown between living in squalor in the Bathtub and living safely in a more sterile environment. The director said that this came from his fascination with the people who won't leave their homes during hurricanes. Those images from the movie mixed with my recent reading of the Civil war novel The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara and the federal government's HHS mandate which is threatening religious liberty in America. I do not have the answers. The pondering continues.
  
  What price safety? How far do we go in allowing people to make their own decisions, to live their lives in the way that they think is best ... even if we do not agree? Do we allow them the right to be wrong?
  
  I'll be honest. This was a problem for me in watching the movie. I kept having to re-suspend my disbelief as I watched that little girl living in some terrible surroundings. I kept thinking that she needed to live somewhere else. And then I'd remind myself that it is a movie. Later, though ... later I realized that these questions are part of our lives today.
  
  To some people, Catholics are living in the Bathtub. Our desire to practice our faith in peace seems ludicrous over a "little thing" like contraception. To them, the government worrying that some person somewhere is missing out on a benefit is much more important than living according to deep felt convictions. Is it better to be plugged into the wall? Is it better to be in the fish tank? Or is it better to be allowed to use our own judgment and live without the advantages that would make us miserable?
  
  
• A realization. When explorers of old discovered different groups of people, they would begin assimilating them, whether they wanted it or not. The most striking example were the Indians of the Americas, however it also applied to the Japanese, Africans, or whoever was in the path of civilization. Ideally, this was carried out from motives of Christian love for neighbor, to help each person realize their full and best potential as one of God's children. Obviously, true motives and results varied, depending on the situation.
  
  Beasts of the Southern Wild made me realize that secular American society, if not Western society as a whole, continues to follow that Christian model, albeit without Christ much of the time. For one's own good, one must follow society's model, even if one does not wish to be "rescued." Although those same societies would abhor imposing their standards upon a newly discovered aboriginal tribe deep in the South American jungle, they think nothing of imposing it upon the inhabitants of the Bathtub against their will. The same behavior that they abhor is readily adopted in this circumstance. Again, I do not necessarily have any judgment about this, but it is an interesting realization which I was able to see thanks to the illustration of this film.
  
  
• I also admired a lot of the techniques the filmmakers used ... the music communicating Hushpuppy's mood and thought ... the white light to signal Hushpuppy's thoughts about her mother ... Hushpuppy gently covering her father with her last token of her mother as she followed her teacher's directions to take care of those littler and weaker than themselves ... and her immediate departure for the quest to find her mother, in order to help both her father and herself. Beautifully done.

You Deserved a Quicker Review Than This*: Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body by Kate Wicker

Weightless: Making Peace With Your Body by Kate Wicker

This book is for every American woman who has body issues. (Shall we all raise our hands in unison?) In many ways, I came to terms with body image some time ago. However, no one is immune and every so often I will find myself beating back the mental need to measure up to someone else's terms. This book is good spiritual medicine for those times. I wish I could afford to give it to every woman I know, young or old.

Have you noticed how babies delight in their reflections? When they catch glimpses of themselves in a mirror, they smile, squeal, or laugh. When my girls were babies, they would even lean toward the mirror to give their images big wet kisses.

How many of us ever feel like kissing the reflection that stares back at us when we give ourselves the once-over in what might be more aptly referred to as the "lambasting glass" than the "looking glass?" The truth is, when faced with our images, many of us stop liking what we see. That big pimple on my chin sure isn't pretty. My arms aren't toned enough. My backside looks bigger today than it did yesterday. Wouldn't it be nice to look more like so-and-so?

You get the picture.

But God doesn't see that picture. He doesn't see what we see at all. God loves what he created — curvy, rifle-thin, disabled, or disfigured. We're his art, his creation.

When we criticize our reflections, we're not seeing clearly. We're blind to the kind of pure, unconditional love that God has for each of us.

Like many girls and women, Kate Wicker struggled with her weight and measured her self worth by how thin or fat she was. After falling prey to bulemia, she went through the long process of realizing self-worth and fighting her way back to health. She relied not only on therapy, family and friends but also on God for inner healing.

Years later, as a married woman with young daughters, Wicker realized that, although there is a plethora of books about handling self worth problems tied to body image, there are very few that offer a Catholic, faith-filled approach. Luckily for all the rest of us, she wrote a book about what she'd learned.

Wicker doesn't restrict the insights to weight. She looks at how media, celebrity culture, and consumer-driven society combine to affect our ideas of beauty from every angle. We respond to these with varying degrees of make up, clothing, hairstyles, eating habits, and more. Wicker helps provide much needed balance in this easy-to-read, personable book which I enjoyed. She leans on saints, scripture, and solid common sense to pull readers back to center as they reflect on reality versus false standards.

Here's something that spoke to me because I suddenly noticed that "old lady skin" is a new feature added to my frame. With that realization, came a new struggle of which standards to apply, and an appreciation for Wicker's refusal to budge in reminding women of every age that beauty begins beneath the surface.

My grandmother has no qualms about admitting she needs hearing aids. When you ask her (loudly), "How do you feel?" she replies, laughing and with a twinkle in her liquid blue eyes, "Old."

Nana's age is not a handicap or a source of angst. It is her joy and this is what makes her beautiful. She is well-worn and creased because, she will tell you, she has lived a long, fruitful life, including raising nine children. She's been around long enough to hold great-grandchildren. She prayed to St. Joseph as her husband of almost sixty years sipped into God's care.

To Nana, wrinkles aren't something to be punished with; they're something you earn, God willing. Although she admits that sometimes it's difficult to be aware of your body growing feeble and deteriorating physically, prayer reminds her that every day is a gift to be unwrapped and lived. ...

When I think of the saying "Age before beauty," an image of my old, crinkly grandmother pops up almost immediately. I see so much more than the signs of old age in her. She possesses an ageless, almost supernatural beauty that comes from leading a life of getting to know God better. She's living proof that gray hair is "a crown of glory...gained in a righteous life" (Proverbs 16:31).

Nana doesn't fix her gaze on her age; she's too busy looking ahead to the age to come — the promise of eternity and a new, glorified body in union with Christ. Her faith, her goodness, and her acceptance of her mortal body holding an immortal soul are what make her lovely.

You don't have to be aging yourself to realize the wisdom in this. How many of us know old women dyeing their hair to hide the white or gray? What about the youthful clothing worn by some women who are grandmothers? Here's the scoop, ladies. You are fooling no one but yourselves.

If we apply this sort of realization to whatever issues are bothering us, whether we are young or old, then we can see how important it is to have inner peace about our perceived "imperfections" ... which many would tell us are not imperfections at all. Wicker's book does this in a beautiful, nonjudgmental way that helps us see how to take the first steps in looking beneath the surface.

I am not a fan of self-help books in general, but this is a good book, especially for women who might be stressing over their looks. She makes valid points for all women but the Catholic orientation means that non-Christian friends are not going to get much from the advice about God in here. However, you don't have to be Catholic to get good advice and insights from this book. Highly recommended.

===========================
* You deserve a longer letter than this; it is my unhappy fate seldom to treat people as well as they deserve. — Jane Austen

I should have reviewed this book a long time ago. My apologies to the author who did not deserve me only getting around to reviewing her excellent book now.

Blogging Around: The "Things I Found This Morning" Edition

I will link to a lot of things at Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ just because it's so darned easy. Then I forget to do it here, for you dear readers. But not today ...

Fun Summer Reading

I’ve been reading Nathan Lowell’s Solar Clipper Traders series, which begins with Quarter Share. The books concern one Ishmael Wang, who at 18 finds himself parentless, friendless, and most importantly, jobless, on a company world. The company doesn’t want him, and he’s got to get off-planet PDQ. He can join the marines; or he can find a berth on a freighter plying its way from star to star. To make a short story shorter, he does the latter and becomes the most junior crew-member of the Solar Clipper Lois McKendrick. The “quarter share” of the title is Ishmael’s share of the profits from any voyage; by tradition, the owner gets 20%, the captain gets 10%, and the remaining crew split up the rest by shares: quarter, full, half, or double. The books in the series are named according to these shares, up to Owner’s Share (not yet released), and so I imagine that the rags to riches story continues until our hero is independently wealthy.

I agree with Will at The View from the Foothills about this series. Do go read his full review because he has some valuable observations about the content, especially the sex in the books. Frankly, the continual humility of "our hero" and the fact that he miraculously always happens to have the answer to the Terrible Problem they are facing at the moment is why I stopped listening to the series (via Podiobooks) after three or four. But, then I love Nathan Lowell's stuff and I go ahead and pick "just one more." Because, as Will says, they are perfect summer popcorn type books. If you like that sort of thing. And sometimes I do.

Man Bites Dog in Dallas?

From time to time here at GetReligion, we pause to wax nostalgic about what used to be in Dallas.

I refer, of course, to the not-so-long-ago days when The Dallas Morning News took religion news seriously and assigned skilled, trained professional journalists to the Godbeat.

Just a few years ago, the paper boasted a best-in-the-nation Saturday religion section with four or five full-time staff members devoted to faith and values news. Those same outstanding journalists regularly produced meaty investigative pieces, in-depth profiles and intriguing features for the front page.

Not anymore.

Now, if you check the Morning News’ religion news section online, you’re fortunate to find a new story every few weeks. And often, those stories are about as deep as a Texas river during a drought.

All of which leads me to this: I enjoyed a nice chuckle this week when seeing this headline on a Morning News Texas Faith blog post ...

Amen. GetReligion preaches it.

I used to look forward to Saturdays reading the Dallas Morning News. Not only was their religion section great, but the whole paper was interesting and well written. Then the DMN, evidently in an attempt to broaden readership, dumped their reporters and went to using national stuff, moms in the suburbs, and large type with lotsa leading. What a recipe for success, right? Yeah. You get more value from USA Today, believe me.

Lincoln, Catholics, and Conscience

RESOLVED: That the guarantee of the rights of conscience, as found in our Constitution, is most sacred and inviolable, and one that belongs no less to the Catholic, than to the Protestant; and that all attempts to abridge or interfere with these rights, either of Catholic or Protestant, directly or indirectly, have our decided disapprobation, and shall ever have our most effective opposition. –ABRAHAM LINCOLN at a Whig gathering

Yes it is a really, truly, proven quote from Abraham Lincoln, as Frank at Why I Am Catholic tells us. And it is an important viewpoint to recall as we near the bishops' Fortnight of Freedom for religious liberty.

The Joy of Car Talk

Can’t stop thinking about today’s announcement: That Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk fame are retiring.

Anne and I have listened to Car Talk almost religiously on Saturday mornings for years. Tom and Ray have been a joy because…

Yep. Love 'em. For all the reasons Jeffrey Overstreet lists.

Audio Resources for Writers (and Story Lovers)
My monthly post for the Catholic Writers' Guild blog. Featuring StoryWonk, Writing Excuses, Chop Bard, and Just the Books.

Weekend Joke

From Savage Chickens, created by the talented and funny Doug Savage.

Eternal Rest Grant Unto Ray Bradbury, O Lord

The father hesitated only a moment. He felt the vague pain in his chest. If I run, he thought, what will happen? Is Death important? No. Everything that happens before Death is what counts. And we've done fine tonight. Even Death can't spoil it.

Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes

He seemed timeless somehow, that grand old man of science fiction. But of course no one is timeless and Ray Bradbury died today at age 91.

Somehow it seems appropriate that he died when summer is just beginning to bloom. One of the memories that showed up repeatedly in his stories and novels was that of Midwest neighborhoods with Victorian houses, green lawns, and lemonade sipped by genteel gentlefolk. Reading that you'd never know that his forte was a blend of science fiction and fantasy, often mixed with horror, written in almost lyrical style.

So many of his stories are part of my mental reading landscape. The Veldt, Usher II, The Halloween Tree, The Martian Chronicles, Fahrenheit 451, and Something Wicked This Way Comes.

Recently I was finishing off a gift certificate and splurged by adding my own money to pick up The Stories of Ray Bradbury. I thought that I'd recognize many of the 100 stories in this anthology. As I have leisurely dipped in, here and there, I've been surprised that I do not recognize them and that many show a depth that resonates far beyond science fiction. Which, as I think of it, should not surprise me at all.

Bradbury was not only prolific but he is one of those gifted souls who raised his chosen genre far above the ordinary level. Not only did he entertain, but he taught us lessons for the heart. I also loved his optimistic spirit and his no nonsense grounding. He understood what was real, what was not, and what mattered.

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

I am thankful that his stories, imagination, and humanity have enriched my life so well.

Eternal rest grant unto Ray Bradbury, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Vito Bonafacci: A Modern Parable for the Faithful

I received the DVD from the director individually. I think y'all know me well enough to know we'd never speak of this again if I didn't like it ... no matter how I saw the film.

Lapsed Catholic Vito Bonafacci has had a nightmare he can't shake the next day: driving through his gates he suffers from a heart attack, dies, and goes to Hell. His deceased mother comes to tell him where he went wrong.

We've all had the experience of being unable to shake the aftereffects of vivid dreams, but few of us have them come true in front of our eyes. After discussing the dream with both his housekeeper and wife, Vito's day unfolds exactly as he dreamed. Not surprisingly, when he gets to the gates, he can't make himself drive through them.

Effectively trapped on the grounds of his home, Vito begins a quest to figure out what he's done that is so terrible. After all, as he tells his wife, "I've been a good person. I worked hard for my money. Don't I deserve to enjoy it while I'm healthy?" (paraphrased)

Indeed, he does have a good life to enjoy. His estate is palatial, he employs many servants, and he is building a second summer home. However, as he discerns, his spiritual life is bankrupt. Can he change his ways and avoid hell?

Vito Bonafacci tells a parable rather than a typical story. I couldn't help but think of the parable of Lazarus and the poor man.

There was a rich man, who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

And at his gate lay a poor man named Laz'arus, full of sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table; moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.

The rich man also died and was buried; and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far off and Laz'arus in his bosom. And he called out, `Father Abraham, have mercy upon me, and send Laz'arus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.'

But Abraham said, `Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Laz'arus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'

And he said, `Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'

But Abraham said, `They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'

And he said, `No, father Abraham; but if some one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'

He said to him, `If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.'"

Luke 16:19-31 (RSV)

Although not exactly the same as the parable, Vito Bonafacci serves the same purpose for faithful Catholics by reminding us of the power and beauty of our faith and, despite that, how easy it is to fall away without realizing it. It serves as a piece I would readily recommend for meditative viewing, especially during Lent. Although the subject matter is dramatic, dealing as it does with Last Things, but the movie itself proceeds almost tranquilly thanks to the classical soundtrack and beautiful cinematography.

This is a labor of love and unfortunately it shows in a some ways that are less desirable than the beauty and message. The professional actors are complemented by local amateurs and it is obvious which are which. As well, the dialogue is rather stilted as the main points are made. Most jarring for us, however, were the points when everything ground to a halt as the frame froze and scripture reinforcing a point was shown over the picture. The film makers would have done well to have offered the scriptural background as an extra. Also, I would have cut the mother's dialogue by at least half. We understood very early on what the problem was and didn't need the extra discussion. But that's an Italian mama for you, right? She wants to make sure her Vito is listening and so she just keeps going ... and going.

Those points aside, this movie definitely has its heart in the right place and I would be unashamed to give copies to my friends. For one thing it is difficult to find a movie that is theologically sound as this one is. It will not steer you wrong if you, like Vito, are looking for answers about getting to Heaven.

Vito Bonafacci still held my interest as I was curious to see just where Vito wound up ... and if he would ever feel safe to get in his car again.

Definitely recommended for the faithful who want a boost to their faith, a contemplative aid, or simply a look at stepping back from everyday life to get in touch with the spiritual.

Aiming to Misbehave: A Brief on Tactics

Y'all may recall that I was reeling last week and aiming to misbehave. My misbehaving was to not stay silent, pray, and fast. With more to come as I considered things.

There is no doubt that we have plenty to misbehave about. Among them and first up for our consideration is the government's HHS Mandate versus our religious liberty. Our bishops have called for a Fortnight of Freedom prayer vigil. Our first duty is clear.

I am quite pleased to announce that former Marine (is there such a thing?) Frank at Why I Am Catholic has put together a brief for us.

The methods that will work best for us are of the kind pioneered by civil rights leader, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. As our shepherds are wise to do, they have studied his strategies and tactics, and are adapting them to our struggle. Success with the 40 Days for Life campaigns have been helpful to prepare us for the fight as well.  Organized, peaceful, charitable, and armed with no more than our rosaries, we’ll need to ramp up the size of these events, possibly to March for Life proportions.

Another role model to emulate is Mahatma Ghandi, and of course, St. Francis of Assisi’s meeting with the Sultan sheds light upon this well worn path towards the freedom that we have been given by God. From Christ the King to the present day, these peaceful, and nonviolent methods are the standard for us to follow.

In preparation for the struggle to come, we’ll be holding a Fortnight of Freedomprayer vigil from June 21 through July 4th. Some of you may not know, but prayer is our secret weapon in this fight. General George S. Patton once held forth on it’s importance, and the omnipotent power that it channels. The entire Church will be engaged in these prayers, both here at the front, and abroad across the entire Kingdom, to include all of the saints in the Church Triumphant as well.

To recap, we must be smart, soft like water, charitable, and filled with grace from the Holy Spirit through the power of prayer. I’ll now turn this briefing over to James Breig from HQ. He’s got a little presentation on Catholic heroes who have fought for, and secured for us, religious liberties that we will defend with our lives if necessary, as they themselves did.

This is the essence of the thing and, frankly, it put heart into me.

I was feeling tired, worn out, and bashed. Now I feel rejuvenated. Go read it all and then let us go together to wage battle, not in a way that many may recognize, but in the way that counts the most.

Beyond the Rim of Light

Well, well, well, one of my favorite bloggers up and cowrote a book! Check it out at Steven Riddle's blog A Momentary Taste of Being.

Captivated by the beauty of the planet Arden, xenobiologist and survey team leader Marissa Latham wants to preserve it and its dominant species, the rheodactyls (rheos). However, a treaty between the Usian Confederation and the Delphian Empire requires the clearing of Arden despite Marissa’s insistence the rheos are sentient. Unsupported by others, she is determined to reverse that decision when a rheo attack on the survey team closes the planet to all. Angered by events, Marissa takes action that has unexpected results. Exiled beyond the edge of the universe, she is transformed.

From the unsuspected warp and weft of the universe to the pleasure world of Satina IV, Marissa fights to save Arden, the Rheos, and the friends who were condemned along with her.

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