Beyond Cana marriage retreat this weekend

How could I have forgotten to mention this? Just busy I guess.

The Beyond Cana marriage enrichment retreat is going on this weekend. So far it is going very well.

We're behind the scenes this time around, in charge of the food. Both behind the scenes and in front of the folks have their own sets of rewards and challenges so it is nice to get a change of pace, actually, in simply "doing." Speaking of which, I've got to get busy making banana pudding!

Prayers for its success would be welcome!

Thanks!

Well Said: Being polished

If you are irritated by every rub, how will you be polished?

Rumi

I'm so guilty of this. I continually am struggling with being irritated by every rub. This simple saying has been good for keeping me a bit more mindful ... and going with the flow better.

Worth a Thousand Words: Green Dress 3

Green Dress 3
painted by Edward B. Gordon

We all know I'm a big fan of Edward B. Gordon. This painting gives a good idea of why. It just draws me in.

When the Game Stands Tall - immediate thoughts

Saw the screening last night.

I came for Jim Caviezel. And the football (always the football).

I was surprised by how good this movie is. And that it is layered giving us more than one look at the central question in which football is a means to an end.

The trailer doesn't really give an idea of how this movie does NOT hit every point with a hammer, but for me it was head and shoulders above The Blind Side or Remember the Titans. And it even gives Friday Night Lights a run for its money. Not in technical know how, but in heart.

Review to come soon.

If you get a chance for an early screening don't wait for me. Go see it.

Opening August 22.

Well Said: "Fall into the public domain"

Pedantic point: I hate the term “fall into the public domain”. Things don’t “fall into” the public domain, like carelessly-held cellphones into a pool. They are released from the shackles of copyright, set free from their state-mandated bondage. They soar among the public imagination. The public domain is the natural home of all ideas and concepts, it is their ancestral homeland to which they return triumphant from exile.

Not Pulp Covers

Yep. Don't get me started. Basic copyright is reasonable but the extent it has been extended to, especially for older materials, is completely frustrating to anyone who podcasts. As I do.

Prayer Request For My Mother - UPDATED

My mother is getting a pacemaker tomorrow. This is a 95% safe procedure I am told but I also believe in the power of prayer to accompany percentages.

Any prayers for her safe surgery and, just as importantly, no complications afterwards would be much appreciated.

Also, she's been in the hospital for a few days and told me this morning that her Kindle was a real Godsend. She had it loaded up with old favorites and some new purchases. Score one for the Kindle!

UPDATE
The surgeon said the surgery went really well and that she should be able to go home tomorrow if all else goes well. Thanks be to God!

And thank you for your prayers on her behalf.

Worth a Thousand Words: Studio at East Gloucester

Paul Cornoyer (1864–1923), Studio at East Gloucester
via Wikipedia

I'd never heard of Paul Cornoyer until seeing him featured at Lines and Colors. He's got a style that grabbed me right away though. Check out the Lines and Colors post for more links and samples of this artist's work.

Kitchen Tips & Tricks

Side-to-side whisking. A neat trick you can find out about at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

A Few Notes on Rereading The Lord of the Rings: Luthien and Beren

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

I reread this at the beginning of the year for discussions at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast where we covered the book in two parts: one, two. (We also discussed the movies in relationship to the books in a separate episode.)

Also, if you'd like an actual review;I really cannot do a better than Joseph R. did, so please go read his.

Recently I felt the call of the book and was forcing myself not to pick it up again. "You JUST read this behemoth. For the third time! Enough already!"

Evidently not. I finally gave in and am relishing every word.

I had jury duty yesterday. There's nothing like several hours in the jury pool room for getting a lot of pages under your belt.

Interestingly, as I surveyed the huge room, there were very few people using e-readers. Almost everyone had newspapers, magazines, or actual books. Some had computer printouts and were using markers as they read. I know what the sales number say about print being dead but you couldn't have told it from that large cross-section of humanity.

At this early point in the book, on the road to Rivendell while running from the Black Riders, I'm struck by how difficult it is to navigate without a compass, even for Aaragorn.

I never noticed how Aaragorn seems masterful until Glorfindel comes along to help, as which point Aaragorn is grateful for help and advice.

And again I'm touched by the Beren and Luthien poem, thinking of Tolkien putting Beren on his headstone and Luthien on his wife's. A beautiful gesture of love and devotion.

It made me think about whose names I could put on our own headstones that would so neatly sum up my feelings about my relationship with Tom. Not Beren and Luthien. That implies the lady lifted up her husband to higher levels.

Then it struck me. Of course.

Faramir and Eowyn.

Not as we have seen them portrayed in the movie, which does a fair job on Eowyn but completely changed Faramir's character. But as we see them in the book. Telling Tom this would make no sense to him since he hasn't read the book. But I can give him this tribute here where people will see it who have read it and understand how the husband has gently enlightened and taught the lady a better way.

The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On the beautiful Outer World planet of Solaria, a handful of human colonists lead a hermit-like existence, their every need attended to by their faithful robot servants. To this strange and provocative planet comes Detective Elijah Baley, sent from the streets of New York with his positronic partner, the robot R. Daneel Olivaw, to solve an incredible murder that has rocked Solaria to its foundations. The victim had been so reclusive that he appeared to his associates only through holographic projection. Yet someone had gotten close enough to bludgeon him to death while robots looked on.

What a shocker! I suspected the murderer but not the ending Asimov gave us. Wow.

The Naked Sun gives us a look at the mysterious Outer Worlds, first mentioned in The Caves of Steel. Solaria has never had a crime, due to their extremely privileged population served solely by robots who, of course, never commit crimes of passion. Lige Bailey finds this open, practically empty environment poses both the challenges of solving the mystery and of adapting his agoraphobic nature, thanks to a lifetime of living in underground cities on overpopulated Earth.

Asimov has fun looking at the sociological effects of a high-tech, low population world. I was fascinated by Asimov's contrast of Elijah Bailey, used only to an overcrowded Earth, with the outworld Solarian society which had open space, eugenics, and many robots. There is no way Asimov could have foreseen our computer-oriented society today, but I found the Solarian society's preference for "viewing" through screens rather than "seeing" in person to be a disturbing echo of what we ourselves seem to be moving toward.

I originally read this long ago and remembered a lot about the Solarian society but almost nothing about the mystery itself. Listening to William Dufris' excellent narration, so long after my first reading, I found this a wonderful mystery which kept me guessing. Dufris surpassed his performance in The Caves of Steel as he voiced a wide range of Solarian characters from sensuous to prim, blowhard to reserved, blustering to withdrawn. My favorite voices actually were the Solarian robots which were precisely what you'd expect, and which we hadn't heard yet though several robots spoke in The Caves of Steel.

If you haven't revisited this series lately I recommend it highly, especially this audio version which brings it to life in a fresh way.

Well Said: Sorrow Doesn't Mean Having to Feel You're Sorry

Sincere sorrow for sin does not necessarily require having to feel sorry. Just like love, sorrow is an act of the will, not a feeling. And in the same way as one can love God deeply without any emotional reaction, one can also be truly sorry for sin without experiencing anything sentimental. Real sorrow is seen principally in the way one unhesitatingly avoids all occasions of offending God and is ready to do specific acts of penance for any infidelities committed.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With Christ, vol. 4

I know this. It's just that I catch myself falling into the familiar, popular shallow thinking of our times. That one must have an emotional reaction for a feeling to be sincere. Once I figure it out then it is a great relief to remember I can be sincere without kicking myself for not feeling.

Well Said: Approaching Christ While Leaving the Church to One Side

Those people who claim to approach Christ whilst leaving his Church to one side, and even causing her harm, may one day get the same surprise as Saint Paul did when he was on his way to Damascus: I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. And, the Venerable Bede reflects that He does not say 'why are you persecuting my members,but why are you persecuting me?' For He is still affronted in his Body, which is the Church." Paul did not know until that moment that to persecute the Church was to persecute Jesus himself.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With Christ, vol. 4

It's kind of interesting that people know well Paul got his comeuppance by persecuting Christ's church, and yet they themselves will go right ahead and do that same thing. People within the Catholic Church do so as well as those outside of it.

Fernandez goes on to point out that Paul spoke about the Church later as the Body of Christ. Bringing up the logical conclusion, he mentions it is not possible to love, follow, or listen to Christ, without loving, following, or listening to the Church, because she is the presence, at once sacramental and mysterious, of Our Lord, who prolongs his saving mission in the world to the very end of time.

Food for thought, isn't it? The saints worked to improve the Church but through obedience and love. How do we go about it when we see something is going astray? Do we treat Christ's body with medicine or with hatred? Do we love it as we should? This opens up myriad topics for reflection.

Scott and Julie hire an agent but he spends all his time with a water bottle full of talking jello.

So they while away the time talking about Agent to the Stars by John Scalzi. Catch the discussion at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

Well Said: Preparing the Soil

All men, whatever their lives may have been in the past, are able to become soil that is prepared to receive God's grace. God pours himself into our souls in accordance with the degree of welcome He finds there. God gives us so many graces because He trusts each one of us; there is no soil that is too impervious or too uncultivated for him, so long as it is prepared to change and to respond to him.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With Christ, vol. 4

Listening to the Gospel reading last Sunday with the parable of the sowers, this was the very thought that ran through my head. Yes the soil may be packed down hard from people walking on it, but if someone hoes it up, adds some compost, and the soft rain falls? Then it too may be fertile.

I get the point Jesus was making, of course, but considering the farming analogy it seems to me that He also expects us to cultivate our own gardens ... so that we may cooperate with the farmer. In my own life, I can see that the more often I examine my conscience, cultivate the virtues, repent of my sins in confession, and so forth, then the more God's grace can enrich my life.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

“[...] We keep a record for every member, and for every customer who might yet become a member, in order to track their work." He paused, then added, "Some of them are working very hard indeed."

"What are they doing?"

"My boy," he said, eyebrows raised. As if nothing could be more obvious: "They are reading.”

Clay Jannon was lucky to find a job at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. Times are hard and jobs are scarce. However, the bookstore sells very few books and the few regular patrons seem to have a strange mission that no one will talk about. Then there's the fact that most of the books can't be found in any index of published books. Naturally Clay begins investigating and winds up on a fascinating quest that includes secret societies, museums, ancient artifacts ... and e-books, virtual reality, and Google.

This book feels like a nerd's dream come true. Not only is there the high tech point of view but also the typographer's inside details. Ok, key figure Griffo Gerritszoon is made up, but Francesco Griffo was actually Aldus Manutius' employee. Who was Aldus Minutius? Every time you read something in italics, you can thank him for inventing them.

There is an interesting tension between the old ways and the new: old knowledge in books versus Google, bookstores versus e-books, tradition and innovation. These are things that all of us cope with in our own ways but it's kind of fun to see it all linked together and hanging off of bits of real history, a la DaVinci Code, but with less of a mean spirit than in Dan Brown's book.

If you ever played Zork or Baldur's Gate, if you ever thrilled to a quest in a fantasy book, if you ever played a scavenger hunt or lost hours to solving mysteries, then this book is going to push your buttons. Mix that in with the idea of a "fellowship" and you've got a sense of where this book excels.

It doesn't have deep character development, but that's not the point of this book. It is skimming the surface of some themes but it still manages to present them and give you food for thought while having a good time. In that it is very much like The Haunted Bookshop or Agent to the Stars or The Rosie Project, just to mention a few light books that I love.

It's a light, fun read with a sense of being an adult Harry Potter-ish book. Perfect summer reading.

Worth a Thousand Words: Superdame Gale Allen!

—”Gale Allen” in Planet Comics #12 (1941), writer & artist uncredited
via Not Pulp Covers

Gale Allen, outer-space adventurer and leader of the “Girl Squadron!

We all want to be a superdame like Gale Allen, don't we ladies?

Worth a Thousand Words: Sleeping Time

Sleeping Time
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

Is it a dream? Is it an artist's fabrication? It is a rare moment in nature. I can almost hear the minute rustling of grass, the silence except for small night creatures' movement.

Well Said: A special kind of serenity

Complete trust in God, using whatever human means are necessary in each situation, gives an incomparable fortitude and a special kind of serenity to the Christian, whatever may happen to him and whatever the tribulations he may have to face up to.

Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With God, vol. 4

So there are two things to think about here, for me anyway.

First, how complete is my trust in God? Do I have that special kind of serenity?

Second, am I using whatever human means are necessary in each situation? I know people who will say they have complete trust in God and then laze around waiting for whatever they've been praying for to drop into their lap.

It takes a fine balance to encompass these two things well.

Children's Books: A Little Book About Confession for Children by Kendra Tierney

A Little Book about Confession for Children by Kendra Tierney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

11. What does going to confession do?

The Sacrament of Penance heals our souls when we hurt it by sinning. When we confess our sins to a priest, it is God who hears us and forgives our sins.18 God always forgives us if we are sorry, no matter how big or how many our sins are.

The Bible tells us the story of how Jesus treated a woman who had committed a big sin.19 She had been arrested, and the people were going to throw rocks at her.

Jesus came and told the people, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." One by one the people put down their rocks and left.

When only Jesus and the woman were left he told her, "Go, and do not sin again."

God always forgives us when we ask, but he also asks us to change our behavior. The Sacrament of Penance helps us with this.20

18. CCC. 1461
19. John 8:3-11
20. CCC 1468

This is a really terrific little book that I think might help parents as much as the children they read it with. For one thing, Kendra Tierney strips matters down to basics, as you can see from the excerpt above, to help everyone see the basis for all the ins and outs of the sacrament.

It begins with a brief glossary and then moves through a series of simple questions and answers. This is followed up with a brief look at a few saints who have links to confession, a simple examination of conscience, and a quick review of what actually happens during the sacrament. A really nice feature is that the cover has a quick reference on the front and back flaps containing the steps of the sacrament, the Act of Contrition, and an extremely brief examination of conscience. Personally, I found the examination of conscience really nice as a way to get back to basics in my own life. That may say more about me than it does about the book but, again, I think adults will find this touches them when they are reading through it.

I'm not crazy about the illustrations since they all look as if children drew them. Skilled children, to be sure, but children nonetheless. Maybe some children enjoy looking at pictures their peers could have drawn. I never found them appealing no matter what age I was. Of course, this is purely a matter of personal taste so don't let that stop you from picking up this gem of a book.

Looks wonderful, tastes delicious, and is much easier than you'd think.

Get the recipe for a Pavlova With Strawberries at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.