Well Said: Best explanation of the Trinity I've ever seen

Of course, when I say "best explanation" I'm talking about helping me actually get a handle at all on what the Trinity is. Who better for that than C.S. Lewis? No one, right?

And that, by the way, is perhaps the most important difference between Christianity and all other religions: that in Christianity God is not a static thing—not even a person—but a dynamic, pulsating activity, a life, almost a kind of drama. Almost, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of dance. The union between the Father and the Son is such a live concrete thing that this union itself is also a Person. I know this is almost inconceivable, but look at it thus. You know that among human beings, when they get together in a family, or a club, or a trade union, people talk about the ‘spirit’ of that family, or club, or trade union. They talk about its ‘spirit’ because the individual members, when they are together, do really develop particular ways of talking and behaving which they would not have if they were apart. It is as if a sort of communal personality came into existence. Of course, it is not a real person: it is only rather like a person. But that is just one of the differences between God and us. What grows out of the joint life of the Father and Son is a real Person, is in fact the Third of the three Persons who are God.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang

Boxers & Saints Boxed Set by Gene Luen Yang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Jen Ambrose's discussion both introduced me to these books and got me interested. Then I saw that other much trusted readers (the Hodges) were all on board and that got me really, really interested. These are graphic novels which I would have sworn is a medium I do not enjoy, until I got these from the library and simply could not put them down.

Boxers & Saints tells two parallel stories. Boxers is about Little Bao, a Chinese peasant boy whose family and village are abused by Westerners who are missionaries. Inspired by visions of the gods, he joins a grass roots uprising to cast out the foreigners. I never knew the history of the Boxer rebellion before and this was a fascinating way to learn it. The nuanced story does not give all good or bad attributes to one side but it does allow us to understand the motivations behind the rebellion in a fairly personal way.

Saints tells the story from the opposite side. It is about Four-Girl who is so unloved by her grandfather that he didn't allow her to be given a name. Visions of Joan of Arc lead her to Christian missionaries and ultimately her destiny as the Boxer Rebellion sweeps over everyone associated with the foreigners. I loved Gene Yang's clear vision of the girl's reasons for being attracted to the faith. They are hilarious and understandable, as are the reactions of the missionaries who take her in. No slack is cut to those who think they know what is going on but never ask questions.

These books impressed me because of Yang's honest insights into human nature, motivations, and the way we can get sidetracked when we don't understand our own motivations.

Highly recommended.

Well Said: Tunnel in the Sky

It seems obvious that Tunnel in the Sky is a direct response to William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Indeed, I imagine Heinlein putting down Golding's book and heading straight for the typewriter grinding his teeth and muttering "Revert to savagery my ass!"

Jo Walton, Beware of Stobor!

Heinlein and I would've agreed on a lot of basic issues just like this one. Granted, we wouldn't have agreed on everything, but nobody's perfect. Poor guy.

How thoughtful of my niece.

The Stanley Hotel in Feb, Estes Park, CO
via Wikipedia

She's getting married in Colorado next February and the wedding party hotel is The Stanley Hotel. Not only is it gorgeous but Stephen King was inspired to write The Shining while staying there. Reportedly he was very disappointed that the movie wasn't filmed there.

Icing on the cake. Cannot wait for this.

All I ask, and I know that I'm the only person who will be making this hilarious request, is that we not get the room with the dead lady in the bathtub. I imagine that room 217, where he stayed, has friendlier ghosts.

The Martian and SFFaudio

Two great things that go great together. I had a blast with the SFFaudio gang (as always) talking about this book.

The book's been getting a lot of buzz and deservedly so. If you missed my review, it is here.

Happy Birthday, Rose!

Yellow Rose Cake from Williams-Sonoma

This cake is because I was thinking of how much fun it would be to celebrate Rose's birthday with her in person.

Alas and alack, she is in the city of the angels and we are in Dallas. But it made me think of how she loves Texas. All the Texas cakes I found were rather uninspiring. Not that there is anything wrong with the Texas flag on a Texas shaped cake. In fact, that is the height of Texas love, but I couldn't find any photos that looked as if I wouldn't be ripping off a family cake photo.

So I naturally turned, for my Rose, to thinking of the yellow rose of Texas and it turns out that Williams-Sonoma has made the ultimate yellow rose cake. Ultimate.

Happy birthday my sweet Rose. 24 years old? How did that happen?

I hope you have a wonderful time and that someone makes you a fantastic cake. Or that you find yourself a delightful treat at our favorite L.A. bakery, Porto's.

Worth a Thousand Words: Reed Bunting

Reed Bunting
taken by Remo Savisaar

Yesterday we had bruising storms through here with pelting rain and high winds. Today all is sunshine and blue skies. Maybe that's why I like this golden image which looks so peaceful and sunny.

Person of Interest is simply fascinating these days.

Person of Interest is getting more and more interesting as it continues to weave ideas about national security, data handling, and solving mysteries into bigger questions of personal responsibility, love, the value of life over the "greater good", and father/creator issues.

This week's show especially left me pondering ideas after listening to Greer's conversations with Harold. They argued about whether it was better to hobble "the machine's" capabilities or to let it wander free to see what it could become. Harold has great apprehension about an "open system" because the machine isn't human and wouldn't be controllable.

I was waiting for Harold to say, "I saw the Terminator movies. Skynet is not going to be on me." Sadly, they never went there. They might have had to lighten up the dark, blue-tinted seriousness of the episode. I said it for him. I'm sure Tom appreciated it.

It also capitalizes on the feelings many have these days about the surveillance, the way Homeland Security feels dodgy on following constitutional rules, and suchlike. I know I came away last night saying, "And that's why no one likes you NSA. Get rid of those traffic cameras!"

We were cleaning the kitchen afterward when I realized that the ideas debated by Greer and Harold are the same questions that come up when thinking about God's decision to give us free will. Talk about an open system. Tom pointed out that, yes, He even had a fix for if things went off the rails. Again using the open system.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. I love it when ideas come together.

I can only assume this high concept conversation means that Jonathan Nolan is keeping a close eye on the show he created. Some of these questions resonate from things like Batman, which I know he has loved since childhood and which movies he worked on with his brother Christopher. Some simply resonate from being a thinking, intelligent person who examines what matters in life.

Plus guns. And villains. And car chases. That just makes it more fun along the way.

This is a show I came to for Jim Caviezel and Michael Emerson (the best thing about Lost). I'm simply so pleased to see it has turned into a place where the thought provoking issues raised are so often considered in a way that agrees with my underlying values.

This Just In: Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler

Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It by Jennifer Fulwiler


Snagged a review copy! This got here yesterday afternoon.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
I have to say I flipped to the first page, where the camp counselor is going down the line publicly asking the little girls if they give their heart to Jesus, and realized already that Jennifer and I had common attitudes at similar ages. Not gonna join something we can't really believe in. As well we might since both of us grew up in atheist households and wound up converting to Catholicism.

However, her road is definitely different than mine and I'm looking forward to reading this.

UPDATE — page 111
Obviously from the fact that I got this yesterday, had a Skype video chat last night with my pal Sarah Reinhard, and still got to page 111 ... this is an enjoyable and interesting book thus far.

So what resonates with me is that Jennifer Fulwiler is just as hard-headed and stubborn as I am when it comes to wanting full-on, no holds barred truth and logic.

Watching her have to literally read and argue her way into belief in God makes me appreciate my own parents' atheism much more than I did already. (And the New Atheists have ensured that I will be thankful to my dying day for having old school atheists raise me, rather than the proselytizing sort.)

I had my own struggles to overcome but luckily not due to religion. For atheists my parents had a surprisingly tolerant "hands off" policy. They didn't bring up religion unless asked about it and, even then, would have pretty open-ended, vague answers about their own lack of belief. I mean to say, when I fell in with the local Church of the Nazarene for a couple of years, thanks to my best friend belonging, they never said a word to me about it. Even after the minister and his wife came to call. Even after I went crying to my mother about being afraid she'd go to hell. ("Oh Julie, thank you, but you don't need to worry about that. Just worry about yourself. I'll be ok." Conversation done.) Not a word. That must have taken tremendous forbearance. And like many youthful enthusiasms that phase soon passed, for reasons we won't go into here.

To be fair, this was also my parents' way of dealing with other big issues, such as politics. They might end up voting for different tickets than each other during trying political times but we never knew about it. It just didn't make for interesting conversation. So we all could go our own way, which brought its own set of problems but feels much freer than what I see Fulwiler having to struggle with, thanks to her unflinching belief in science as all that is true and good and honest.

It isn't that Fulwiler's parents seemed to do more than tell her to think for herself or to question anything that didn't add up. But that in itself was enough to produce a dedicated atheist, especially when told to an intelligent youngster who applied herself with the passion that only youth can muster to facts and logical conclusions.

So far it is really interesting watching the process of reluctant acceptance as one "fact" after another gets put into doubt. It occurs to me that this might be a good book for atheists who just don't understand how any sensible, logical, intelligent person could embrace the "lunacy" of Christianity. Fulwiler is a good spokesperson for that transformation.

More as I continue ... with updates at Goodreads as I go. Full review when I finish.

Worth a Thousand Words: Key West

Key West
taken by Scott Danielson

Scott, who I podcast with at A Good Story is Hard to Find, doesn't post much on his blog. But when he does, it's choice. Isn't this just a perfect moment? I can feel those breezes, smell that salt air ... I want to go to there!

Religion is about Reality — and so is the Black Mass

One of the striking features of Harvard’s planned Black Mass, being hosted by Satanists who don’t believe in Satan, is that the exhibitors don’t actually believe their own religion.  If Catholics are concerned about the event, it is because we do believe ours.

The Catholic faith is not a set of feelings or preferences.  It is a series of statements about reality.  About things that are true. Things that are real.  The occult is gravely dangerous not because it is pretend, but because it is not pretend.  The faith is worth explaining and defending and practicing not because we especially like it, or have found it helpful, but because, like all real things, it has consequences.

Jennifer Fitz at Sticking the Corners

I've gotta say that when I heard about the story the Satanists had already backed down over plans to desecrate a consecrated Host, saying that they didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings. I was confused. What kind of Satanists were these? 

"Be nice" is the sign of the times we live in and what it really means much of the time is a lack of deep understanding and commitment to one's beliefs.

Of course, this is an extremely brief commentary from me which doesn't cover the whole issue. But if you go read Jen's post then you'll have what I would have said if she hadn't saved me the trouble by writing it first.

Julie is suffering from emotional overload. Scott has discovered that chocolate and strawberry ice cream taste different.

They both cope by sitting down to reorganize their schedules ... and to talk about The Rosie Project at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

In which we wonder if we have entered the land of the giants.

Chapters 18 and 19 of The People of the Mist by H. Rider Haggard take us into a place no one was sure existed. No one except that wicked old witch Soa, that is. Hear it now at Forgotten Classics podcast.

What I Write, Why I Write, How I Write: The Meme

I blame Sarah Reinhard for this since she tagged me. Talk about something that makes me reveal a part of myself that I don't think anyone cares about.

I suppose I am a writer but I don't really embrace that description. That's like calling myself a "breather." It's what I do but I don't know if I do it well enough to define me.

Heaven only knows that I never read these when other people write them.

Curmudgeonly sounding I know, but it is simply honest.

So ... here we go.

1. WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON?
Imagine my surprise to realize that I have 5 books in the works.

1. A movie book about how to see below the surface and find Catholic themes whose sample did not excite any publisher ("we can't make money on those"). Just last week I decided I'd finish it anyway ... sometime ... and self-publish. My friends want to read it.
2. A devotional following the liturgical year. It combines art and text to show how our calendar year and liturgical year go hand in hand. No one wants this one. They all love it. But "we can't make money on those." I amuse myself by working on it and perhaps an art house would pick it up. But it is unexpectedly large at this point. The Fall book is about 100 pages. (I love it. It is my baby. My friends actually pester me about buying this one.)
3. Historical Fiction. This one is a mission from God and I don't want to talk about it really. But it is harder than hell, people, because it is something I never ever do. Use my imagination! What? But I have no doubt this has been assigned by the Divine Editor, whether or not I do it well or it ever gets published. And as a consequence I've been dragging my feet and feeling guilty for not working on it because ... you know ... it's harder than hell.
4. A book about reading spiritual classics, but with my twist of luring you into it with a popular book and a movie, all of which have related themes. No sample written yet but the person I ran the idea by was not thrilled. Outline and sample in the works for that person, for other publishers maybe, or for self publishing later.
5. An idea that a publisher IS interested in and which I should be working on instead of this. If they like it, then you'll know later. But for now mum's the word. My priest really wants this book, by the way.

2. WHAT MAKES YOUR WORK DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS’ WORK IN THE SAME GENRE?
Let's see. Why am I wonderful?

(Gee, I don't know why Catholic authors would find that question awkward.)

Maybe because I say it like it is. (Much more charming when I do it on paper than in person, I can assure you! Rewrites are essential and then you can make it funny.)

Maybe I'm funny. Not sure how well that comes across. But I make myself laugh sometimes.

Maybe because I range wide and throw everything into the pot from pop culture to everyday life to nature and somehow make it all go together, with God always just under the surface waiting for us to catch a glimpse? As Rose would say, my auteur moments.

I don't know. You tell me. I've got nothin'.

3. WHY DO YOU WRITE WHAT YOU DO?
Blogging: it just comes out.

Ghostwriting: I have an assignment.

Book: I've only done one and I came up with something the editor wanted that was also a reflection of me (evidently). The devotional mentioned above was an idea I was captivated with which has become a sort of spiritual reflection as I work on it.

The other ideas began as ways I could maybe earn more of a living by writing, but since I seem to be told, "we'd love to work with you, but not on that" while never being told what they actually might want me to work on ... this is not as clear to me. And, to be fair, I pursue it in fits and starts rather than determinedly full-bore.

4. HOW DOES YOUR WRITING PROCESS WORK?
Process. Hahahahahahaha ... oh, you were serious.

As Rob Long of Martini Shot podcast has affirmed, the worst part is beginning. Not beginning a book. Beginning to write anything. Sitting down. Starting. Not stopping to check email because writing is ... you know ... work.

Once I make myself do that then I just do it. And I'm getting better at doing it in different locations, at different times, and so forth. As long as I do it as if it is work, instead of extra curricular activities (still how I tend to label it), then I'm ok. I tend to combine techniques of hand writing in front of the tabernacle and when putting that in the computer then I take off and continue from there.

Except for blogging. That is: sit down, turn on computer, log in ... and blast off.

And when I think to write books that way, as a blog post, it is magic.

Hey, thanks guys! I wouldn't have remembered that without doing this.

=======

If you want to pick this up, just let me have the link and I'll put it below.

SYNC's Free Audiobooks Begin May 15

SYNC offers 2 FREE audiobooks each week May 15 - Aug 20, 2014 – a current Young Adult title paired thematically with a Classic or Required Summer Reading title.

Just wanted to get this on your radar.

SYNC may be aimed at young adults but they offer a wide range of books that appeal to everyone. For example, their upcoming schedule offers classics like The Time Machine by H.G. Wells, Oedipus the King by Sophocles, and Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

And you never know when one of the current books is going to grab you. I was particularly pleased to see that I'll be able to nab Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (my review here).

They use Overdrive (beloved of libraries everywhere it seems) to deliver the books but the software is free and I've had no problems using it.

Worth a Thousand Words: Great Wall of China

Great Wall of China, via Wikipedia

This is a pretty good photo of one of the world's wonders. However, it is not nearly as interesting or personal as those which can be found at Ambrose-a-rama where Jen Ambrose and her family regularly set off to explore different sections of the Great Wall. Jen's photos inspired today's piece of art and I encourage you to check out her blog for a more personal feel.

Happy Birthday to Tom!

Via Wikipedia

It's Tom's special day today.

As we know, I take birthdays very seriously, especially when it is that of the love of my life.

We'll have been married thirty years next month and I have been realizing the happiness that comes from spending so much time with one person. I should say, with that one person who is practically perfect for me in every way.

We will fete him with Chinese food from a favorite restaurant in Richardson's Chinatown. He has asked for Tirimisu which the Central Market makes superbly ... and so I have no need to cook. Just to wrap, wrap, wrap his gifts.

Which I hope he enjoys very much though they are truly a token of the joy he brings to us and to everyone who knows him.

Happy Birthday, dear Tom!

What We've Been Watching

URBANIZED
★★★

This director's best documentary remains Helvetica, perhaps because the topic was fairly focused. In Urbanized he gathers a lot of different opinions from around the world about different urban areas and problems and solutions. It was interesting, but in the end it all seemed to come down to the fact that urban areas that work are those where the concerns of residents are met effectively. And I think we knew that already, didn't we?

MUD
★★★★½

I'd heard this was Matthew McConaughey's return to showing his potential as an actor so I was somewhat interested in seeing it. My husband saw it was streaming free on Amazon Prime so we watched it and it was a rewarding story indeed. The acting was top notch and the story was like a cross between Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird, set on the Arkansas River.

It is a coming of age story defined by a 14-year-old boy's knowledge of what constitutes true love in the best sense. As the adults around him fail to live up to that understanding, he and a friend encounter the mysterious Mud living on an island. And things both fall into place and get more confusing, as is the way of both movies and of life. Excellent performances, especially from the local Arkansas boy who plays the best friend of the protagonist.

Although this is good, it seems like a standard coming of age story in many ways until the final scene of the movie, which redefines and broadens the entire story. It is that scene which suddenly makes one realize the masterpiece which is Mud.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
★★★★★

I'm not crazy about Shakespeare but when I got done watching this I wanted to own the DVD. If only Joss Whedon would do more Shakespeare to follow this project ... then I might learn to love Shakespeare.

Dance and Life Lessons 2

Our second month of dance lessons finished last week. I actually now know what that couple in the picture is doing during their Tango because that's one of the dances we learned. We practice it in rudimentary style, but it's a beginning.

We learned the Tango, the Cha Cha, and the Waltz. My favorite: the Cha Cha. Love the crossover variation with the turn at the end. So much fun!

The other dances did not come so easily to me, especially since both required more of the follower. At several points I had to simply waltz with my eyes closed so I was following the movements of the leader instead of where I thought he was going to go. Randomly mixing the box waltz step with the regular waltz will show a girl just where she's not paying attention, believe me.

As with the previous dance lessons, we realized there was a life lesson to be learned here. This is one we know but have not had to practice for some time.

Practice makes perfect.

If at first you don't succeed then try, try again.

Somehow we'd gotten it into our heads that abject failure to really grasp a dance and perform it with ease after one, two, or even three lessons meant that perhaps we were doomed. We would never pick it up. Certainly we would never do it well so perhaps we needed private lessons.

What we found, of course, is that by doggedly keeping on trying suddenly resulted in a break through. On the fourth set of lessons.

And the next month, all the new dances were just a bit easier to pick up.

I used to know that lesson. Somewhere along the way I got so comfortable with everything I was doing ... and not trying enough completely new things ... that I'd forgotten. It is something I've been applying to my life in general and it's actually a bit relaxing. Eventually. I'll get better at all those things I'm not naturally drawn to, eventually. Prayer, virtues, following in Christ's steps. Eventually.

I just have to keep trying.

=========

On a related note, I want to point you to Jennifer Fulwiler's book, Something Other Than God. I was really, really impressed to see that Dean Koontz is included among the usual suspects in the blurbs.

I was impressed most of all, though, that Jennifer shared the discouragement she had to overcome during the drafts which took several years to reach fruition. I am acquainted with Jennifer and she's obviously intelligent, accomplished, and ambitious (which is not a bad thing, I'll just mention right here).

So it would have been easy for her to gloss over her struggles. But I'm glad she didn't. Because it is a reminder of the life lesson we picked up at dance class. No one is perfect at anything the first time and it when we pick ourselves up and try again that we get a little closer to our true potential.

I've heard only good things about the book and I bet that's because it is imbued with the honesty we have grown to expect from Jennifer in her blogging. Check it out ...

In which we encounter Mavoom and discover the secrets of several longing hearts.

Yes, more of The People of the Mist to satisfy your desire for adventure in deepest, darkest Africa.  Get it at Forgotten Classics podcast.