Blogging Around: The "I Hardly Ever Read Blogs These Days" Edition

I don't know how or why it happened. Perhaps it is a combination of going to my niece's wedding, vacation, Tom's mother's death and various other things that have jerked me out of my regular routine.

I only remember to read other people's blogs about once a week. It won't be a surprise to find that I now have more time. And I do have more time.

It also allows me to easily sift through what I am not interested in and find what I do want to read.

Here are a few bits which I hope you enjoy also.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming
The title alone makes this sound great. Melanie reviews this at The Wine Dark Sea.

Boots and Saddles by Elizabeth Bacon Custer
Yes, that's the right name, Custer. Boots and Saddles is a new, free audiobook at LibriVox where the narrator begins the description thusly:

Elizabeth Custer has penned an engaging portrait of 1870’s life on a U.S. cavalry post in the Dakotas, just before her husband and his troops met their tragic deaths in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. “Our life,” she writes, “was often as separate from the rest of the world as if we had been living on an island in the ocean.”

I haven't tried it yet but if I like it, you'll be the first to know!

LibriVox: Where Are the New Releases?
Perhaps, like me, you have subscribed to LibriVox's New Releases rss feed. Perhaps, also like me, you have noticed that it has been three weeks since something new has showed up. LibriVox is overhauling their infrastructure and they have an alternate way to find out what's new (such as the above-mentioned Boots and Saddles) while that is going on.

My Son (movie trailer)
I'm not a Christian movie fan, as anyone who hangs out here already knows. They tend to forget about telling a story in favor of hammering in their point over and over. This one, however, looks different.

Here's the story we saw that made us watch the trailer. Burleson is a nearby town. Here's where you can watch the trailer.

Elmore Leonard, Modern Prose Master, Noted For His Terse Prose Style And For Writing About Things Perfectly And Succinctly With A Remarkable Economy Of Words, Unfortunately And Sadly Expired This Gloomy Tuesday At The Age Of 87 Years Old
The Onion does it again. I've been hanging onto this one for a bit, as you know if you read of Leonard's death. A perfect tribute delivered the funny way.

If you spend all your time looking for errors ...

Why I read Will Duquette:

...if you’re spending all of time looking for errors, you can begin to forget what the truth looks like.

Don’t just stand against the false, the bad, and the ugly. Stand for the true, the good, and beautiful, not simply in principle but also in practice. It’s better for you, and you’ll have less to repent of.

Read the whole thing at his blog: The View From the Foothills.

And yes, this is going into my quote journal.

Notes on Mark: Only One Loaf

Mark 8:14-21
I have never noticed the discrepancies in this bit of scripture. I guess, like the disciples, I wasn't paying enough attention, especially to this very interesting point about "one loaf" being in the boat.

Mark begins by noting the seemingly irrelevant detail that the disciples had forgtten to bring bread and had only one loaf with them. On one level, this simply means that they have failed to replenish their food supplies. But the two miraculous feedings and the ensuing discussions have prepared us to understand: What is the real "one loaf" (literally, "one bread") with them in the boat? It is Jesus! Mark clarifies in verse 16 that actually they have "no bread"--no earthly bread, that is. Bread will not be mentioned again in the Gospel until Jesus announces that the bread is his own body, to be given up for us on the cross (14:22).

Mary Healy, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Mark

Well Said: A Home That Has a Cat

From my quote journal and this seems very appropriate for Labor Day.

There's no need for a piece of sculpture in a home that has a cat.

Wesley Bates

Just When I Thought an Audible Membership Couldn't Get Any Better ... I Discovered They Have The Great Courses For One Credit

I've been longingly reading and then discarding those brochures from The Great Courses for years. Even at the wildly discounted price of $99, I could never afford my heart's desire. How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition, Narrated by Professor Robert Greenberg.

I figure that has to be everyone's heart's desire from The Great Courses because it always has a place of honor in the center spread to tantalize you into dropping that century bill on them.

Now, I don't do badly at all with Exploring Music from Bill McGlaughlin. In fact I am a dedicated fan of Bill's (yes, that's how much I like him ... I call him Bill). But somehow it isn't like a planned class.

Then my dreams all came true. I was wondering how to squander my monthly credit at Audible and ... lo and behold, can it be true? ... The Great Courses are at Audible, each entire class for one credit.

Oh, how quickly one can download when in the grip of such a passion? (Pretty darned quickly it turns out.)

Brad Bird's Tweet - Hollywood's Lesson

The lesson Hollywood should draw from this summer: GOOD FILMS SUCCEED. The lesson Hollywood WILL draw from this summer: ORIGINAL FILMS FAIL.

Truer words were never spoken.

Sent to me by Scott Danielson who shares my desire to see good films succeed.

Notes on Mark: Understanding the Second Miracle of Loaves

Mark 8:1-10
I have often wondered just how slow these disciples must be to not expect Jesus to do miracles after they have seen so many already. And yet this makes me think of the Hebrew people who experienced the parting of the Red Sea and soon after are begging for a golden calf to worship because Moses has been gone too long and surely, they say, God has abandoned them.

We are slow to remember, slow to trust, and quick to push forward with our own meager understanding, just like these disciples. This also gives us a chance to think about Jesus as the Bread of Life because Mark has a eucharistic emphasis that escapes us in many modern translations.

The disciples' skeptical response (echoing Moses' complaint in Num 11:13), seems strange in light of the miraculous feeding they have already witnessed. But many modern disciples of Jesus could attest how easy it is to forget the lessons of discipleship. Thouroughout the Bread Section Mark highlights the disciples' slowness to grasp the revelation of Jesus (Mark 6:52; 8:21)--not to disparage them, but to remind us, his readers, of the poverty of our own faith. Do we not yet understand that Jesus is the Bread, and that he is able to multiply whatever we put into his hands?

... Instead of saying that Jesus "blessed" the loaves, Mark uses a synonym, "gave thanks "(eucharisteo), the same word used for the blessing of the cup at the Last Supper (14:23; see also Luke 22:19; 1 Cor 11:24). Once again the pattern is that Jesus takes what little his disciples have to offer, blesses it, and gives it back to them; in that very process the paltry amount mysteriously becomes more than enough to satisfy the needs of all. Rather than handing out the loaves himself, Jesus insists on the involvement of his disciples; he gave them to his disciples to distribute. Because of its eucharistic significance the primary focus is on the bread; only afterward does Mark also mention the blessing and distribution of the few fish.

Mary Healy, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture: The Gospel of Mark

Well Said: A Divine Voice

From my quote journal.

To wantonly destroy a living species is to silence forever a divine voice.

Father Thomas Berry

What We've Been Watching: Parrots, Politicians, Psychiatry, Psychiatrists, Prisoner Number 1, and Pubs

We had an epic moviewatching weekend. I rented three films and we also went to the theater to see The World's End.

LINCOLN
★★★★½

I'd had a number of people tell me that this film was boring because all everyone did was talk, talk, talk ("and no action!").

Being history nerds who enjoy reading about the personalities of the Civil War, this was fine with us. We bravely settled down to watch President Abraham Lincoln's efforts to formally abolish slavery by getting the Thirteenth Amendment passed in the House of Representatives. It was well told, engaging, and respectful to the history.

I, for one, felt it went on too long after the bill passed and would have been happy to see the film end without taking us to the bitter end. We knew that already and didn't need to be dragged through it again. However, second guess editing aside, I can highly recommend it.

THE WILD PARROTS OF TELEGRAPH HILL
★★★

I got this because we have a wild Monks Parakeet/Quaker Parrot flock that occasionally hangs out in our Dallas, Texas, neighborhood. This is a fairly straight forward film which is truly more about the fellow who feeds these wild parrots than about the birds themselves. Thinking it over later, we realized that his life somewhat parallels that of the birds he cares for and that gave it a welcome bit of added depth. A sweet film really and I can recommend it.

SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
★★★

This movie surprised me because, although I knew it was a romantic comedy with a mental illness twist, I didn't expect the first half to two-thirds of the movie to really be a mental illness movie with a possible romance somewhere ... ending up with a solid romantic comedy end of the film. A very odd combination but somehow they pulled it off and the acting and story kept us watching even though we were also made rather uncomfortable by the film's first half.

I can recommend it but I can also say that its not a movie I feel I'll ever need to rewatch.

THE WORLD'S END
★★★★

I am loathe to say more than people have seen in the trailers, which is that five old school chums reunite to see if they can finish that 12-pub crawl they failed at when they graduated from high school. They have the common feeling that the town is exactly the same, while simultaneously not feeling quite right somehow. In this case, there is an invasion of the bodysnatchers situation and they've got to survive and save the day.

The combination of reunion and alien invasion is pretty funny and has many nods to the previous two in Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's "Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy" (Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). I particularly enjoyed all the fence jumping.

I think this is the weakest of the three but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it immensely. As with the other two films, this is one that will benefit from rewatching since there were several comic things that only became clear when I was thinking over the movie.

DOCTOR WHO, Season Five

We just watched the first episode of this season (streaming free, thank you Amazon Prime) and while Matt Smith is no David Tennant (but, really, who is?), his Doctor seems to capture that sense of wonder and joie de vivre. I also like that there wasn't a lot of angst about picking up a new companion.

In grabbing this graphic from Wikipedia, I noticed that this season marked a new creative team which explains the new feel also. We shall see how it wears going into the future.

FRASIER, Season Three

Frasier (also streaming free on Amazon Prime) has been our night-time watching lately. I had forgotten how consistently amusing it was until both Hannah and Rose began watching it and commenting approvingly. Just plain entertaining, without that mean edge that some smart comedy can sometimes have.

Notes on Mark: The Deaf and Dumb Man

MARK 7:32-33
I like the point that is made here about the deaf and dumb man being a symbol for us ... isn't that so often the way? We just don't "get it" until God opens our eyes and our heart.

Sacred Scripture quite often shows the laying on of hands as a gesture indicating the transfer of power or blessing (cf. Gen 48:11; 2 Kings 5:11; Lk 3:13). Everyone knows that saliva can help heal minor cuts. In the language of Revelation fingers symbolized powerful divine action (cf. Ex 8:19; Ps 8:4; Lk 11:20). So Jesus uses signs which suit in some way the effect he wants to achieve, though we can see from the text that the effect -- the instantaneous cure of the deaf and dumb man -- far exceeds the sign used.

In the miracle of the deaf and dumb man we can see a symbol of the way God acts on souls: for us to believe, God must first open our heart so we can listen to his word. Then, like the Apostles, we too can proclaim the magnalia Dei, the mighty works of God (cf. Acts 2:11). In the Church's liturgy (cf. the hymn Veni Creator) the Holy Spirit is compared to the finger of the right hand of God the Father (Digitus paternae dexerae). The Consoler produces in our souls, in the supernatural order, effects comparable to those which Christ produces in the body of the deaf and dumb man.

Navarre Bible: St. Mark

Worth a Thousand Words: Three Cuties

Three Cuties,
Taken by Remo Savisaar

Well Said: "The trouble is," said Miss Marple ...

From my quote journal and a book that I highly recommend to any mystery lovers.

"The trouble is," said Miss Marple, "that people are greedy. Some people. That's so often, you know, how things start. You don't start with murder, with wanting to do murder, or even thinking of it. You just start by being greedy, by wanting more than you're going to have."

She laid her knitting down on her knee and stared ahead of her into space. "That's how I came across Inspector Craddock first, you know. A case in the country. Near Medenham Spa. That began the same way, just a weak amiable character who wanted a great deal of money. Money that that person wasn't entitled to, but there seemed an easy way to get it. Not murder then. Just something so easy and simple that it hardly seemed wrong. That's how things begin... But it ended with three murders."

Agatha Christie, 4:50 From Paddington

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours by Daria Sockey

The Everyday Catholic's Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours by Daria Sockey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awaking the Dawn--Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer is one of the two principal Hours of the day on which the day's liturgy--and our own day--should hang. Hence, the Church's reference to Morning and Evening Prayer as the "hinges" of the liturgical day. That makes sense on the natural level. Our day's activity begins in the morning, and winds down in the evening. It is fitting to sanctify this beginning and ending of our daily work with liturgical prayer.

Although the entire Liturgy of the Hours is about offering to God a sacrifice of praise, no other Hour seems more praise-oriented than Morning Prayer. It's Latin name--Lauds--means just that: praises. And this makes sense, because to the mind of the Church, every morning recalls the most amazing and glorious thing that ever happened: the resurrection of Jesus. We are often told that every Sunday is a "little Easter." In the Liturgy of the Hours, nearly every morning of the year, for a few minutes at least, is a little Easter. The idea of every morning commemorating the resurrection goes back to the earliest centuries.

Like most Catholic converts I eventually began wondering about the meaning of some of the terms tossed around casually by long-time Catholics ... Divine Office, breviary, and Liturgy of the Hours. Eventually, using several sources over time, I figured it out, but I'd have had a much easier time if this book had been available back then. (Just to get any other newcomers up to speed, the Liturgy of the Hours together with the Mass is the official prayer of the Roman Catholic Church which must be offered at various times of day by clergy and religious. Regular Catholics can pray it if they like. It is mostly made up of of psalms, hymns, and readings.)

Daria Sockey has written a comprehensive, useful resource to the daily prayer of the Catholic Church which is built around the idea of "praying without ceasing." Sockey's book is succinct and clear. She answers all the questions I can imagine, from history to nuts-and-bolts to inspirational.

I myself was mildly interested in the Liturgy of the hours but the book was interesting enough that I read the entire thing, although I don't see myself praying the LOTH, at least anytime soon. However, it is packed with good, thoughtful commentary on prayer and that is something I need all the time.

There was certainly a time when I wondered why we were supposed to praise God so much. Was the Lord eternally fishing for compliments, like a once-beautiful woman now past her prime? So egotistical that he needed us telling him how wonderful he was every single day? ...

... Simply put, God does not demand our praise because he needs it, but because we need it. It is for our benefit, not his. If the whole world neglected to utter a single word of praise to God, he would not be hurt of diminished in any way. But we the non-praisers, would be sadly crippled.

Praise--call it admiration or appreciation--is the most natural thing response in the world to beauty, truth, and goodness. You are not in the least worried about offending a beautiful sunset by not praising it. On the contrary, you just can't help it. Your heart leaps, and words such as, "Wow! That's incredible!" come to your lips. And then--this is important--you aren't satisfied with having praised the sunset by yourself. You open the door to the house and call to your spouse and children, "Quick! Come see the sunset before it's gone. Isn't that amazing! Look at that red streak over there. The golden border on the top of the purple..."

God, our Creator and Redeemer, the answer to the heart's deepest longings, is obviously the most worthy object of our praise. When we recognize our place in the universe ... praise of God is the only fitting response. (And that praise just as with the sunset, is largely composed of inviting others to praise him, as well.) To not recognize this is to be spiritually disabled.)

Whether you have any interest in praying the Liturgy of the Hours or are simply a mildly interested questioner, this book is highly recommended.

Scott brings the citron, Julie cooks the fish, and we meet in the sukkot ...

... to talk about Ushpizin at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. This is a special movie and you don't want to miss it.

The Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

Extinction Machine by Jonathan Maberry

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“So, basically if we keep trying to save the country and maybe the world from a bunch of murderous assholes with outer space weapons, then we're the bad guys?"

"In a nutshell."

"Then, hey ... let's be bad guys.”

Joe's back.

Pulled off vacation, Joe Ledger and Echo Team are knocking on research lab doors, looking into cyber-attacks so clever they can't be tracked back to anyone. But no one's answering, even though all the lights are on. Until a couple of strangely inhuman Men In Black step onto the loading dock.

Mayhem ensues.

Of course, anyone who is this far into the Joe Ledger series knows that whenever Joe is called in mayhem always ensues, all to save the good ol' U. S. of A. Jonathan Maberry has tackled zombies, vampires, the seven plagues of Egypt and more, but this is the first time he's gone beyond so-called supernatural creatures. Crop circles, space ships, and aliens are the topic of investigation.

And I (mostly) loved it for all the reasons I have enjoyed the entire series. These are adrenaline rides with Joe getting into and out of increasingly impossible, perilous situations while the reader hangs on by their fingernails wondering just how he can possibly escape. Meanwhile, Maberry weaves intriguing mysteries which may not keep us guessing, since he enjoys giving us both sides' points of view, but they do keep us wondering if Joe can stop the bad guys.

What kept me from completely loving this book?

I am as ready for a good invading aliens story as the next person, but at one point the action came to a grinding halt as Maberry wove together two story lines in a gigantic "aliens among us" info-dump. Indeed, this went on for so long and contained enough duplicate information that I began to wonder if the author had fallen into "true believer" status and wanted to be sure we came away converted. Whether that was his motive or it was simply imperfect editing, I wearied of the information long before it ceased flowing.

On the other hand, Maberry is going to have to work hard to top Joe's accomplishment in the light house. I won't say more because I don't want spoil it for anyone but I was literally laughing with delight as I heard what was happening. Adrenaline rush achieved!

Speaking of listening, Ray Porter does his usual excellent narration and is the reason I wait for the audio books rather than pick up print copies. As I've said before Ray Porter IS Joe Ledger. So let me say it again — Porter's direct, blunt delivery can go from sarcastic to heart-felt to outraged in 60 seconds. Believably. That’s good because sometimes that’s the way Joe’s day goes.

Complaints aside, this book is great fun. Definitely recommended.

(Review copy from Audible, via SFFaudio, where this review first appeared.)

Happy Birthday, Hannah!

Image from Plant Answers

This is from last year but so much of it is still true ... and I love this picture ... that I'll let it stand. And hopefully Hannah will like it too!

I'd have featured a cake with a tree since they are Hannah's passion, however, they are darned hard to find. Instead I will content myself with offering  an image of one of her favorite trees. In fact, it is the Vitex tree which I'd never heard of until she talked about cutting down some big bushes in the back yard to plant a couple of these. (No Vitex tree in the yard yet, but someday ...)

After looking at the pictures, I had to agree. They look beautiful. Looking for the image above, I found some interesting information. I will now be calling these by the much lovelier name of Texas Lilac.

It is the Texas Lilac Vitex*, or Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus).

This tree is also known as Mexican lavender, monk's pepper, lilac chaste tree, hemp tree, sage tree, or Indian spice. It is a native of China and India, although long ago it became naturalized throughout certain areas of the United Stated. Records indicate that Vitex has been cultivated in the U.S. since 1670.

Happy birthday, my darling Hannah! You may be 25 but you'll always be our little girl!

What Makes Me Plan to See a Movie Without Ever Reading a Review?

The powerful combination of director Edgar Wright and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in The World's End. As well as the conclusion of the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy.

I recently was at a gathering where people were talking about planning to attend the midnight opening of Ender's Game. That all sounds very enjoyable in theory since I've never been one to care for the spectacle of midnight openings.

It did make me wonder what I'd consider exciting enough to make a special effort to see. Lo, the answer came to me in an email yesterday when Scott said The World's End was opening this weekend. The only question was how fast we could look up local theaters to plan the best time to see it.

Well Said: Considering a Book

From my quote journal.

Books are not made to be believed but to be subjected to inquiry. When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it says but what it means.

Umberto Eco, The Name of the Rose

Worth a Thousand Words: J.B. Ford Mausoleum

J.B. Ford Mausoleum, Allegheny
taken by Father Pitt

Gorgeous. We were fortunate enough to have Father Pitt (a.k.a. Dr. Boli, a.k.a. Chris Bailey) take us on a whirlwind architectural tour of Pittsburgh.

It would not be at all good for his ego to let him know that of all the people we met when on vacation a few weeks ago, he is the one who excited my mother's admiration. "Dr. Boli?" she said, her voice rising in astonished delight. "How wonderful! Tell me what he was like!" So we won't mention it beyond this post.

I will admit that the Doctor Who episode, Blink, did flash through my mind when I first saw this photo but then I saw these ladies were neither angels nor weeping. Whew!

The Tribute of the Sobbing Daughters-in-law

After the funeral, we were standing outside and three of the five Davis sons' wives were within view (of which I was one). Rose looked at all of us and said, "You know someone was a wonderful woman when her daughters-in-law are crying this hard for her."

We were sobbing and Rose was right. She was simply a wonderful woman. 

Many thanks to those who offered prayers for my mother-in-law, Mary Davis', soul and for the family.