Well Said: Dare to speak of man as a living spirit

Our contemporaries need, whether they believe or do not believe, to hear from another perspective on man than the material perspective. They need to quench another thirst, which is a thirst for absolute. It is not a question here of conversion, but of a voice which, with others, still dares to speak of man as a living spirit.

This is from a really unusual speech given by the President of France, who's putting it out there in a way we don't see from politicians much these days. And he's calling on Catholics to do the same: speak up from the heart.

It resonated with me, of course, because that's what happens here and, to a more deliberate extent, what Scott and I do at A Good Story is Hard to Find.

Lagniappe: Non-fiction

Non-fiction? Non-fiction? Listen, reality is what got me into this mess in the first place.

Justin Alcola

Saw this on Goodreads and I have absolutely no idea what the writer's context was. But it makes me laugh. And love my fantasy and science fiction even more.

Where's Julie? Somewhere Zaney ... UPDATED again

 Zanesville, Ohio, that is.

I've got the high privilege of being asked to tell my conversion story on Marcus Grodi's show, The Journey Home.

They asked if I could talk for an hour. Ha! Just goes to show they've never been by here when I've been really impassioned.

I'm going to try to remember to take lots of pics and share them once I get back!

UPDATED
I'm back and it was a great experience. The episode will air on May 14, though I will remind everyone (of course) when it happens.

I will try to post some behind-the-scene photos soon!

UPDATED again
Turns out the episode will actually air on May 21.

Weekend Joke

Something for fellow language lovers.

A linguistics professor was lecturing to his English class one day. "In English," he said, "a double negative forms a positive. In some languages, though, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, there is no language wherein a double positive can form a negative."

A voice from the back of the room piped up, "Yeah, right."

Worth a Thousand Words: In a Red Dufflecoat

In a Red Dufflecoat, Edward B. Gordon

Lagniappe: The Baby or the Books?

Though I wouldn't go so far as to say that my library — a mere agglomeration of pulp, glue and ink — means more to me than living, breathing human beings, it's a near thing. I'd certainly rescue the baby, not the Mona Lisa, from a burning house. But that baby had better grow up to find the cure for cancer ...

Michael Dirda, Browsings

Almost the perfect quote. Though when it went from books to the Mona Lisa it lost the logic string. But the sentiment works ... and I've got to admit that my "you've got 15 minutes to abandon your house forever" has me, Tom, the dogs ... and then the contents of my "favorites" bookshelf.

Some people have a "go bag."

I've got a "go bookshelf."

And I've had it for a while.

I mean. You've lost your house. Wouldn't you need to read something like The Lord of the Rings or Uncle Tom's Cabin or Jane Eyre? I'm just sayin' ...

Easter Dinner and Green Beans with Ginger

I meant to mention this earlier but we had a lovely Easter dinner with family and friends. One of the best parts for me was pausing from afar a few times to see how everyone was so engaged in conversation, in groups that kept shifting. That's not always the case in big groups where people don't know each other so it made me especially happy to see how much fun everyone was having.

We always have the same basic meal framework of Grilled Lamb, Deviled Eggs (because Easter, of course!), and Potato Rolls. Side dishes vary but this year Tortellini Salad and Hill Country Broccoli Salad won the day. I tried to change it up this year and met with stern opposition. "Lamb is symbolic," said Rose. "And it's the only time we have it all year!" added Tom.

Hey, no problem here.

Dessert is always a changing item, based on my whims of the moment. This year that meant Toasted Coconut Pie and Chocolate Pie. With whipped cream, because what are we - barbarians?

This year, the dish that got the questions and comments was Green Beans with Ginger. It is a favorite of mine and definitely worth the trouble of cutting the beans up in the unorthodox style called for by the recipe. Go take a look and give it a try.

(You can find a lot of these dishes in my recipe archives.)

Worth a Thousand Words: Cherry Blossom Day

Cherry Blossom Day, taken by Calligraphy in Japan

Click through to see this in full size. The beauty fully reflects my joy in this Easter season!

What We've Been Watching: Wilder Fest, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

BILLY WILDER

As I've mentioned before, once we finished watching James Bond films in consecutive order (sigh - I still miss our weekly Bond), we turned to the idea of consecutive Billy Wilder films. The ones he directed, not the ones he wrote before that. We'd like to finish before we die.

We've watched the first four of Wilder's directorial filmography so here's the report on our mini-Wilder-Fest.

The Major and the Minor — A frustrated city girl decides to disguise herself as a youngster in order to get a cheaper train ticket home. But little "Sue Sue" finds herself in a whole heap of grown-up trouble when she hides out in a compartment with handsome Major Kirby and he insists on taking her to his military academy after the train is stalled. Memorable not only as Wilder's debut, but also for the fact that Billy Wilder managed to make the ridiculous plot into a watchable movie. The studio was so surprised it made money that they gave him another movie to direct.

Five Graves to Cairo — The sole survivor of a WWI British tank crew in Africa makes his way to a desolate desert town where he is given refuge by a hotel owner who is preparing to receive General Erwin Rommel and his German staff. Posing as the hotel's waiter, the soldier attempts to report the general's plans to the Allies. A very watchable espionage movie which also has a young Anne Baxter as a French chambermaid and Erich Von Stroheim as Rommel. Wilder and Von Stroheim will work together more memorably in Sunset Boulevard later on.

Double Indemnity — It didn't take long for Wilder to fire on all cylinders. You can't beat this story about an unfaithful wife and an insurance salesman who cook up the perfect murder plot to collect on her husband's insurance. A famous film that I, nevertheless, have to beat people over the head to watch. The screenplay is by Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler and the dialogue crackles with iconic film noir style. (#10 in Movies You Might Have Missed series. Scott and I also discussed it at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.)

The Lost Weekend — The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout. I'd always managed to avoid watching this Wilder classic which was the first movie to honestly portray alcoholism. Then our Wilder series forced me into it.

It was really great. I have been recommending it to people, not least of all because Ray Milland (who played the clueless Major from The Major and the Minor) showed his acting chops by being absolutely convincing as a full-blown alcoholic who you were somehow still pulling for.

Also, just a month ago I'd actually had an alcoholic give me an identical line to one the popped up early in the movie. Identical. It shouldn't have floored me the way it did. I know from personal experience that alcoholics are not as good at fooling other people as they think they are. The movie's riveting story has more to recommend it than just authentic behavior patterns and I highly recommend it.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri — Mildred is angry. Her daughter was brutally murdered months ago, but the police have got nothing. She rents three unused billboards just outside town to publicly ask the police chief why more isn’t being done. This film asks us to consider how do we channel anger at an unjust world? Hate, rage, and grief are mixed with hope and chances for redemption.

This movie is violent, funny, and profane ... as well as being perfect Lenten viewing.

Perhaps the best hint of how we should view this film is that near the beginning one character is reading A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor. O'Connor famously said of her title story, "I have found that violence is strangely capable of returning my characters to reality and preparing them to accept their moment of grace." I'm not saying writer/director Martin McDonagh is Flannery O'Connor but he's definitely channeling her. Three Billboards can be tough to watch but is ultimately rewarding in the end.

Weekend Joke: I'm an Artist

Well Said: Remember You Have Only One Soul

Remember you have only one soul; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one Glory, which is eternal. If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.

St. Teresa of Avila, Maxims for Her Nuns

Worth a Thousand Words: A Breath of Fresh Air

A Breath of Fresh Air, Karin Jurick

Well Said: The cardinal sin

Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.

W. H. Auden

I tend to think of impatience as being a specifically American flaw. However, this makes me reflect that impatience is perhaps simply a human flaw. Certainly it is food for reflection.

An Inadvertent Trilogy: Their Finest, Dunkirk, Darkest Hour

We wound up watching these movies within a few weeks of each other and found that these separate takes on the battle of Dunkirk made a wonderful, if inadvertent, trilogy. They also make an interesting set of movies for reflection in the storytelling art, since they all center upon the same event but from very different points of view. 

During the Blitz in WWII, young Catrin Cole is hired to write the "slop" (women's dialogue) in propaganda films for the British public. These heavy-handed films are viewed with derision by the public so a film crew is assembled to make a better film that will have "authenticity, informed by optimism." And, of course, our young heroine is part of the screenwriting team that shapes the film which winds up being about a plucky pair of sisters who pilot their father's boat to Dunkirk to save soldiers trapped on the beach.

This largely ignored movie wants to be about a lot of things and mostly succeeds. It has a meeting of like minded souls, it nods to feminism and ageism, it shows what it was like to be in London during the Blitz, it is a movie about making movies and therefore takes us through the art of translating story into film. I found it likable but couldn't love it unabashedly, although I definitely do recommend it. It certainly is a basic, if sideways, introduction to the battle of Dunkirk for those who weren't aware of the desperate situation those soldiers faced and the bravery of the ordinary citizens who set out to save them.

This shows the results of the Dunkirk tale on the British public during the war, which makes us curious to know exactly what happened at Dunkirk. So let's see ...

The German army has trapped the British Expeditionary Force (400,000 soldiers) on the beach near the French town of Dunkirk. The ground forces halted but German planes continued to bomb the British. Meanwhile, the British soldiers knew only that they were trapped between the devil and the deep blue sea with no escape in sight.

This movie shows us three stories: two soldiers trapped on the beach with the troops, a small boat on the way to rescue soldiers, and fighter pilots trying to keep German bombers at bay so the boats can get the soldiers away.

Christopher Nolan wanted to make a movie that dropped the viewer into the experience of the battle of Dunkirk. He certainly succeeded. Nolan watched a number of great silent films in preparation, knowing that someone in peril isn't constantly narrating their own actions. As a result, there is a lot of action where we are simply watching and not needing dialogue. It works.

Because we are concerned with only the immediate plight or tasks of the moment, there are no politics or important people featured. This is about how everyone felt in their particular places and the measures they all took to succeed. Christopher Nolan does jigger the timelines for each story so that we see each one culminating at the same time but you can largely ignore that and just watch for the stories. It works either way.

This movie shows us how the term “Dunkirk Spirit” was coined. After this the national mindset was united among both soldiers and regular citizens to never surrender. If there is someone we wanted to hear from during Dunkirk it was Winston Churchill. So let's hear what he was doing ...

Unstoppable Nazi forces are on the point of conquering Europe. The Allied army is cornered Dunkirk’s beaches. Britain’s fate hangs on the abilities of Winston Churchill. Should he agree to negotiate for peace with Hitler or fight on against incredible odds?

This movie reminded me that there was nothing certain about the outcome of WWII and just how grim everything was as Europe fell to Hitler. The sense of doom was palpable as we watched German progress across Belgium and France. Dunkirk is the battle against which we see Churchill's decisions being made and his political struggles with those who want to sue for peace instead of fight. As I watched, I kept thinking of what we'd seen in Dunkirk, that while those men battled for life on the beach there were similar political battles being fought behind closed doors. All of which culminated in a seminal turning point in WWII.

This was also the first movie I'd seen from director Joe Wright, whose cinematic style captured me early into the film. His use of symbolism, light and shadow, movement and silence, all enhanced the story while seeming a natural part of what we saw. A really effective film and my favorite of this trilogy.

Worth a Thousand Words: Morocco

Morocco, Belinda Del Pesco

Well Said: Unconsciously bearing testimony to God

I maintain that whatever either our lawgivers of philosophers uttered well, they elaborated by finding and contemplating some part of the Word. But since they did not know the whole of the Word, which is Christ, they often contradicted themselves … For all these writers were able to see realities darkly through the sowing of the implanted word that was in them … it was the work of Divine Providence on your behalf, that they, though often unconsciously, bore testimony to what the prophets said regarding one God … It is not, mind you, that we Christians hold the same opinions as your poets, but that all speak in imitation of ours.

St. Justin

More proof that Catholics have long relished looking for God's fingerprints in everything. Love it!

Worth a Thousand Words: A Street in Venice

John Singer Sargent, A Street in Venice

Weekend Joke: Didn't Get the Job

There are plenty more where that came from — at Savage Chickens.

Lagniappe: The White Meats

By the middle of Henry VIII's reign, the white meats — that is, dairy products — were considered common fare and people from all classes would eat meat whenever they could get it.

Clarissa Dickson Wright,
A History of English Food (The Tudor Kitchen)

Now that is really the "other" white meat! That makes perfect sense. Nutritious dairy put on the same playing ground as meat. They may not have had the chemistry but they didn't need it in this case.

Worth a Thousand Words: Melting

Melting, Laszlo Mednyanszky