"It's not going to be easy, but it's going to be awesome!"

Gleason, the newly-released documentary that tells the story of former NFL player (and New Orleans Saints legend) Steve Gleason's battle with ALS, is a film filled with insightful and arresting moments. For me, however, none shone more brightly than the moment when Steve looks into the camera and tells his yet-unborn son (and us, the audience) that the journey he is about to undertake is "not going to be easy, but it's going to be awesome."

He's right. ...

The whole film is ... filled with amazingly powerful and wrenching moments, and amazingly beautiful ones. And with moments that are both at the same time. Because suffering as completely and as destructively as Steve does is (and will never be) easy, but the sacrifices and the love of his friends and family and the power of Steve's will in the face of such adversity are indeed "awesome" to behold.

Joseph Susanka's review does what I would have said was impossible. It makes me willing to watch a film that I already know is full of tough moments.

What We've Been Watching: Kind Hearts, Joy, Small Act, and Doris

KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS
(1949)

Louis Mazzini's mother belongs to the aristocratic family D'Ascoyne, but she ran away with an opera singer. Therefore, she and Louis were rejected by the D'Ascoynes. Once adult, Louis decides to avenges his mother and him, by becoming the next Duke of the family. Murdering every potential successor is clearly the safest way to achieve his goal.

We were both delighted way beyond expectation by this classic comedy. We knew that Alec Guiness played 8 parts but we didn't expect the wonderful script full of nuances which left us slightly shocked (in a happily funny way). We didn't expect the subplots which gave the film comic depth and kept us interested. We didn't expect the skill with which Dennis Price and Joan Greenwood smoothly played their parts. We certainly didn't expect the twist at the end.

This is definitely a movie that isn't watched enough these days.

JOY
(2015)

A story based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs.

Jennifer Lawrence stars as Joy Mangano, a self-made millionaire whose business empire was based on inventing the Miracle Mop. We were surprised at how much we enjoyed this.

Many film critics said they thought it was too chaotic but to us that was part of the point of the movie. Without the endurance tests that make up Joy's life could she have stuck with making her miracle mop a best seller?

A SMALL ACT
(2010 documentary)

A young Kenyan's life changes drastically when his education is sponsored by a Swedish stranger. Years later, he founds his own scholarship program to replicate the kindness he once received.

The good deeds we do, however small, can be important in a way we can't imagine. That is the overall message of this small but heartwarming documentary about Chris Mburu. He came from a tiny Kenyan village but, helped by a $15 monthly donation from a Swedish woman he never met, was able to go to secondary school. From there he won scholarships, began a successful career, and was able to begin his own educational foundation.

We see him tracking down his benefactor and finding they had unimagined connections. We also see three children striving to win a scholarship from Chris's foundation and the difference it would make in their lives.

It is unexpectedly riveting and may just inspire you to do your own small act of kindness to help an unknown child somewhere in the world. We ourselves went to Unbound (formerly CFCA) and began sponsoring an elderly Filipino lady who just needs $36 to make life better.

HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS
(2015)

A self-help seminar inspires a sixty-something woman (Sally Fields) to romantically pursue her younger co-worker.

A charming little film which was a thousand times better than The Intern which had 70-year old Robert DeNiro as an intern imparting wisdom to entrepreneur Anne Hathaway.

Perhaps that is because this movie was shot incredibly quickly on a shoestring so they didn't worry about tying up every loose end. They also didn't make every person "consistent." The characters display all the blind spots and inconsistencies of real people.

It was refreshing and, as many have noted, Sally Fields is the engine that makes it work. She is wonderful in this. It's a simple little film without a lot of layers but it does offer an enjoyable peek into a thought provoking world.

Worth a Thousand Words: Sun Worshipper

Sun Worshipper
taken by the incomparable Remo Savisaar

Well Said: To try and then to fail ...

Joe said, "But to try and then to fail--"

"Is that so terrible?" Glimmung said. "I'll now tell you all something about yourselves, something that every one of you possesses: a quality in common. You have met failure so often that you have all become afraid to fail."

I thought so, Joe thought. Well, so it goes.

"What I am doing," Glimmung said, "is this. I am attempting to learn how much strength I have. There is no abstract way of determining the limits of one's force, one's ability to exert effort; it can only be measured in a way such as this, a task which brings into view the actual, real limitation to my admittedly finite--but great--strength. Failure will tell me as much about myself as will success. Do you see that? No, none of you can. You are paralyzed. That's why I brought you here. Self-knowledge; that is what I will achieve. And so will you: each about himself."

"Suppose we fail?" Mali asked.

"The self-knowledge will be there anyhow," Glimmung said...

Galactic Pot-Healer, Philip K. Dick

What I've Been Reading: Pancakes, Espionage, and Burgers

PANCAKES IN PARIS
Living the American Dream in France
by Craig Carlson


This was a really enjoyable memoir. Craig Carlson is living the dream with his Breakfast in America diner in Paris, but getting there required a heckuva lot of determination. First there was his dysfunctional family upbringing. Then there were the continual obstacles from acquiring backers to maneuvering the French legal system to overcoming the myriad headaches of running a restaurant in a foreign country. It is to Carlson's credit that he took a licking and kept on ticking ... and that he tells us about it in a sweet, humorous, wry style that never drags you into the doldrums. He made me think of Dory in Finding Nemo, "Just keep swimming." Surely that is the attitude he himself had to cultivate to overcome everything in his way.

I found his story greatly inspiring and gave it to my husband to read, knowing he'd be interested in the intricacies and insanity of French business. What is interesting is that as he reads, we have begun bringing up Pancakes in Paris to each other as a reminder that tenacity counts, that there is joy to be found in hard times, and that the connections in life can surprise you. And also that, if nothing else, even on our worst days at least we're not dealing with French business regulations.

Book provided by NetGalley. Opinions provided by me.


ETIQUETTE & ESPIONAGE
by Gail Carriger

It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

What a delightful book, especially as read by Moira Quirk. I was put onto this series by Jenny and Rose's conversation at Reading Envy.

Steampunk, vampires and werewolves are all part of this world, although the focus is really on the adventurous and unladylike Sophronia's adventures at finishing school. That's where one learns deception, espionage, and "the other sort" of finishing. Combining that idea with true Victorian sensibilities leaves lots of room for humor and Gail Carriger is masterful at the understatement which leaves one snorting with laughter (however unladylike that is).

I really cracked up when Sophronia has to go on the lam, steeling herself to the fact that her ankles are visible to all the world. And I now know how to disarm a werewolf using my two best petticoats. So there is that.

A lot of fun and I can't wait for the second book to get to my local library branch.


THE BOB'S BURGERS BURGER BOOK
Real Recipes for Joke Burgers
by Loren Bouchard

One of the delights every week on Bob's Burgers is seeing what the Burger of the Day is. They are all wonderfully punny and also give you a little insight into Bob, that frustrated, creative gourmet. Leave it to a blogger to begin coming up with actual burger recipes and then to the Bob's Burgers team to turn them into a cookbook.

Granted, I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, but a surprising number of them made my mouth water. There is an extraordinary amount of care put into this book, which many might think is a throw away marketing effort.

There's new art adapted to the burgers. There are jokes worked into introductions and the recipes themselves, which make it sound as if you're in the kitchen with Bob or the family. There are the recipes themselves, overseen and reworked by two culinary folks to be sure all the kinks are worked out.

All in all it both entertains and promises delicious meals to come.

Well Said: Living without failing

It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all — in which case you fail by default.

J.K. Rowling, Harvard commencement speech

Well Said: Making us Christians, not mathematicians.

One does not read in the Gospel that the Lord said: "I will send you the [Holy Spirit] who will teach you about the course of the sun and moon." For he willed to make them Christians, not mathematicians.

St. Augustine

GoodReads, you used to be cool!

I stuck with GoodReads through the Amazon buy, through the censorship of reviews, through several redesigns ... but this last redesign is the straw that breaks this camel's back. And it's practically making me cry to say that. (Probably a good thing I get less attached to social media sites, I guess.)

Anyway I'd appreciate tips on alternatives if anyone has a favorite. I'm familiar with LibraryThing but that's the only one.

Navigating the Tiber by Devin Rose

Navigating the Tiber
How to Help Your Friends and Family Journey Toward the Catholic Faith
by Devin Rose

Devin Rose draws from his own experience as a convert and shows you how to help your friends and family members make the "crossing" to Rome by journeying with them, offering the information, arguments, and most of all the prayerful support they'll need to reach their spiritual home.

I rarely, if ever, have Protestants coming to me for information about the Church. However, it did occur to me that I do know a fair number and if they ever do come knocking at my door then it would be really helpful to have this book for direction and insights.

Devin Rose lays down a sort of road map to help Protestants understand the theological issues that may obstruct or confuse as they journey toward Catholicism. Reading this also helped me to see just how very different beliefs can be between differing sorts of Christianity. Each chapter has personal examples which not only inform but lighten the tone as we meet Rose's different friends. I also liked that each chapter ended with a prayer and one or two reading suggestions.

I really liked the author's charitable tone, the insistence on being a friend, and the reminder that helping someone find the Catholic faith means that you too will have to grow.

I have to say that by the time I ended I was exhausted. It made me glad that most of the questions I receive have to do with the secular interpretation of Catholicism. However, this is a book I will definitely keep just in case I have a Protestant friend dipping a toe into the Tiber.

Genesis Notes — The Woman: From Jesus' Lips

GENESIS STUDY
The Annunciation - Luke 1:26-38
The Visitation - Luke 1:39-56
The Presentation in the Temple - Luke 2:22-35
The Wedding at Cana - John 2:1-11
The Crucifixion - John 19:25-27
A Vision of Heaven - Revelation 12:1-7

We are still breaking away from Genesis with Genesis: God and His Creation to look at the answer to the promise that the woman and her seed would defeat God's enemy.

I never really thought anything about how Jesus addressed His mother but the following two snippets of study make it crystal clear. The use of "woman" is a direct connection back to Genesis, the first woman Eve, and the "woman and her seed." For Him to deliberately us that word again when being crucified makes it even more powerful as to how important it was to make this connection.

The Wedding at Cana - John 2:1-11

Marriage at Cana, c. 1500, Gerard David, Musée du Louvre, Paris

For Jesus to address His own mother as "woman" in this context takes us right back to Gen. 3:15. We know He could not have meant any disrespect for her, so we must understand that it has special significance. For Him to ask her what she wants of Him is to heighten the dramatic power of the episode, and John doesn't want us to miss any of its meaning. It is clear that Jesus has every intention of granting Mary's request. What follows is a collaboration of the two of them that produces the very first sign of Jesus' Messianic mission in Israel. Mary acts as advocate ("they have no wine") and mediator ("do whatever He tells you"). Jesus changes water to wine, a miracle rich in Messianic overtones. What has John done in this episode? He has given us the grown-up icon of the Woman and her Seed. With language meant to call to mind the Garden of Eden, he has enabled us to see in Jesus and Mary the New Adam and the New Eve. The work of the Messiah has begun. [Note: According to The New Bible Dictionary (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1965), one site in Israel thought to be that of ancient Cana is marked by springs of water and groves of fig trees, much like a Garden we know.]

The Crucifixion - John 19:25-27

The Crucifixion, seen from the Cross, by James Tissot, 19th century.

John's gospel is the only one to preserve this scene from the Crucifixion. Is the exchange prompted by sentiment or expediency? Is Jesus worried about what will happen to His mother when He is gone? Or is there deeper spiritual significance in this episode? Actually, the gift of a familial bond between Mary and John rockets us right back to the Garden of Eden. There we remember that the first Eve was called the "mother of all living," but before she had a chance to begin a family, she and Adam were expelled from Paradise. The original family plan for humanity was for Adam and Eve to preside over children who could enjoy the blessedness of the Garden and eat freely of the Tree of Life. Disobedience brought death into the human story, so Eve's motherhood was bittersweet. She became the human mother of the dying. That hope of blessed family life in the Garden was shattered.

Shattered but not lost. When Jesus, as He is dying, establishes this new family between Mary, the New Eve, and John, the only one of the Twelve at the foot of the Cross, He elevates Eve's motherhood to a supernatural fulfillment. Mary's motherhood will extend to all those who are in union with her Son, as John showed himself to be. Just as God becomes the Father of all who are born again into new life in Christ through baptism, Mary becomes their mother, by this gift from Jesus. This new "family," of course, is the Church-all those "who hear the word of God and do it," just as Jesus described it in Luke 8:19-21; see also Rev. 12:17). We can see that it was Jesus' intention to share Mary with His followers. Her motherhood in the Church is a powerful sign of God's plan to recover what was lost in the Garden (see CCC 964).

This series first ran in 2004 and 2005. I'm refreshing it as I go. For links to the whole study, go to the Genesis Index. For more about the resources used, go here.

Well Said: "Lor! Wasn't it prime!"

I have mentioned my liking for Mr. Pancks in Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens. Another favorite of mine is Maggy.

"Now, Little Mother, let's have a good 'un!"

"What shall it be about, Maggy?"

"Oh, let's have a Princess," said Maggy, "and let her be a reg'lar one. Beyond all belief, you know!"

Little Dorrit considered for a moment; and with a rather sad smile upon her face, which was flushed by the sunset, began:

"Maggy, there was once upon a time a fine King, and he had everything he could wish for, and a great deal more. He had gold and silver, diamonds and rubies, riches of every kind. He had palaces, and he had —"

"Hospitals," interposed Maggy, still nursing her knees. "Let him have hospitals, because they're so comfortable. Hospitals with lots of Chicking."

"Yes, he had plenty of them, and he had plenty of everything."

"Plenty of baked potatoes, for instance?" said Maggy.

"Plenty of everything."

"Lor!" chuckled Maggy, giving her knees a hug. "Wasn't it prime!"

I particularly love the way Maggy, her mind permenantly that of a 10-year-old, works hospitals into any conversation where comfort is concerned, that institution being the most comfortable place she has ever been in her poverty-stricken life.

The way this story continues makes me think of Charles Dickens' own experience with his numerous tribe of kiddos. He had to be drawing on experience because it is so natural sounding and, often, so funny because of Maggy's tenacity on the points she finds most interesting.

Worth a Thousand Words: The Virginian cover

Via mardecortésbaja.com's post about the novel

Faith Under Fire by Matthew Archbold

Faith Under Fire
Dramatic Stories of Christian Courage by Matthew Archbold

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The stories in this book reveal a world that can seem increasingly dark, and I fear that things will grow darker still in the years to come. And yet these stories also reveal what happens when darkness encounters light: The light is not extinguished at all. It just appears brighter in the advancing darkness. ...

This is not a book about a gunman who attacked a schoolhouse; it's about the little girl who sacrificed herself for her classmates. This book isn't about abortion, but about the doctor who dedicated his life to helping women with crisis pregnancies. And this isn't about the radical terrorists who kill, but about those who choose love over life.

This is a book about hope and faith and light, and while it includes some terrible events, in the end it is, I believe, a hopeful book about love in a world that's often surprised and sometimes even opposed to those who show it.

Part of what attracted me to this book was the fact that these are modern people, not canonized saints but saints-in-training as we might say. It has not only the dramatic stories mentioned above but those about a man who prays the rosary, a baker who loves his work, and a basketball player getting to play her first NCAA game. Some stories made me cry and some seemed all too familiar, but all of them inspired me.

Matthew Archbold has a real talent for telling these stories with sincerity but without pathos. He helps us see how these stories connect with our own lives, whether through his introductions or the three discussion questions that close each chapter. And that makes us realize that we too are saints-in-training, called to stand up for our faith under fire, even if just in the very small ways that present themselves in everyday life.

Faith Under Fire is everything the author mentions in his introduction quoted above. Read it.

"Voting third party is the most effective way for you to bring about a change of regime."

If there were a morally acceptable candidate offered by either major party, of course you could vote for that person in clear conscience. There isn’t, and therefore many people are settling for choosing the least-bad candidate.

Don’t do this.

Vote third party.

Why?

Voting third party is the most effective way for you to bring about a change of regime.

...

When you vote third party, you send a clear, unequivocal message that is formally recorded and measured. You indicate to the major parties, and to the rest of the citizenry, which way the reform needs to go in order to field a winning candidate.

Yes.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Read it all at Sticking the Corners. No one can lay out a well reasoned, reasonable, Catholic argument like Jen Fitz.

My husband, Tom, points out that when we voted for Ross Perot, Bill Clinton received a clear message. When he won the presidency he didn't do it with a majority. Tom feels that was a major factor contributing to Clinton's consensus building.

Plus, the more I read about my third party candidate of choice, the more he reminds me of Calvin Coolidge. I love me some Silent Cal.

It's nice to be excited about a candidate again ... even if I know he won't win.

In which we meet Jules and Madame Verne ...

... avoid an international incident over a compliment,and take a risk to send a message. More of Around the World in Seventy-Two Days by that intrepid reporter, Nellie Bly, at Forgotten Classics podcast.

The Movie I Want to See: Hacksaw Ridge

“Hacksaw Ridge” tells the true story of Desmond Doss, a devout Seventh-day Adventist who became the first conscientious objector to win the Medal of Honor. See the cross in the smoke? Nice.

This movie is directed by Mel Gibson who isn't mentioned by name, such is Hollywood's memory (and possibly, I guess, that of the general public). They do say from the director of Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ.

Via Deacon Greg Kandra, read more about Desmond Doss here.

Here's the trailer, which will have to hold us until the movie comes out in November.

Blogging Around: Democrats and the Ideology of Death

The Week I Left the Democratic Party

A lifelong Democrat with a powerful story about what his child would have heard on TV from the Democratic convention. And why it made him quit the party.

But remember, politics are about stories. And this week, I watched as Ms. Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America stood before the convention assembly describing her own decision to have an abortion. She wanted a family but the child came at the wrong time. So she sought out an abortion. And she acknowledged that now she is the mother of two beautiful children. ...

I was reading the story online next to my three-year old son, who is adopted. I couldn’t help but put myself in his very small shoes and begin to wonder what he would have heard from this speech. Children who come at the wrong time are best disposed of. Only children who come into our lives when we want should be kept. It’s the beautiful children who are planned. In the midst of a speech that talked about unplanned pregnancies, no mention was made of adoption. The Democratic Party’s pro-choice politics have blinded it from the dignity of this little creature of mine, who though “unplanned,” has also transformed the life of every adult he’s met. No suggestion was made that instead of funding abortion, let’s make adoption part and parcel of our social culture—where every human person, no matter his or her size, has the opportunity for human flourishing. If anyone can be president, as this convention has said again and again, shouldn’t it also be the case that unplanned children may also occupy this office?

Read the whole thing here.

Is There Such a Thing as Pro-Life Democrat?

Sure enough. Here's an interview with the Executive Director of Democrats for Life. Here's a sample.

Q: Hillary Clinton’s running mate is Tim Kaine, who describes himself as a “traditional Catholic” but a “strong supporter of abortion.” Isn’t that a contradiction?

While we cannot comment on Mr. Kaine’s belief system, we have seen others who regret accepting the Democratic “party line” on abortion.

John Kerry reflected on this after he lost the 2004 election. At a speech at Pepperdine University. He said,

How will we protect the weakest in our midst—innocent unborn children? How will our nation resist what Pope John Paul II calls a “culture of death”? How can we keep our nation from turning to violence to solve some of its most difficult problems—abortion to deal with difficult pregnancies; the death penalty to combat crime; euthanasia and assisted suicide to deal with the burdens of age, illness, and disability; and war to address international disputes?”

It was a few years after his presidential campaign that he understood the contradiction of failing to let your faith guide your decisions. If he had presented those thoughts during his run for office, the outcome might have been very different.

In addition, in an interview years after he served, Democratic President Jimmy Carter expressed regret that he had not embraced a pro-life position while in office. It was one of the few troubling positions he later felt remorse over.

Well Said: Choosing between two philosophies

Never forget that there are only two philosophies to rule your life: the one of the cross, which starts with the fast and ends with the feast. the other of Satan, which starts with the feast and ends with the headache.

Fulton Sheen

Worth a Thousand Words: Kim Novak Reads

Kim Novak reads
via Awesome People Reading

Worth a Thousand Words: La Siesta

La Siesta, 1841, Franz Xaver Winterhalter