Worth a Thousand Words: Fellas of the Baltic Seas

Fellas of the Baltic Seas
taken by Remo Savisaar

How does Remo Savisaar get these shots? He is a genius at nature photography.

Movie Review: Unbroken

Unbroken (2014)

★★★★½

A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.

This remarkable story takes us through Louis Zamperini's life as a juvenile delinquent, championship runner, and after his plane is shot down in the Pacific during WWII. We learn the source and inspiration of the determination that helps him survive harrowing experiences.

The result is a powerful film which left me pondering the effects of war on both captors and captives, not just in WWII but in every conflict. The situations and lessons are as old as time.

Faith is shown and discussed briefly in the first half of the film but never with a heavy hand. Indeed, much of the last half depended on subtle imagery for us to see the Christ-like parallels being drawn. I applaud director Angelina Jolie for including an element that many would have chosen to eliminate, but which was so important to Zamperini's life.

It is beautifully photographed and directed with great restraint. I saw a review disdainfully mentioning that Jolie was determined to keep the rating PG13. I applaud her decision as working within those guidelines kept the majority of violence offscreen in the creative style of some of our most classic movies. That restraint also was evident in a brief but beautifully effective scene that reminded us of the cost of war to the civilian population.

Jack O'Connell as Louis Zamperini and Miyavi as "The Bird" give masterful performances in their adversarial relationship in the POW camp. Once again, this is where Jolie's restraint pays off. Again and again I expected, even longed for, the movie to take a "Hollywood" plot turn. Just as repeatedly I was answered with the unvarnished truth of how the events really happened.

My one complaint is that it is difficult to follow Zamperini's internal journey in the last third of the film. He has no buddy to chat with, no unguarded utterances to clue us in. Jolie does draw our attention to his gaze, with his fixed attention often giving clues. But we could have done with more help in that regard.

There was a teenage boy next to me at the screening. Early on he leaned forward in his seat, cross-legged, tensely alert. He watched the entire movie that way, leaning back only when it was finished and saying, "Awesome!"

Yes.

Worth a Thousand Words: Young Girl with a Bouquet of Tulips

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Young Girl with a Bouquet of Tulips, c. 1878
via Arts Everyday Living

Isn't it interesting that everything in this painting is fairly ethereal except the hat which is much more realistically drawn? And it is the hat that made me love this painting.

Worth a Thousand Words: Decorated Alley

Decorated Alley
by Remo Savisaar

Be sure to click through the link and look at this in full size. Simply superb.

Father James Martin - Finding God in All Thing at On Being

Look who Kara Tippett's latest On Being guest is — Father James Martin. I've enjoyed many of his books although I don't always agree with him about points in current Catholic events. Regardless I was very interested to see him turn up on this podcast.

Before Pope Francis, James Martin was perhaps the best-loved Jesuit in American life. He’s followed the calling of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, to “find God in all things” — and in 21st-century forms. To delve into Fr. Martin's way of being in the world is to discover the "spiritual exercises" St. Ignatius designed to be accessible to everyone more than six centuries ago. Also his thoughts on the "un-taming" Christmas.

Listen here or pick it up on iTunes. Thanks to Scott Danielson for the heads up on this!

"He thought he was being called. I thought he was being brainwashed"

A fascinating snippet of a sister's insight over what priesthood can do for the right man at Humans of New York.

Julie and Scott learn what the world would be like if their podcast never existed.

We decided to keep doing it, anyway. Our discussion of It's a Wonderful Life is at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast. Pour yourself a cup of eggnog and join us!

In which we race for silver skates, play with trolls, and put our finger in the dike.

Chapter 2 of Heidi's Alp by Christina Hardyment is up at Forgotten Classics.

Worth a Thousand Words: Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates. Mary Mapes Dodge. Illustrated by George Wharton Edwards.
via Books and Art

I've been reading the second chapter of Heidi's Alp for Forgotten Classics. They're in Holland and following Hans Brinker's trail. Having read so much about that story, I just couldn't resist this when I saw it pop up.

The War on Christmas is over. Jesus won.

I couldn't resist stealing that from The Washington Post. Talk about grabbing your attention.

It's a perfect way to sum up the new Pew Research Center survey about Americans and Christmas.

That's the implication of a new Pew Research Center survey that finds nearly three-quarters of Americans -- 73 percent -- believe that Jesus was literally born to a virgin. This is especially surprising when you consider that only one third of Americans say that the Bible is the word of God and should be understood literally.

[...]

Another sign that the War on Christmas is over: 72 percent of Americans say nativity scenes should be allowed on government property. 44 percent say nativity scenes should be allowed even if symbols from other religious faiths are prohibited. Only one in five Americans say nativity scenes shouldn't be allowed on government property at all.

In other words, the squeaky wheel was getting all the media coverage while the rest of us were quietly celebrating Christmas because we believe in it.

Read the whole story and find links to the survey results here.

Weekend Joke: Don't Believe

Again, many thanks to Doug Savage for allowing me to share his humor here.

Worth a Thousand Words: Staplehurst Rail Crash

Staplehurst rail crash, 1865, Engraving in Illustrated London News
via Wikipedia

Naturally, I found this picture captivating after reading more about Charles Dickens' experience. The poor man lost his voice for two weeks and his son said he never really recovered from the shock. He died five years to the day after the accident.

Here's an interesting account of Dickens and the accident. A bit to whet your appetite:

The scene was covered with corpses and injured bodies. One young passenger, Mr. Dickenson, later recalled how it was the urging and assistance of Charles Dickens that ultimately helped to free him from a pile of twisted wreckage. Another passenger would later recall how Dickens, with his hat full of water, was "running about with it and doing his best to revive and comfort every poor creature he met who had sustained serious injury."

Worth a Thousand Words: Bill Elliot Swing Orchestra

By the brilliant Belinda Del Pesco who has more to say about this if you click through to her post.

Early Reaction - Unbroken

Unbroken (2014)

★★★★½

I was unaware of this movie until receiving the preview invitation. Which may make the film's marketers weep, but there you have it.

However, I was interested in the fact that the book was written by Laura Hillenbrand, author of Seabiscuit. I enjoyed the movie made from that book. Was this story as good?

I was interested in seeing Domhnall Gleeson, who I first noticed simply because he was Brendon Gleeson's son but whose talent I admired a lot in Calvary.

I was interested in seeing how Angelina Jolie did as a director. We've got those who've done it well like Clint Eastwood and those who can't really pull it off like George Clooney. I had no sense of where she would fall on this scale.

Let's just say this. Angelina Jolie is no George Clooney. And I mean that in the best possible way. World class is what I'd say.

The movie is fantastic and shouldn't be missed.

(I'll do a more complete review when the film opens or when I get the green light from the promoters.)

Worth a Thousand Words: Haystacks at Giverny

Haystacks at Giverny, Claude Monet, 1884
via Wikipedia

I remember seeing a row of Monet's haystacks at the Chicago Art Institute. Standing far back gave the best vantage point. I was fascinated by the schoolchildren sitting before the paintings, sketching their own copies of the art. And by a parent who was painstakingly taking each child in turn, having them move to the back of the room. He pointed out how the painting was better far away, while listing a few things the artist had to keep in mind when being so close to the canvas and painting the scene. Lucky kids! (Whether they realized it or not at the time.)

Review: Father Robert Barron's Priest, Prophet, King

It took a while for my review copy of Priest, Prophet, King to come. And then it took a while for me to watch it. However, once we began we binge-watched all six episodes.

Partly it was because we enjoy Father Barron's style. And this was like a really good Bible study taking us through Biblical history so we really understood how Jesus's fulfilled his titles of "priest, prophet, and king."

Partly it was because we couldn't figure out how he was going to get from "here" to "there." "Here" being Old Testament priests, etc., and "there" being the new evangelization.

Of course, he pulled it off. By the time we finished the sixth episode we had plenty of food for thought. We talked about it the rest of the evening and the next morning.

What's the format? Father Barron gives a series of six connected talks to an audience. Each is around 20 minutes long. This isn't as dull as it sounds because they intercut shots of masterpieces for illustration. This could have been released also in an audio format and I think I'd have gotten just as much from it. However, the video undoubtedly encourages group participation and discussion (there's a study workbook and leadership guide, though I haven't seen those). It did for us.

Was it worthwhile? Yes. Many of the concepts and information presented may be new to viewers and will be eye opening in how they understand Christ. Although we were familiar with a fair amount of it already, Father Barron connected everything in a way that engaged us, made us think, and even had us stopping the dvd mid-episode sometimes to discuss things.

Did it change our lives? Yes and no.

Why no?
Because, as my husband said while we were watching, "The new evangelization is really the old evangelization. It's just that everyone forgot to do it lately."

I myself am always wondering why I can't stick to a resolution to not bring up my Catholic faith. You wouldn't think you'd have to make such resolutions but time and again God's in the conversation. At the grocery store, at my movie group, on my nonreligious podcast. With believers and nonbelievers. All the time. He just ... comes up. I can't help it. And we help with various ministries at our parish as well as a few independent projects. So, as I say, we're already evangelizing just by the way we live our lives.

Why yes?
Father Barron gave us new ways to think about our own culture and where we fit in it as Catholics. Especially valuable and thought provoking were his discussions of:

• The rose window imagery of ordering life
• The devil as scattering, as dis-integration
• Sin as wrongly oriented worship with focus on pleasure, wealth, power, and honor
• Living in a society of accusers
• Rene Girard's ideas about scapegoats and society

These are points resonated so strongly that they've been the focus through which we've discussed local news, politics, and personal relationships in our own lives. It has been very clarifying in a lot of cases.

Do I recommend it? Yes. Definitely yes. 

This is something that will benefit every American Catholic, no matter how involved they are, no matter how well they understand the Bible, no matter how well they feel they have a handle on living their faith.

I'm passing my copy on to our pastor. Hopefully it will be studied in our parish soon.

He was just a humble student in Hobbit Studies at the University of Chicago ...

No one who gets a postgraduate degree in Hobbit Studies ever imagines they’ll be sued by the Estate of J.R.R. Tolkien. I certainly didn’t expect to wind up in court against Christopher Tolkien and his lawyers, like Frodo Baggins facing down the Nazgûl on Weathertop. Little did I know I was heading into a legal and scholarly Midgewater when I wrote and published The Lord of the Rings: A New English Translation.

As anyone who’s read the appendices to The Lord of the Rings knows, both it and The Hobbit are Tolkien’s translations from the so-called “Red Book of Westmarch,” an ancient manuscript written in Late Vulgar Adûni. How Tolkien came to possess the Red Book is a mystery, and the Tolkien Estate has never allowed other scholars access to it.

[...]

I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and put my research skills to work on my defense. Unfortunately, the case law was sparse. The only similar case I found was The Estate of S. Morgenstern v. William Goldman over the latter’s abridged version of The Princess Bride. It was settled out of court. There was also Lemony Snicket’s lawsuit against Daniel Handler over Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography, though the court ruled that a pseudonym may not sue his own author, no matter how delightfully wicked and meta that would be.

How I Defeated the Tolkien Estate. So funny I read it twice. Enjoy!

Well Said: Through a Spider's Eyes

For years we were taught that a spider spins a new web every day and that certain threads are covered with a sticky substance to catch its lunch. The spider only puts the substance on certain strands so it can move easily and quickly across the web and not get stuck.

That was our vision of the spider and the web until a few years ago when Catherine Craig, an evolutionary ecologist at Yale, wondered if we had been operating under the wrong point of view. We looked at the web as people, but we never looked at the web as if we were insects—the spider’s prey. Insects have a different system of vision than us, and different from spiders. Insects see a different spectrum of light. Scientists decided for the first time to study the web using the insect’s ocular system.
What they found was amazing.

Insects could not see the web at all. The strands vanished, except for the parts of the web that were coated with the sticky stuff. They caught and reflected the sunlight. The scientists were taken aback when they saw that the spiders were not leaving some strands uncoated so they could navigate their webs.
They left them uncoated because they were painting—with sunlight!

The strands that had sticky stuff, when hit by the sun, when viewed through the ocular system and light spectrum visible to an insect, took on the outline of flower petals with the body of the spider in the center of the web becoming the pistil of the flower. It was not science. It was art. And perhaps something more.

A spider has different eyes than an insect. It sees a different world. It is painting something it doesn’t know, that it can’t see, and can only comprehend for itself as a potential dinner. It recreates this painting over and over again. If the spider succeeds and creates the illusion of a flower, she’ll catch a moth and will live. If not—she dies. So the finer artist survives.

Stephen Tobolowsky

What a continual mystery and wonderment creation is. It is discoveries like this that stretch my mind, delight my soul, and make me connect with God in a whole new way.

Still Swingin' at Christmas with Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite

Like every family, we've got our standard Christmas albums that begin rotation around this time of year. Admittedly I put it off at least until the middle of  December but if I don't get Christmas music going by then I wind up in a distinctly Grinchy mood by the time the big day rolls around.

As I pointed out a few years ago, our rotation leans heavily on Ella Fitzgerald, the Rat Pack, New Orleans, and Bing Crosby. Never discounting our possible all time favorite, Ringo Starr.

Every year we pick up a new Christmas cd and this weekend we picked a winner that is already livening our house. Last year I had discovered Gordon Vernick's Jazz Insights on iTunes. Poking through past episodes I was intrigued to hear his two-part special on Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's take on the Nutcracker Suite. Swingin' ain't the word for it.

The Nutcracker Suite is some of Tom's favorite Christmas music and he also loves the Duke so I don't know why it took me this long to remember to look for it.

It is simply terrific. I don't know how they did it but this solid jazz take keeps the original classic front and center while still managing to be unique in its own right.

Weekend Joke: Han Solo in the Confessional

Han: “Forgive me, father, I have sinned. My last confession was before I did the Kessel run in under 12 parsecs.”

Priest: “But parsecs are a measure of distance, not time.”

Han: “What?”

Priest: “Never mind. What do you need to confess?”

Han: “I shot first.”

There are more Star Wars confessions at Acts of the Apostasy and they are all hilarious.

For those who want more, The Curt Jester provides.