In which Virgilia and Dr. Franks ... and Nan and Perry ... sort things out.

Chapter 11 of The Unforeseen by Dorothy MacArdle at Forgotten Classics.

How A Pope Is Elected

This little presentation from Vatican Insider does a nice job of explaining the procedure to get us to Habemus Papem (we have a pope).

Via Kathy Schiffer.

When Pope Benedict's Your Competition Then You Know You Did Something Right

When I was voting for all the About.com Catholicism Awards yesterday I couldn't help but feel sorry for the Twitter and Book finalist. Pope Benedict was nominated in both categories and was kicking ... well, he had a dominant lead, let's just say.

I heard from Emmaus Road Publishing this morning (I do layout on books for them):

Dear friends, ERP’s title Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God by Dan Burke has been selected by the readers of the About.com Catholicism GuideSite (http://Catholicism.About.com) as one of the five finalists for Best Catholic Book of 2012 in the 2013 About Catholicism Readers' Choice Awards!  Please take a minute and vote for our title.  We have some pretty steep competition.  Currently Navigating is in second place behind Pope Benedict.  If we have to come in 2^nd I can’t think of a better person to lose to.  If you get a minute I would appreciate you taking the time to vote.  The link is below and you can vote once every 24 hours.  Thanks

If you haven't gone by the awards definitely check out the finalists. You can't lose, actually, because everything I've seen is worth your time.

(Ahem ... and if you wind up in the podcast category, check out ... and maybe even vote for ... A Good Story is Hard to Find.)

Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

Day Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Loneliness, dejection, the contempt or pity of people around you--these are unpleasant feelings. But they are precisely the things that produce genuine Dark Ones.

As with the previous book in the series, Night Watch, this is comprised of three stories. Unlike the previous book, this is told from the Dark Ones' point of view and by three different protagonists. Intriguingly, it begins with statements opposite to those which open Night Watch. We are told that this text is not approved because it is deleterious to the cause of Light (signed the Night Watch) and deleterious to the cause of Dark (signed the Day Watch).

The first story is told from a Dark witch's point of view as she is sent to recover from a difficult assignment. It was definitely dark and almost kept me from continuing. It's funny because it isn't as if the story contained anything that I haven't encountered in other books and it definitely isn't because it is told from the dark point of view. There was just something about it that made me not want to read it, which is a tribute to the author's ability to convey atmosphere in his storytelling.

I thoroughly enjoyed the second story which was a mystery within a mystery as a man riding a train realizes he has amnesia ... and is an Other. The third story brought the other two together in a climactic trial by The Inquisition.

As in Night Watch, each story examined a facet of Dark or Light. I was especially interested in the third story where most of it is shown from the point of view of Edgar, a Dark Other, or Anton, our familiar Light Other from the first book. Several times each was judging the other for the very same thing while thinking, "Just like a Light/Dark Other..." In this story we also hear about how Inquisitors see things and it was an interesting contrast to the Others.

Day Watch uses these engrossing stories to examine good, evil, love, and sacrifice, continuing the themes found in Night Watch. As such it gave me pause while I thought about the author's representation of the very thin line that separates good from evil, and true love from a self-serving pretense of love.

It was quite good overall, although it was not quite as good as Night Watch. Definitely recommended. I am eagerly anticipating receiving the next book from the library.

Good Story Podcast is Finalist in 2013 About.Com Awards

Now this is fun! And exciting!

A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast is a finalist in the 2013 About.com Catholicism Awards.

And I like their description:

Rather than create a podcast about Catholic books and movies, Julie Davis and Scott D. Danielson discuss classic books and movies "as Catholics."

They get us! They really get us! (Ok, no more channeling Sally Fields...)

I saw we are in there with Fr. Barron, Pray-As-You-Go (a regular listen of min) and other big podcasts I admire. What honorable company Scott and I have risen to!

We haven't a chance, but we're the only one of our sort. Mostly. iPadre being a different sort of conversation. (That's my story and I'm stickin' to it!)

Perhaps we'll get some folks dropping by to try us out though, which would be the best! We can always do with new book-and-movie lovin' pals.

Check it out, and be sure to look at the other categories too. The blogs, books, and suchlike that I recognize are top-notch. Which means I'm definitely going to be checking out the ones I don't know.

And vote ... of course ... definitely vote.

I don't want to have to bring the Hypno-Toad out for this one. But you know. I'll do what I have to.

Weekend Joke: Exact Change

This is from Seth Peters, who regularly supplies me with great jokes. As he said, "It's a doozy!" Thank you Seth!

A man walks into a restaurant with a full-grown ostrich behind him.

The waitress asks them for their orders.

The man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke," and turns to the ostrich, "What's yours?"

"I'll have the same," says the ostrich.

A short time later the waitress returns with the order. "That will be $9.40 please." The man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, "A hamburger, fries and a coke." The ostrich says, "I'll have the same." Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.

This becomes routine until the two enter again. "The usual?" asks the waitress.

"No, this is Friday night, so I will have a steak, baked potato and a salad," says the man.

"Same," says the ostrich.

Shortly the waitress brings the order and says, "That will be $32.62."

Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. "Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?"

"Well," says the man, "several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there."

"That's brilliant!" says the waitress. "Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!"

"That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there," says the man.

The waitress asks, "What's with the ostrich?"

The man sighs, pauses and answers, "My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say..."

Blogging Around: The Benedict Edition

I'm out of touch, more or less, because it is our semi-annual Beyond Cana marriage retreat for our parish. Tom and I are part of the presentation team and so have turned our focus elsewhere.

In the meantime, here are some good things to read from other places.

 IS IT HYPOCRISY? 

The Curt Jester addresses those with this complaint:

Catholics who eulogized Pope John Paul II for serving to the bitter end now praise Pope Benedict for quitting. Make up your minds.

Being Catholic is the both/and approach that doesn’t try to flatten all things into a decision tree with simple yes/no paths. The Curt Jester nails it. As always.

 DISCERNING GOD'S WILL 

Scott Danielson talks about our remarkable Pope and the one thing that struck him most in the resignation.

One thing that strikes me in Benedict’s statement is his explanation of how he made this decision. He did not say, “God told me to.”

 WE'RE MARKED MEN 

Archbishop Timothy Dolan on Ash Wednesday and Pope Benedict's continual gift to us in his leadership.

And now, he lets us know that, he, too, is a marked man, closer to death, slowed down and frail, more and more in need of God’s grace and mercy, humbly admitting his mortality, his own sinfulness, eager to prepare to be united with His Lord and Savior in His dying and rising.

Learning to Love the Pope Through His Writing

I did glance over some of the pieces in the Wall Street Journal this morning about Pope Benedict's pending resignation. They were more even-handed than many of the pieces I saw elsewhere which led off with inflammatory opinion. (For shame Reuters! I knew you when you were cool!)

However, even these were putting forth points of view which baffled me. Until I recalled that these people were outsiders. Those of us on the inside, who had learned to love Pope Benedict in these short eight years could not simply call him a "bridge" or "placeholder" after a historic pope.

As I mentioned yesterday, it was through the Pope's writing that I learned to love this gentle shepherd who spoke of sin in order to keep us safe, not to make us feel shame.

So it was with great pleasure that I read Will Duquette's tribute which puts my own thoughts into much better words. Here's part of it.

In these books I discovered a teacher, a man who wished always to speak the truth, but who could speak the truth in love and gentleness. I discovered a pastor, one with great compassion for human frailty, but who refused to water down the gospel just to make people feel better about their sins. Sin is a moral illness; what we need is a cure, not an anesthetic. In these books, in which the future pope spoke of the problems of the day, he addressed all of the problems I was familiar with from my time in the Episcopal Church, the forces that were driving that communion to schism and irrelevancy. Not only did we need a cure; the Cardinal was familiar with the cure we needed.

I went on to read books he’d written himself (I’ve got a whole shelf of them now, many of which I’ve read and many I’ve not gotten around to yet). I discovered a clear thinker, and a clear speaker, a man I could learn from. And in a short time, I came to love this man, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. I still do.

Pope Benedict's Resignation

I wrote some of this to send to our RCIA small group since this a papal resignation has startled most of us, much less those getting reading to enter the Church.

My take, which I did not send to anyone is sheer gratitude for God's having given us Pope Benedict for eight years.

My goodness, think of what that man has done for us. The homily series full of teaching about saints, apostles, Fathers of the Church, prayer, and more. The Jesus of Nazareth books and the encyclicals. The trips all over the world. Assigning bishops who will be true good shepherds to us. And then preparing to spend his days in prayer for us.

I think that reading his general audience homilies, courtesy of the Curt Jester, has taken my appreciation and love of our Papa to a new level, so perhaps I feel this more than others might.

For anyone wanting more of my opinion, I think that reading the essence of what I advised our RCIA group about will give an answer. So, here it is ...

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

I did want to offer a bit of guidance about Pope Benedict's resignation, based on my experience as a Catholic when Pope John Paul II died and Pope Benedict was elected.

You'll hear:

• Speculation about the reasons for the resignation and why it is good / bad.
  
  
• How bad / good this is for the Church. Especially at this particular moment in history!
  
  
• How we need a more progressive / conservative pope than Pope Benedict.
  
  
• Speculation about who will be elected as the next pope. That speculation is rarely correct, by the way. Very few, if any would have picked Josef Ratzinger to be the next pope.

In other words, you will hear a lot of talk that mostly reflects the people talking, rather than the truth about the situation.

I tend to ignore it as much as possible.

And most of it doesn't matter to us much anyway because this is an election that only the cardinals will take part in. (Here's how the election works, if you want to know more.)

What we can do that is helpful is to pray.

Pray for Pope Benedict's future. I myself am so thankful that we were given such a good shepherd, who did so very much in 8 years, as Pope Benedict.

Pray that the cardinals will be guided by the Holy Spirit and select the person God wants to be our good shepherd.

Since the rules call for the cardinals to gather within 15 days of the pope leaving (whether by death or resignation) we will likely have a new pope before Easter.

If you get your news from the Vatican instead of American media, that may help filter out some of the extra chatter.

==========

The full text of the Pope's announcement follows. I got this from CNA (Catholic News Agency) which is a trustworthy source.

Dear Brothers,

I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering.

However, in today’s world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me. For this reason, and well aware of the seriousness of this act, with full freedom I declare that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

From the Vatican, 10 February 2013
BENEDICTUS PP XVI

Blogging and Google

My question for you is how do you manage to make your blog easily discoverable by google? I have heard there are tricks of the trade. I am not nearly as internet savvy as you are.

I was asked this question recently when my blog popped up as a likely match for someone using Google. They then mentioned that they haven't done much with their blog but had this question.

Like most bloggers I get this question a lot. Here's my answer.

I post every day. I post authentic content. In other words, I'm out there.

That's all that Google wants. Real posts by real people saying something that is their own.

Rest assured that there may be tricks, but like most of life the best way is just to do the job. In that way, blogging is just like real life.

Show up. Do the job. Eventually when you've got 8,000+ posts, Google will notice.

And if Google doesn't notice, you'll still have the satisfaction of having blogged. Which is the real point of blogging in the first place, after all.

Blogging Around: Seeing the Other Side

AMERICA IN FILM Here's an interesting question. You want to teach someone about America, using movies. Which movies do you choose? Rose has one for being American and another for pop culture. The discussion has begun at Double Exposure ... check it out.

LETTERBOXD NOW OPEN TO ALL
Letterboxd is like Goodreads, but for movies. I have been enjoying it for a while but it was invitation only. No longer. Jump in. It's a free for all!

SUPER BOWL BETTER BECAUSE OF "THE BLIND SIDE"
Whenever we watch the Baltimore Ravens play, Tom always points out the real life player who was portrayed in The Blind Side. Watching the Super Bowl was just that much better because we knew about his story. Tony Rossi gives the Christopher Closeup inside story of the family behind the movie.

Many of you have seen the Christopher Award-winning movie “The Blind Side,” which told the story of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock) adopting homeless teen, Michael Oher, supporting him and his education, and helping to launch his football career with the Baltimore Ravens. It was a happy ending by both Hollywood and real-life standards.

That ending got even happier this past Sunday when the Ravens won the Super Bowl with a little help from Michael Oher, whose adopted family was with him.

MUSHROOM STROGANOFF
This looks delicious, whether one has Lent on the horizon or not. Veronica at My Catholic Kitchen came up with it. I'm going to put back in the Worcestershire sauce instead of the soy sauce because fish is allowed for Lent. As well as chicken broth (guess what's going to happen to that 1 cup of water and the vegetable bouillon cube? yep ... ).

BISHOPS' STATEMENT ON NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULEMAKING REGARDING HHS MANDATE
Archbishop Dolan gives us the scoop and the link to the bishops' actual statement. Accept no substitutes.

Yesterday, I issued a statement in my role as President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the HHS mandate. Unfortunately, there were some news reports today that claimed the bishops “rejected” the White House proposal, ignoring the fact that we bishops said, “we welcome and will take seriously the Administration’s invitation to submit our concerns through formal comments, and we will do so in the hope that an acceptable solution can be found that respects the consciences of all.”

LORD, OPEN MY HEARD
CWG Blog features the devotional I wrote last year ... and is very, very kind. Thank you, Jen!

If you are a looking for a bigger, sweeter piece of devotional pie, also consider Julie's book Happy Catholic. You'll feel like you're cheating, since it's fun and interesting and not at all penitential, but it's a great way to kickstart the habit of seeing God in every day life.

Keep Your Fork ...

Lynne is reading over Happy Catholic posts starting from the very beginning. I am in awe. Certainly I've never done that! It's interesting to hear her observations so far.

One thing that's not really representative of the blog from the beginning is that I usually go back and remove the old art and quotes that are over a year old. This is because Blogger only lets me access 5,000 posts (only! ha!) so if I need to update or access an old post, such as a Bible study or novena for example, then I can't get to it.

Unfortunately, this means that not only does Lynn not get to see all the old quotes and art, but sometimes I still can't access old stuff.

So I may be replacing things now as she lets me know about outdated links that led to things we all liked around here.

Here's the first, a charming story about a lady who wants to be buried with a fork. Go read it because it is still just as good as way back in 2004 when I first posted about it.

Thanks Lynne!

Lent begins next week.

Should I panic now?

No. I'll wait until next Tuesday.

As Ecclesiastes tells us, there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to live for today and a time to choose Lenten penance.

The Return of the King - J.R.R. Tolkien

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been working my way through the audiobooks, as many of you already know. The further I get into The Lord of the Rings, the more glorious is all the stuff I missed in past readings. Admittedly the last reading was a while ago and without the benefit of guides along the way to help me see below the surface. More than anything though, listening forces me to slow down and take in the whole book, not just the exciting part I'm dashing through for the adventure.

What becomes very noticeable to me at this point, listening as opposed to reading, is the juxtaposition of the two kings and their hobbit observers. One has been brought back to himself after being under the Dark Lord's sway and the other is prideful and arrogant. It is a striking contrast.

Another thing is how touched I was by the description of those coming to the defense of Gondor, early after Gandalf and Pippin got there. They were the few, those coming out of common need to defend themselves and their lands, in answer to the king's call. It made me understand just how personal war is on that level. It kept coming back to me for hours.

It occurs to me that we are also loathe to let surprises unfold by themselves. I was thrilled at the way Tolkien keeps everyone in the dark over the identity of the stern young man who took Merry up on his saddle, until the crucial moment. I literally wanted to cheer at the moment of revelation. Whereas the movie had to let us in on the secret very early, I suppose in support of girl empowerment. *sigh* Because THAT hasn't been done before.

Listening also allowed me to suddenly notice how Aaragorn's speech has been transformed into something lordly and formal, nobler and grander than when we met him as Strider. It was especially noticeable when he was speaking to Eowyn. "Lady," he would begin every statement to her. In my mind's eye, it was as if he was transformed into the king that we know he is underneath the travel-stained ranger.

The final realization, at this point, is just how the movies lessened the epic scale by making all the heroes less heroic than in the book. They were portrayed with ordinary fears and doubts. I imagine the idea was to give us someone to relate to. However, we already have the hobbits who are, as they themselves would tell us, as ordinary as dirt and happy to be that way. Tolkien's epic storytelling, by contrast, allows the heroes to be imbued with nobility and qualities that emerge as situations require.

We need heroes to look up to who are imbued with something grander than we ourselves have. Otherwise, what is there to strive for? If all our heroes have been knocked down to average, we have only ourselves to look to. And that is not helpful in dire circumstances like those faced in this struggle in Middle Earth. Or even in our own everyday lives.

Trucker Ghost Stories: And Other True Tales of Haunted Highways, Weird Encounters, and Legends of the Road edited by Annie Wilder

If you're a fan of real-life ghost stories, then this is the book for you.

If you're a fan of truckers, those modern-day "cowboys" of the highways, then this book is doubly for you.

Truckers are on the road at all times of night, in all weather, and, evidently, when every sort of ghost, monster, or UFO is out and about. This collection of stories runs the gamut from terrifying to tame. I was fascinated by the story of a trucker attacked by a UFO full of aliens but who refused to be abducted. I got the creeps listening to the story of a trucker parked for sleeping who was attacked by evil spirits who evidently muffled even his cries for help from other sleepers nearby. Other stories, such as a floating red light, were less satisfying.

As with all "real" ghost stories, it is up to the listener to judge whether these incidents were authentic or due to tricks of light, lack of sleep, or a handful of uppers for the road. Adding to the authentic feel, although not necessarily to any literary value, is the fact that the stories were written by the truck drivers themselves and not professional writers. This leads to a lot of "sign offs" such as "That is my story."

The stories are narrated by Tavia Gilbert and Peter Ganim who have personable styles and will even give the tale a regional twang if the story mentions a city of origin.

What I discovered from this book is that I'm not nearly as big a fan of real-life ghost stories as I thought. Or perhaps it is that listening to a steady dose of them for several hours is just not my cup of tea. If you are interested in the supernatural, paranormal, or just in hearing some straight forward, sincerely told ghost stories, give it a try.

This review originally appeared at SFFaudio.

Blogging Around

Why Isn't a Show Funny?
Largely because of unwillingness to take a stand which should be no surprise at all. As we just saw illustrated on 3rd Rock from the Sun last night (2nd season of a series that is holding up amazingly well over time), sometimes the best comedy comes from being willing to alienate people in order to make a point.  Why don't the network executives understand this? Double Exposure deconstructs The Middle, which I'd never heard of before. Now I understand why. Keep an eye out in the last bit because several excellent shows are recommended for your viewing pleasure instead.

The jokes that don't revolve around Frankie complaining often contain baffling lapses in logic. For instance, when Frankie is taking a bath because of her bad back, nine-year-old Brick wanders in and she asks him to turn on the hot water. Brick reminds her that he is not allowed to use the hot water (bringing up some disturbing questions about how he takes showers) but he turns on the hot water anyway. When Frankie asks he to turn it off, he winds up turning it up because apparently hot water faucets are so different than cold water faucets that when given two options of how to turn it off, he repeatedly chooses the wrong one.

Preach Always. If Necessary, Use Words.

By God’s grace, I am learning to trust the wisdom of the Church. By God’s grace, I am learning to rely on the Holy Spirit.

By God’s grace, all is redeemed.

Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be
world without end.
Amen.

Elizabeth Esther has a really wonderful story that left me glorying in God's goodness and the Holy Spirit's quiet, subtle ways. I myself have had many occasions to thank Him for nudging instead of bludgeoning and this story is a wonderful example. Don't miss it. Via The Wine Dark Sea.

Thank you Archbishop Gomez
This is what it means to have a trustworthy shepherd. Joanne McPortland expresses my feelings exactly in her post.

Tonight, Archbishop Jose Gomez broke his silence on the recently released documents concerning efforts by his predecessor, Cardinal Roger Mahony, to cover up instances of clergy abuse. Like me, Archbishop Gomez found the documents “brutal and painful reading.” He did not stop at repugnance, however, but in a letter to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, assigned accountability...

Catholic Bishops of Colorado Respond to Catholic Hospitals’ Claim of Unborn Twins Personhood
Frank Weathers at Why I Am Catholic does an excellent job of tracking the call and response from the hospital and bishops, as well as pointing to a thorough story on the case.

A couple of days ago, my blog neighbor Deacon Greg Kandra shared a news item about a Catholic hospital in Colorado that is a defendant in a wrongful death lawsuit. The story is noteworthy because the Catholic hospitals’ legal defense team argued that while the patient (who died seven years ago), Lori Stodghill, was indisputably a person, they noted that under Colorado law, her unborn twins, 28 weeks of gestation at the time of death, are not considered persons.

As you might imagine, given the Catholic Church’s belief that human life, and thus personhood, begins at conception, this line of defense has been seen as a controversial one. 

The Real Reason to Criticize Roe
Fascinating article from Public Discourse, found via Frank's post above.

Actually, Roe did not introduce legal abortion to the United States; it did something even worse. Prior to Roe, legal abortion existed, but so did a large, vigorous pro-life movement, and that movement was beginning to win the public debate on abortion. Roe deprived the pro-life movement of its legal victories and allowed abortion to become more available to poor and minority women. It subverted the democratic process and led to a partisan polarization that only grew worse with time. Perhaps worst of all, it nullified the pro-life movement’s constitutional arguments and enshrined in case law a constitutional interpretation that deprived the unborn of any constitutional rights.

Recall Abortion
Since we seem to be on the subject of abortion, new book that just came out: RECALL ABORTION: Ending the Abortion Industry's Exploitation of Women. I don't have time to read it but it looks at the subject from an interesting standpoint.

The book is unique in that it examines abortion as a product, demanding a "recall" for the harm done to women. It is a very compelling and well-organized compilation of information and testimonies.

Spinnin' the DVDs: Looper / Ace in the Hole

No football this weekend gave Tom and me a chance to watch a couple of flicks, both worth watching if you haven't seen them.

Movie description:
HUNTED BY YOUR FUTURE, HAUNTED BY YOUR PAST. In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

My take: 5 stars
An interesting time travel concept that avoided going in the ways I expected it to. I am loathe to say too much about it beyond the basic description because I don't want to ruin it. It is about much bigger themes than one would think and the way those are connected leave one with much food for thought. This is definitely one that opens up when it is talked about and so, I imagine, would lend itself to repeat viewings.

Movie description
One of the most scathing indictments of American culture ever produced by a Hollywood filmmaker. Kirk Douglas gives the fiercest performance of his career as Chuck Tatum, an amoral newspaper reporter caught in dead-end Albuquerque who happens upon the story of a lifetime and will do anything to ensure he gets the scoop.

My take: 3-1/2 stars
I can't say I liked this movie but I didn't dislike it. We watched it because Tom's been intensely curious about it ever since reading a bio of Billy Wilder and learning that he thought this one of his best films ... and we'd never heard of it. It is completely effective as a scathing indictment of the American media circus that arises under the guise of "caring," whenever disaster strikes somewhere. As we all know, this is a trend that has not changed in the slightest today, so the story is very modern. Kirk Douglas does a fantastic job as the sleazy, self-serving media hound who corrupts almost everyone near him in order to be the sole mouthpiece for the story of a man caught in a cave. I imagine this probably also hasn't changed much these days, if only we knew the entire story.

The Tribune by Patrick Larkin [Updated]

The Tribune by Patrick Larkin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Promoted to a tribune of the Sixth Legion, Lucius Aurelius's task is to quell a war in Galilee that has already claimed the lives of the Emperor's foot soldiers. But the scene of the alleged slaughter turns up only a peaceful settlement of farmers, leaving the suspicious Lucius to question why has he been sent on such a futile mission...

I really enjoyed this book about young tribune Lucius Aurelius, a first century Roman whose personal guiding star is honor. Unfortunately for Lucius, few of his superiors have that same value and the ones who do are not very good at guarding their backs against their ambitious counterparts. Weaving his way through greed and corruption while trying to unravel a mystery which constantly has just one more thread to a larger story, Lucius must feel his way to the truth. His family physician, a small boy, and a corps of Gallic cavalry are on his side but that doesn't seem like enough when the odds are stacked against him. There are a couple of very nice twists in the story which I foresaw only a few pages ahead of Larkin's explication.

This is the first of Patrick Larkin's books that I've read. He has written a string of political thrillers from the looks of his body of work and you can see that history in this lean, tautly driven story. I was often surprised by the direction the plot took. The only lack of surprise was when our hero finds himself in Judea meeting a few recognizable characters, albeit often briefly. I enjoyed those encounters, especially since Larkin made them enough his own that I gradually forgot to think of a Biblical association.

Sometimes Larkin's background as a thriller author shows in other ways such as the occasional lack of character development. For example, in the case of a romantic encounter, the subsequent attachment seems all out of proportion, as does the guilty response. A little more depth would have been welcome.

These things aside, I did enjoy reading the book which kept my undivided attention until I finished it. That is no mean feat. I was glad to see a chapter of the sequel at the end of the e-book because I had grown fond of Lucius Aurelius and would like to read more of his adventures.

[Update]
This review was revised because of a significant change made to part of the book, which is not reflected in the print version. I would give the print version 3 stars because of a graphic sexual encounter.

When the King Was Carpenter by Maria von Trapp

When the King Was Carpenter by Maria von Trapp

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I discovered this poking around in the Kindle resources after seeing a book by Maria von Trapp was used by CatholicCulture.org for their liturgical year e-books (which I really, really like, by the way).

What a treasure this little book is. Unable to answer questions from her children about what Jesus ate for breakfast, von Trapp began asking priests and collecting books to find out about daily life for the Holy Family. She then wrote this account which, although simple, I find strangely riveting.

It is just brushed slightly with the fiction brush, being largely a historical "you are there" book to bring us into what life was like for a faithful Jewish family back then. Von Trapp doesn't dwell on Jesus' future as Messiah and these tend to read a bit more like the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In fact, I was so engrossed reading about 6 year old Jesus that it struck me like a blow when she was talking about the family's annual trip to Jerusalem for Passover and ended by saying:

As a little boy He had greatly enjoyed spending part of the day roaming around with cousins and friends through the fabulous bazaars of Jerusalem, but as He grew older, He no longer felt drawn to these childish pastimes. He wanted to "dwell in the courts of the Lord," as had His ancestor David.

More and more, too, He saw that their Feast of the Passover had a twofold meaning. It was a memorial of the great things God had done for His people in the past, but it was also a symbol of things to come when, in a much greater Passover than the ones they were then celebrating, He would redeem His people from their sins."

There used to be many books of this sort written in the 1950s or so telling us about what life was like in those days. I wish some of them would either be reprinted or a new tradition would arise to write some today. In the meantime, this is a fine start. I'm looking forward to searching for the books in the bibliography listed in the back of the book.

Weekend Joke: Board Games of Star Trek

Many thanks to Doug Savage for this touch of humor which hit our household just right.