I had mistaken being spoiled for being strong

But then I had long mistaken being spoiled for being strong, being defiant for being independent, being reckless for being brave.

Tami Hoag, Dark Horse

Is this because we lack the proper role models, the proper grounding in something larger than our popular culture? I haven't read this book but this quote seems insightful.

Bridge on the Seine

Edward Hopper, Bridge on the Seine
via WikiArt

I love Hopper. I love Paris. I love bridges. Now we know why this painting is here today.

Bang Bang! Delightful Cotton Candy.

A chance encounter of the unassuming bank receptionist Harleen Sahni with the charming yet mysterious Rajveer Nanda, results in an on-rush of ditched planes, car chases, shoot-outs, bombing raids and general global mayhem. But as the transcontinental chase ensues with Rajveer convincing Harleen that he’s the good guy, can she really trust him, and will trust matter when the bullets start flying?

A light, frothy take on a Tom Cruise movie (Knight and Day) with, of course, delightful dancing and pushing the envelope with a lingering kiss (gasp!). Lots of mindless fun. I never saw Knight and Day, but Rose did and she says this is much superior.

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

Hannah and Rose discuss it in episode 37 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

Here's my favorite dance number (and everyone else's — 75 million views) from the film. Because no one dances quite like Hrithik Roshan.

In the world it is called Tolerance

In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair ... the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.

Dorothy L. Sayers

Sommarnöje

Anders Zorn, Sommarnöje, 1886

Words are charged with power

To a Jew a word was not merely a sound; it did things. As Dr. John Paterson puts it in The Book That is Alive: "The spoken word in Hebrew was fearfully alive. It was not merely a vocable or sound dropped heedlessly from unthinking lips. It was a unit of energy charged with power. It is energized for weal or for woe."

William Barclay,

The Revelation of John, vol. 2

This concept is one I knew but that "unit of energy charged with power" has rung in my brain since I read it. We know this deep in our bones. It's why we get so hurt and strike back if someone insults us. It's why our political conversations are so charged and so many people seem to be angry and ready to take offense. We aren't guarding our tongues, our words, our power, enough.

Blogging Around: In the Catholic News

Here are a couple  stories that I've been following, like many concerned Catholics.

SEX ABUSE CRISIS

American Bishops Press Ahead With Own Reforms
Despite the Vatican shutting down American bishops' general plans to institute unilateral U.S. reforms until after the Vatican's conference this month, many bishops are going ahead on their own. Good on 'em! I know that Texas bishops have been publishing lists of priests credibly accused of sexual offenses.

The Dallas diocese's list went public last week and the bishop had a letter read in every parish. I heard him talk about it at Mass last Sunday as he was visiting as many parishes as possible to give his message in person (his target was 11 on Sunday). Read here for what other bishops around the country are doing.

‘Zero tolerance’ doesn’t seem an inflated expectation for pope’s summit
The pope and the Vatican have been working to reduce "inflated expectations" for the upcoming Vatican conference on the sexual abuse crisis. John Allen comments on this.

The pontiff ticked off how he sees the main points of the meeting:

• To foster awareness of the “terrible suffering” experienced by an abused child.
• To help bishops understand the procedures to follow in abuse cases.
• To make sure that awareness of the problem and procedures arrives to “all the episcopal conferences.”

To some extent, these efforts to frame expectations are completely reasonable, because it is artificial to expect three days in Rome to change the world. Further, since so much of the action in the anti-abuse effort is local, success will rise or fall not on what happens here, but in the various places to which these bishops must return.

That said, it’s also terribly frustrating to survivors of abuse, to reformers who’ve invested their best efforts over decades, and to rank-and-file Catholics whose faith has been shaken, to hear they’re asking too much. Americans especially would have cause to be irked, since they’ve been aware of the sexual abuse crisis since the mid-1980s, they were promised it would be resolved in 2002, and it’s understandably incomprehensible to many of them that it’s still causing heartache seventeen years later.

Yes. To say I've been frustrated by this attitude is to far understate my feelings. However, Allen goes on to talk about what zero tolerance means for the priest and at a global level, with global understandings. This helps, somewhat, to temper my feelings. I will be eagerly waiting to see what the actual results are. Do go read his whole piece.

NEW YORK STATE'S NEW ABORTION LAW

Governor Andrew Cuomo Versus Cardinal Timothy Dolan
People have been asking why Dolan does not excommunicate Cuomo. Dolan's take, and one I think is valid, is that this is just what Cuomo wants to happen so he can wave it before those who agree with him. Defending the law in an editorial, Cuomo says:

I was educated in religious schools, and I am a former altar boy. My Roman Catholic values are my personal values. The decisions I choose to make in my life, or in counseling my daughters, are based on my personal moral and religious beliefs.

A lot of his editorial made me raise my eyebrows, but at this they shot into my hairline. One's faith is, of course, personal but it is never private. As a Catholic, one acts in communion with the body of Christ and he is definitely not doing that in supporting abortion, especially as vigorously as he is doing. Otherwise, be honest. You are protesting the Church by picking and choosing what you will believe and ... essentially a Protestant.

Dolan responded vigorously, I was glad to see. In addressing Cuomo publicly, he is clarifying Catholic teachings and helping avoid scandal.

Yes, religion is personal; it’s hardly private, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and struggle for civil rights so eloquently showed. Governor Cuomo’s professed faith teaches discrimination against immigrants is immoral, too. Does that mean he cannot let that moral principle guide his public policy? Clearly not.

Debate abortion on what it is. Don’t hide behind labels like “right wing” and “Catholic.”

Get the links to both editorials here.

Virginia P. Bacon

Virginia P. Bacon by Anders Zorn, 1897

Upon Julia's Clothes

Upon Julia's Clothes

Whenas in silks my Julia goes,

Then, then, methinks how sweetly flows

That liquefaction of her clothes.

Next, when I cast mine eyes and see

That brave vibration each way free,

O how that glittering taketh me!

Robert Herrick, 1591-1674

Texas's Indigenous Dishes

Texas does not, like any other region, simply have indigenous dishes. It proclaims them. It congratulates you, on your arrival, at having escaped from the slop-pails of the other forty-nine states.

Alistair Cook, 

Letters from America, 1946-2004

Texas and chicken-fried steak

Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas without eating a chicken-fried steak.

Larry McMurtry, In a Narrow Grave

A little lagniappe. It made me smile.

Bollywood Kitchen

Bollywood Kitchen

Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films

You’re invited to a party where the food and entertainment are both in Technicolor. It’s “dinner and a movie” in this vibrant, beautifully photographed tour of Indian food and films.

Indian cuisine and Indian cinema share much in common – bold colors and flavors with plenty of drama. But to the uninitiated, they can seem dizzying. Let Sri Rao be your guide. As one of the only Americans working in Bollywood, Sri is an expert on Indian musical films, and as an avid cook, he’s taken his mom’s authentic, home-cooked recipes and adapted them for the modern, American kitchen.

Sri has paired each meal with one of his favorite Bollywood movies. Sri will introduce each film to you, explaining why you’ll love it, and letting you in on some juicy morsels from behind the scenes.

This is a quick read and I'm happy to say it is absolutely solid on the movies. I've seen a lot of the author's selections and they are a good representation of new and old Bollywood movies that are very accessible. He also has three supplemental movie recommendations for each major selection so that if you like a film you can explore similar ones. Those also were right on the money. His descriptions are engaging and I liked the bits of extra information he scattered throughout the book.

The recipes are a good blend of his mother's Indian home cooking, adapted for the American kitchen including Indian takes on American food, such as the Bollywood Burger and seasoned sweet potato fries. Sri grew up in America and he understands how to keep recipes authentic but not time-consuming.  I also like the fact that each movie is matched with a full meal, so you don't have to wonder what side dishes to come up with.

I made the Keema and the Chicken Rollups (street food that is like Indian chicken fajitas). Both were very good, though much hotter than I like. I'd advise cutting the cayenne in half if, like me, you don't like it hot.

The way the recipes were adapted were definitely easy although the author seems to have too generous a sense of portion size. For example, the Keema was supposed to serve 4-6 using 2 pounds of hamburger. Oy veh! We halved it and it served the three of us with leftovers for 2. So keep a judicious eye on his proportions compared to how many you want to serve.

Recommended for those wanting to dabble in Indian food and movies!

Perpetual Motion

Norman Rockwell, Perpetual Motion

Portrait of a Lady

Michiel van Mierevelt, Portrait of a Lady [c.1620], via Gandalf's Gallery

I love the intricacy of that lace collar. AND the expression on her face. Change the clothes and that's a face you'd see anywhere you went. Very modern.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai — What Would Ghandi Do

Lage Raho Munna Bhai

This was altogether charming as a good-natured goon (a.k.a. gangster) falls for a local radio show host and in an attempt to win a chance to meet her must win a quiz about Ghandi. His resultant dip into Ghandi-ism is hilarious and was so effective that this movie spurred an actual national revival of interest in learning about this Indian hero.

This director went on to make 3 Idiots and PK so his four films have just gone from good to great. Sanjay Dutt here reminded me of Jack Klugman (for those with memories long enough to reach back to when he was Oscar from The Odd Couple TV show). He's so good natured and easy going that you wonder just how he can hold down a job as a goon. If I hadn't seen him in other movies I'd judge him to have been playing himself. However, I know he's more versatile than that having seen him portray the most evil villain I've ever seen in a movie (Agneepath).

Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)

MADE THIS WAY: How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues

MADE THIS WAY
How to Prepare Kids to Face Today's Tough Moral Issues
by Trent Horn, Leila Miller

This is a very practical and accessible guide to Church teachings on moral issues dealing with sexuality. Topics covered range from sex outside of marriage to pornography to trangender identity, and much more. Each issue has its own chapter with a general overview section of the teachings, advice for talking to little kids, and then one for older kids (after puberty). The authors both have a lot of practical experience at this as parents themselves and the tips are very clear, practical, and useful.

As an informed Catholic, I found it good as a reminder of just what the Church's teachings are based on, which can be all too easy to forget when one is bombarded by secular culture's opposite messages. I also appreciated the continual touchstone of natural law included. And I especially appreciated continual reminders that we must pray for and love the people who we may encounter who aren't living by these teachings.

It's a quick read and very easy to dip into a section if the need arises. Right now, I kept my 5-year-old goddaughter in mind when reading since I don't have any other children in my life. However, this is a book I'll be recommending to Catholic parents and teachers of children of all ages.

Andrew Jackson Sowell

Andrew Jackson Sowell, via Traces of Texas

Andrew Jackson Sowell (June 27, 1815 – January 4, 1883) was a lifelong soldier and farmer in the 19th century. He was a participant in the Texas Revolution and a survivor of the siege of the Alamo. He continued his service during the years of the Republic of Texas, in the Mexican–American War, and the Civil War. He was a frontier defender, early Texas Ranger, and a friend and scout with Kit Carson.

Source, with more details

See, I am doing something new!

Thus says the LORD,
who opens a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,

Who leads out chariots and horsemen,
a powerful army,
Till they lie prostrate together, never to rise,
snuffed out, quenched like a wick.

Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;

See, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the wilderness I make a way,
in the wasteland, rivers.

Isaiah 43:16-19

Karatsu Kunchi festival

Karatsu Kunchi festival, from Calligraphy in the view

So you're saying that I could die at any moment?

"So you're saying that I could die at any moment?"

"Yes. And this is different from your life yesterday in what way?" Umegat cocked his head in dry inquiry.

Lois McMaster Bujold, The Curse of Chalion

Something we all forget but that is true for us all.