In which Doan discovers murder ... and becomes Captain Perona's target.

Yep, more of Doan and Carstairs in Mexico ... at Forgotten Classics.

What I'm Reading: Zombies, Asteroids, Murder, and John Quincy Adams

Two irresistible books showed up in the mail yesterday. I think I've overindulged in review books (again!) and am going to have to have a serious sorting session to focus on just one (or two) at a time. That partly accounts for the fact that I have far too many books partially finished. But when you've looked through these, I think you can see why I have a hard time settling on just one!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


This is my 3rd reading of World War Z, this time via the new unabridged audiobook version (review copy from SFFaudio, God bless 'em!). I had the previous audio version but never could make myself listen to it because I knew it was abridged.

I wondered how the documentary-style story would hold up with so many different voices taking up the tale in turn. Thus far, on chapter 3, the answer is that I now admire even more Max Brooks' talent in weaving these voices together to make a suspenseful story. I didn't think I could admire the book more, actually. But I am happy to be proven wrong.

I've heard that Max Brooks' answer when asked to comment on the upcoming World War Z movie is something like, "Well, they have the same name." I, for one, am grateful for the movie since it prompted this unabridged version. And I hold out hope for the movie since I was among the few who enjoyed I, Robot the movie, just as much as I, Robot the book. They are just different animals. Fingers crossed, that WWZ is the same.


Countdown City by Ben H. Winters

What does it say that my first act upon opening this book was to look for a date? What month is it? How close is the asteroid? Obviously, I've opted into Ben H. Winters' trilogy which began with The Last Policeman.

Just getting started, but the book grabbed my attention with a highly atypical sort of detail that communicated a lot to me, as a Catholic, about the wife.

Hung above the dresser is a small tasteful painting of Christ crucified. On the wall of the bathroom, next to the mirror, is a slogan in neat block all-capital letters: If you are what you should be, you will set the world ablaze!

"Saint Catherine," says Martha, appearing beside me in the mirror, tracing the words with her forefinger. "Isn't it beautiful?"

[...]

"This may seem like an obvious question," I say, when I'm done writing down her answers. "But what do you think he might be doing?"

Martha worries at the nail of her pinky. "I've thought about it so much, believe me. I mean, it sounds silly, but something good. He wouldn't be off bungee jumping or shooting heroin or whatever."...

"He'd be doing something, like, noble," Martha concludes. "Something he thought was noble"

I smooth the edges of my mustache. Something noble. A powerful thing to think about one's husband, especially one who's just disappeared without explanation.

It not only tells us about Martha and her trust in her husband, it sets us up to fear that he won't live up to that perfect faith. All done in less than a page. Nicely done.

Also, the author wasn't condescending about it. That is refreshing.

An Amazon Vine book, review copy.


American Phoenix: John Quincy and Louisa Adams, the War of 1812, and the Exile That Saved American Independence by Jane Hampton Cook

I told myself I wouldn't accept any more review books. Then I made the fatal error of downloading the Kindle sample. Aaargh! It grabbed me right away.

I realize that I somehow got this Adams couple confused with the elder Adams couple, since John and Abigail's correspondence was famous. However, I have an interest in John Quincy that I wouldn't have otherwise, except that William Bennett's take on him was very sympathetic in America: The Last Best Hope, vol. 1. And the author's style is that of a good historical fiction author, at least in the first few pages. I am anxiously wondering what will happen with the untrustworthy servant, the horrendous murder down the road, and the frozen roads in Russia. What will Louisa do?

A review book from Booksneeze.


The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty

This isn't strictly a review book, but it is coming out a chapter a week as an audiobook on iTunes as a podcast. The print version comes out very soon. If you want to hear this audiobook don't wait to download it. Mur Lafferty's agreement with the publisher is that she can only leave the audiofiles up for a week after she finishes all the chapters on the podcast. So get it while the getting is good.

So far I am enjoying this a lot. It is not another of those "the world is covered with zombies and we're all just trying to survive" books. The supernatural world is existing camouflaged alongside ours, as we can anticipate from watching our heroine try to get a job writing travel guides.

I enjoyed Lafferty's Playing for Keeps which was a light take on superhero adventures, which were all the craze at the time. Shambling Guide seems like a similar take on the current zombie craze in literature so I look forward to seeing what sort of adventure tale is spun.

I'll update this as the book goes along, but am posting this early on in response to Mur's plea for reviews at Goodreads to help sales out.

So far, this seems like a light, fun read that I would give to my mother or sister (who do not delve quite as deeply as I do into urban fantasy). And, depending on where the story goes, I might even pick it up for my own shelves.


Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word: Meditations on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew by Erasmo Leiva Merikakis

UPDATE
I mentioned this book before but have been trying to figure out how to describe this treasure as I continue working my way through it.

It makes me eager for afternoon prayer and, I'm sorry to admit, that is a rare thing ... to be eager for prayer. To think, "Woohoo! I get to read another section of Fire of Mercy!" So there's that.

Will Duquette says it best. We may recall he turned me onto this book so he's further ahead.

All of my hopes for Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis’ book Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word. I’ve been getting up early every day to spend time in study ever since Easter Tuesday (including Saturdays and Sundays!), and I’m regularly astonished by the blindingly obvious things he pulls out of each line of the text—blindingly obvious after you’ve seen them—that I had never noticed before. I’m keeping notes of my reflections; some of them may appear here in the future. (As some kind of indication of the depth of Erasmo’s writing…50 days after Easter, I’m not quite to the end of the third chapter of Matthew’s gospel.)

Yes, being hit by blindingly obvious that regularly surprises me too while it simultaneously enlightens me. I'm feeling dumber by the page and yet I don't mind because I'm so blown away that I have food for thought for the rest of the day.

Worth a Thousand Words: Girl With a Guitar (Daydreams)

Girl with a Guitar (Daydreams), 1916-17. Richard E. Miller (American, Impressionism, 1875-1943).
Via Books and Art

Newbery Medal Winners Meme

From Mrs. Darwin, purveyor of so many good book-ish things, comes this meme. I'll just say that I have a special place in my heart for Newbery Medal winning books. Why? My great-grandfather's book won this award in 1925.

Keep in mind that my kids haven't been small enough to pay attention to this category of book for a while. So I have less exposure to the new ones than I'd like. Unless they're by Neil Gaiman because c'mon. It's a book by Neil Gaiman.

Bold means I've read it

Italics means I haven't read it but STILL have an opinion. You know that's how I roll.

** means I love it enough to own it (or loved it enough when I was a kid to own it and then hang onto it long enough to push on my own kids ... Dr. Doolittle, I'm lookin' at you here.)

• 2013: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate (HarperCollins Children's Books)
• 2012: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos (Farrar Straus Giroux)
• 2011: Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children's Books)
• 2010: When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (Wendy Lamb Books, an imprint of Random House Children's Books)
• 2009: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, illus. by Dave McKean (HarperCollins) -- loved it! **
• 2008: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz (Candlewick)
• 2007: The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illus. by Matt Phelan (Simon & Schuster/Richard Jackson)
• 2006: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins (Greenwillow Books/HarperCollins)
• 2005: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)
• 2004: The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by Kate DiCamillo (Candlewick Press)
• 2003: Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi (Hyperion Books for Children) 
• 2002: A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park(Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin)
• 2001: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck (Dial)
• 2000: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis (Delacorte)
• 1999: Holes by Louis Sachar (Frances Foster) My kids had to read this one and I avoided it like the plague after hearing their reactions.
• 1998: Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (Scholastic)
• 1997: The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (Jean Karl/Atheneum)
• 1996: The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman (Clarion)
• 1995: Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech (HarperCollins)
• 1994: The Giver by Lois Lowry (Houghton) liked it well enough
• 1993: Missing May by Cynthia Rylant (Jackson/Orchard)
• 1992: Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (Atheneum)
• 1991: Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (Little, Brown)
• 1990: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry (Houghton)
• 1989: Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices by Paul Fleischman (Harper)
• 1988: Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman (Clarion)
• 1987: The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman (Greenwillow)
• 1986: Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan (Harper) Ok - this is how important book covers are. I took one look at that cover and swore I'd never read it.
• 1985: The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (Greenwillow)**  Not my favorite McKinley, but The Blue Sword which was written before this, remains a favorite. 
• 1984: Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary (Morrow)
• 1983: Dicey's Song by Cynthia Voigt (Atheneum)
• 1982: A Visit to William Blake's Inn: Poems for Innocent and Experienced Travelers by Nancy Willard (Harcourt)
• 1981: Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson (Crowell)
• 1980: A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-1832 by Joan W. Blos (Scribner)
• 1979: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin (Dutton) Began it ... never got further than two chapters in
• 1978: Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson (Crowell) 
• 1977: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor (Dial)
• 1976: The Grey King by Susan Cooper (McElderry/Atheneum) Listened to the audiobook and liked it well enough.
• 1975: M. C. Higgins, the Great by Virginia Hamilton (Macmillan)
• 1974: The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (Bradbury)
• 1973: Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George (Harper) (I think I've read this.)
• 1972: Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien (Atheneum)
• 1971: Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars (Viking)
• 1970: Sounder by William H. Armstrong (Harper)
• 1969: The High King by Lloyd Alexander (Holt)
• 1968: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg (Atheneum)
• 1967: Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt (Follett)
• 1966: I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (Farrar) 
• 1965: Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (Atheneum)
• 1964: It's Like This, Cat by Emily Neville (Harper)
• 1963: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (Farrar) ** A classic for good reason. Are there households that don't have a copy of this book?
• 1962: The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton)
• 1961: Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell (Houghton) 
• 1960: Onion John by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)
• 1959: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare (Houghton) I know I read this but I recall nothing of it. Which speaks for itself.
• 1958: Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith (Crowell)
• 1957: Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen (Harcourt)
• 1956: Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham (Houghton)
• 1955: The Wheel on the School by Meindert DeJong (Harper)
• 1954: ...And Now Miguel by Joseph Krumgold (Crowell)
• 1953: Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark (Viking)
• 1952: Ginger Pye by Eleanor Estes (Harcourt)
• 1951: Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates (Dutton)
• 1950: The Door in the Wall by Marguerite de Angeli (Doubleday)
• 1949: King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry (Rand McNally) Oh, Scholastic Book Club, where would I be without the many fine books you lured me into buying and reading? This was one and I still recall a lot of it.
• 1948: The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois (Viking) 
• 1947: Miss Hickory by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey (Viking) 
• 1946: Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski (Lippincott) 
• 1945: Rabbit Hill by Robert Lawson (Viking) I know I read it. But that's all I know about this book.
• 1944: Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (Houghton) This may well be the book that began my love of historical fiction. A damn fine book.
• 1943: Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray (Viking)
• 1942: The Matchlock Gun by Walter Edmonds (Dodd) 
• 1941: Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (Macmillan)
• 1940: Daniel Boone by James Daugherty (Viking)
• 1939: Thimble Summer by Elizabeth Enright (Rinehart)
• 1938: The White Stag by Kate Seredy (Viking)
• 1937: Roller Skates by Ruth Sawyer (Viking)
• 1936: Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink (Macmillan) I seem to recall this as a different sort of "Little House" book. And Laura Ingalls Wilder owned that category for me. So this book was just annoying.
• 1935: Dobry by Monica Shannon (Viking)
• 1934: Invincible Louisa: The Story of the Author of Little Women by Cornelia Meigs (Little, Brown)
• 1933: Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze by Elizabeth Lewis (Winston)
• 1932: Waterless Mountain by Laura Adams Armer (Longmans)
• 1931: The Cat Who Went to Heaven by Elizabeth Coatsworth (Macmillan) 
• 1930: Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by Rachel Field (Macmillan)
• 1929: The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly (Macmillan) 
• 1928: Gay Neck, the Story of a Pigeon by Dhan Gopal Mukerji (Dutton)
• 1927: Smoky, the Cowhorse by Will James (Scribner)
• 1926: Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie Chrisman (Dutton)
• 1925: Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger (Doubleday)** Not the easiest read these days because the language is old fashioned. But still we all dutifully read the stories when I was a kid since he was a relative ... and they weren't half bad! In fact, I read a couple of them on Forgotten Classics.
• 1924: The Dark Frigate by Charles Hawes (Little, Brown)
• 1923: The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting (Stokes) ** How I laughed at the Pushmepullyou ... and all the various adventures the doctor had.
• 1922: The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (Liveright)

The Last Policeman by Ben Winters: Why Investigate a Murder If the World is Ending?

The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The date that everybody knows is October 3, six months and eleven days from today, when a 6.5-kilometer-diameter ball of carbon and silicates will collide with Earth.

Reading this book, I mused that perhaps all this science is not the best thing for us. Surely the dinosaurs were just living life as usual right up to the last moment before that meteor hit. I'd rather have that be the case than have horrific scenes of doom from outer space hanging over my head for months.

As one might predict, some people are led to religion, some are led to anarchy, and many are led to self destruction. Among the great majority simply trying to go on living their lives is homicide detective Hank Palace. When an obvious suicide scene seems a little off, he begins investigating.

What's the point of investigating a possible murder when the world is ending in a few months? Palace isn't able to answer that question easily but, as we see a few other focused, balanced individuals appear throughout this narrative, an answer does emerge.

"One thing we can learn from Shakespeare, Hen, is that every action has a motive."

I'm looking at him, holding this drooping sandwich bag full of ice to my bruised forehead.

"Do you see it, son? Anybody does anything, I don't care what it is, there's a reason for it. No action comes divorced from motive, neither in art nor in life."

"For heaven's sake, dear," says my mother, squatting before me peering into my pupils to eliminate the possibility of concussion. "A bully is a bully."

"Ah, yes," Father says, pats me on the head, wanders out of the kitchen. "But, wherefore doth he become a bully?"

This is a murder mystery, a novel of self discovery, a pre-apocalyptic scenario, and it works on all those levels. I read in one evening and, needless to say, I really enjoyed it. Certainly I was surprised by the solution, which is in the best tradition of murder mysteries.

This is the first of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to the second book.

Asian BBQ Chicken

This chicken couldn't be easier or more delicious. Check it out at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

The Ark of the Covenant, H.P. Lovecraft, and Dagon

In the mornings, while I'm feeding the dogs, I have begun reading a bit of The David Story by Robert Alter. This is his translation of the books of Samuel (and a tiny bit of the first book of Kings).

I am conversant with the big parts of David's life, and even the highlights of Saul's life before him. However, I haven't ever read these books from beginning to end. Therefore, I don't know a lot of the details other than knowing about Hannah's plea to God for a son (hellooo Samuel), God calling to Samuel when he was small, and a few choice bits of scolding to the kings (well-deserved, I might add).

In other words, I know the basics as much as any Catholic who attends weekly Mass and pays reasonable attention to the readings.

So, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I read this at the beginning of chapter 5.

And the Philistines took the Ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it up alongside Dagon. And the Ashdodites arose on the next day and, look, Dagon was fallen forward to the ground before the Ark of the Lord.

Dagon! Wait, I know that name!

I think I'd have listened more intently in Mass if they ever read these bits of 1 Samuel.

Hey, I may only know the basics about the books of Samuel, but I know much more about the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Dagon is an early Lovecraft story and is mentioned again in The Shadow Over Innsmouth, which I just listened to recently (a fine and free narration by Mike Bennett).

Alter's note, which I read with extra interest, points out that once it was widely imagined that Dagon used to be associated with fish (aha! Lovecraft, you clever fellow, no wonder those horrible worshippers were from the bottom of the sea). However, they now believe Dagon was actually a vegetation or fertility god.

I might be kind of freaked out if my god mysteriously fell at the feet of the Hebrew's Ark of God.

But wait. Maybe Dagon's statue just happened to fall over. That could happen to any statue, right?

So the Philistines thought (and hoped and prayed, probably). Read on...

And they took Dagon and set him back in his place. And they arose the next morning and, look, Dagon was fallen forward to the ground before the Ark of the Lord, and Dagon's head and both his hands were chopped off upon the threshold--his trunk alone remained on him. ... And the hand of the Lord was heavy upon the Ashdodites and He devastated them, and he struck them with tumors, Ashdod and all its territories.

Not just tumors, y'all. Tumors "in their secret parts."

Fish god or fertility god, when the hand of the Lord falls heavy upon you, there's no mistaking it. Time to send that Ark back where you got it.

Alter's note once again adds context.

This second incident, in which the hands and head of the idol have been chopped off, offers to the Philistines clear proof of divine intervention. Hacking the hands and feet off war prisoners was a well-known barbaric practice in the ancient Near East, and similar acts of mutilation are attested in the Book of Judges.

Uh huh. Message sent. And received.

Julie and Scott take a quick swim to the deep end of the pool (where all the cool kids hang out) to talk theology.

We bring the big guns to A Good Story is Hard to Find when we discuss Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).

Worth a Thousand Words: Careful Steps

Taken by Julie Kenward

Many thanks to Owen for reminding me yesterday of Julie Kenward's stellar photography. You wouldn't think I need to be reminded since we have been online buddies for some time. However, I have trouble enough with Facebook's newfangled timeline ... and then throw in something like an "album" and I'm lost.

However, I'll be stalking Julie in the future for these great photos. Thanks Jules!

The Church Building as a Sacred Place by Duncan G. Stroik

The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence, and the Eternal by Duncan G. Stroik

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Maybe it's because I'm a convert from complete secularism. I just don't see what's supposed to be so great about the new-fangled churches that look like cracker boxes. Or like space ships. Or like a crumpled up piece of paper.

Let's just say it here and name the elephant in the room.

What is so great about an ugly church?

One of the things I did understand, whether secular or Catholic, was that our surroundings influence how we think and feel and act. And the point of a beautiful church is to help lift our souls to the point where that curtain between us and God might, just might, be opened for a moment of personal connection.

That was highlighted for me when I was in Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal. A young man in his early 20s was standing in the middle of the main aisle with tears running down his cheeks. His companion, a young woman, turned to him in alarm, "What's wrong." He suddenly looked slightly embarrassed, "Nothing. I'm just having a moment. I mean..." and he waved a hand around, "...all this just got to me."

Precisely.

A transcendent moment of connection with the Almighty facilitated by a sacred place.

That is what this collection of essays by architect Duncan G. Stroik is all about, the importance of letting beauty flower in our sacred spaces, in our churches.

The architecture of the sacred presents Christianity in a three-dimensional form: visually, tactilely, and sonorously in time. The sacred must come to us through all the senses, to surround us with intimations of what Abraham felt in front of the burning bush, King David in front of the ark, Mary with the angel Gabriel, and the disciples at the feet of Jesus and at the foot of his cross. The stone underfoot, the wood of our seats, the smells of incense and of beeswax, the smoothness of marble, the strength of the cast iron grillwork and rails, and the paint on the canvas—all help to create a sense of the sacred and prepare us for the taste of sacred bread and wine.

Stroik discusses the history of church architecture, the importance of various design principles including the altar as center of the church, and the result of modern thinking on church architecture. This modern thinking he decries, by the way, is not only the effect of Modernism style in architectural philosophy, but also the tendency to have gift shops, ask admission fees in famous churches, and to think in terms of auditorium features ("Can you hear me now?").

The essays are accompanied with photography of many gorgeous churches, both old and new, as well as some that makes one want to weep for those condemned to worship in such stark, ugly surroundings.

However, Stroik doesn't just discuss the failures in vision. He holds out hope for future church building and renovation. I found Ten Myths of Contemporary Sacred Architecture to be particularly eye opening on this front. By presenting what conventional wisdom as myths and showing where they go wrong, Stroik shows how consideration and care can easily restore beauty as a desirable feature for church architecture.

Obviously, I already was disposed to agree with Duncan Stroik's essays. However, it was a pleasure to see what I felt fleshed out in these essays and photographs. I am not the author's intended audience but the essays were easy to understand and I actually enjoyed them. There is a bit of repetition since some of them originally went to a variety of publications, but I found that all to the good in thoroughly grasping the main points.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this subject at all and particularly to anyone at all involved in Catholic church design, renovation, and building.

Quick Flicks - What We Watched Over the Weekend

It seemed like the right time for a few movies that allowed us enjoyment without having to think a lot. Mission accomplished.

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
I realized Tom hadn't seen Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, so that was a must. (My review here.) Tom liked it and I enjoyed the second viewing. Let's face it, Lincoln in that movie is a righteous man, swinging an awesome axe. Period. Also, there is something about Timur Bekmambetov's directing style that I could just watch all night.

Casa De Mi Padre
This movie is entirely in Spanish with subtitles. That alone tells us it is not quite Will Ferrell's usual fare. It is like a cross between a Spanish telenovela and an old fashioned B-movie Western (definitely B-movie). Those elements made me somewhat interested in the movie and when a coworker said it was just funny without being broad, I gave it a try.

Armando (Will Ferrell) is the good hearted, somewhat simple, son of a Mexican rancher. His brother, Raul, is an unsavory seeming character who lives in the city and brings his gorgeous girlfriend, Sonia, on his latest visit. Sonia is soon predictably torn between Armando's love of the land and Raul's money and influence.

There are also a local drug lord, American DEA agents, good-hearted vaqueros, scantily clad maids, and much more.

We really enjoyed this movie. It wasn't perfect, but neither was Blazing Saddles which is the closest equivalent I can think of. Anyone who has ever taken in part of a telenovela is going to recognize key elements of the movie. Also, there are just funny elements that anyone who has ever seen low budget television is going to understand. (Here, I am thinking of some of the painted backdrops and in particular one scene where Armando admiringly says to Sonia, "You ride well. That is a difficult horse." And they are clearly riding fake horses.)

Casa De Mi Padre is a perfect movie to kick off summer viewing. Light, amusing, and doesn't require you to run your brain at full speed.

Well Said: Freedom of Choice

From my quote journal.

I support freedom of choice. My choice is not to support abortion, except in cases of a clear-cut choice between the lives of the mother and child. A child conceived through incest or rape is innocent and deserves the right to be born.

Roger Ebert, How I Am a Roman Catholic

Worth a Thousand Words: Thrush Nightingale

Thrush Nightingale
taken by Remo Savisaar

Look at the way this little guy is singing his heart out. I have been hearing and seeing so many songbirds all over our neighborhood doing the exact same thing. Most specifically loud and insistent yesterday was a gorgeous cardinal who was staking out our yard as his own. (Click through to Remo's blog to see the photo full size.)

Happy Birthday, Dear Rose

Far from home, in exotic L.A. (where I'd like to be myself), Rose is still plugging away in the entertainment industry. Specifically, she's doing free lance editing for a company that produces promos for syndicated shows.

That means that she and Zoe (our Boxer who has become Rose's Boxer) are far from home on her 23rd birthday. She is planning to go again this year to Porto's Bakery (which I spoke of in our L.A. Diary) and select a decadent cake.

Perhaps the Parisian? (Devil’s food chocolate cake, layered and decorated with chocolate whipped cream. Finished with chocolate shavings.)

Or the Red Velvet Cake? I'm not crazy about red velvet cakes but look at those lovely rose petals on top. (Layers of red velvet cake and cream cheese filling. Finished with cream cheese icing. Decorated with red velvet crumbs and fresh rose petals.)

Or possibly the Checkers Cake? (Two layers of white sponge cake, layer of Bavarian cream, layer of chocolate mousse, finished with chocolate ganache.)

If memory serves, last year she chose a Chocolate Raspberry cake. Chocolate and raspberries is a combination Rose is passionately fond of.

I'd rather have her here and be making a cake (if memory serves, she prefers a Chocolate Buttermilk Layer Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting). It wouldn't be as pretty, but I bet the company would make up for it. I've sent gifts (fingers crossed they got there on time) and I can buy her cake, but I can't give her a hug.

So I miss Rose on her birthday but I hope it is a wonderful day for her. She will be celebrating with friends, one of whom shares a birthday with her.

They will be barbecuing and going to see The Great Gatsby. Rose loves Baz Luhrmann's movies and does not care much about the original F. Scott Fitzgerald movie. So from what I have read, she should have a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday, Rose!

Once a Spy by Keith Thomson

Once a Spy by Keith Thomson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I came across this thanks to Mystery Scene magazine where I have found many great recommendations.

Imagine a super spy managing to live long enough to develop Alzheimer's. What happens when he may inadvertently let slip some of the big secrets he knows?

Such is the premise of this really enjoyable book. Drummond Clark is the aging spy in question. His son Charlie is addicted to betting at the track and desperately trying to figure out how he's going to pay back a Russian mobster when his father turns up missing. All Charlie is trying to do is to return his father home and figure out which assisted living facility would be best, while skimming enough to pay his debts. However, repeated "coincidental" attempts on their lives send them on the lam for a simultaneously humorous and touching attempt to escape.

The scene at the beginning of the book when the father slips his leash of "company" monitors is a great example of the combination of unconscious trained stealth and Alzheimer's with which Charlie must deal for the remainder of the book. Along the way Charlie and his father spend time together, some lucidly and some not, in a way they never did before ... and Charlie discovers that his gambling career and natural talent combine unexpectedly to help keep them alive.

Worth a Thousand Words: Library Cat

Library Cat
by Belinda Del Pesco

The Man Behind "The Booth at the End"

We are latecomers to The Booth at the End but enthusiastic nonetheless. The premise is simple but pure story telling:

A mysterious Man sits at a booth at the end of a diner. People approach him because they've heard The Man has a gift. He can solve their problems: A parent with a sick child, a woman who wants to be prettier, a nun who has lost her faith. The Man can give these people what they want. For a price.

Read more about it at my link above.

For those who have seen it already, Joseph Susanka has a real treat which I can't believe I haven't mentioned until now.

He's been sharing his ongoing conversation with Christopher “C.K.” Kubasik, creator and writer of The Booth at the End. The entire thing is a delight for anyone who loves storytelling.

Just to give you a tiny taste, C.K. gives a lot of credit to his Catholic upbringing with his rich appreciation of story and symbolism. (He isn't Catholic now, just fyi.)

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III

With a fourth part promised! Thank you Joseph and C.K.!

Philip K. Dick's World ... and Ours

So what does Dick have to say about surviving and prevailing in this world?

[...]

Instead he focused on human decency, as expressed through empathy and sacrifice. In his work, characters often come through by doing the hard thing at the right moment. ...

This is what Dick has to offer -- something beyond mere politics; a glimpse at what makes us human. The moral law within, the ability to tell good from evil without actually being able to define them. In a literary world teeming with Mailers, and Vidals, and Thompsons, overrun with the cynical, and the vicious, and the twisted, Philip Dick stood alone in his defense of the human values.

Many thanks to Leah for pointing me to this article positing that Philip K. Dick was a prophet who foretold the times in which we now live. Jarring as that seems to anyone who has read a Philip K. Dick novel, it also hits a strain of truth.

I was just listening to Movies on the Radio where host David Garland and composer Michael Giacchino were discussing the continuing appeal of the original Star Trek series. They concluded it was because Star Trek was made in a time when there was great hope of using our technological power to do good. That sense is carried on through the movies, to a large degree. It is true that sense of optimism was the prevailing attitude and one saw it then in a lot of ways, especially in science fiction.

Unfortunately, it seems as if we live now in times where there is depression instead of optimism. From my limited exposure to Dick's writing, we could all do worse than to read Galactic Pot-Healer and then go out to face our challenges.

Grab Bag

All sorts of good info I haven't had a chance to mention until now.

This Just In: Strange Gods by Elizabeth Scalia

Yes. That Elizabeth Scalia. The Anchoress! The subtitle is: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life. So we can see this is a book we all probably need. I was lucky enough to read the first bit of it some time ago, for which I wrote a blurb that is in the front of the book. I love Elizabeth's writing anyway, but this is right on target for me.

I did notice when I was looking at the cover that the stained glass is made up of little icons of all the things that distract us, grab us, that we can't let go of ... in short that we let get between us and God. Nice concept. (And you may have noticed I don't pass around that praise lightly.)

The Knox Bible

You may recall that I was very, very (very) happy that Baronius Press reprinted Ronald Knox's translation of the Bible (my review here). This is a good time to mention that the Knox Bible has become the one sitting around various rooms of my house, ready to hand for my afternoon prayer. Or to compare a translation. Or to check the context around a snippet of Scripture quoted in a book. In other words, I like it a lot.

Baronius Press asked if I accept advertising. I don't. But for a product which I enjoy using so much and which has enriched my Catholic life so much, I am more than happy to run a banner absolutely free to remind everyone about it. Voila!

Strange Notions

Brandon Vogt's got some exciting news.

This morning I launched a major evangelistic project which I've been working on for two years.

It's called StrangeNotions and it's designed to be the central place of dialogue between Catholics and atheists. The implicit goal is to bring non-Catholics to faith, especially followers of the so-called New Atheism. As a 'digital Areopagus', the site includes intelligent articles, compelling video, and rich discussion throughout its comment boxes.

Go check it out: Strange Notions. He's got some heavy hitters collaborating on this and it looks promising.

Angels and Saints at Ephesus

The Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles just released their second album—Angels and Saints at Ephesus.

The sisters' second album, a year-round collection, will entertain and inspire, featuring 17 English and Latin pieces sung a cappella for the feasts of the holy saints and angels. Recorded once again at their Priory in the heartland of America, this new album is a dynamic yet pure fusion of their contemplative sound. The sisters call to mind the glory of the future vision of God in the company of all of His angels and saints.

Well Said: Don't Cry

From my quote journal.

Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

Dr. Seuss