If Christianity is only a mythology, then I find the mythology I believe in is not the one I like best. I like Greek mythology much better, Irish better still, Norse best of all.
C.S. Lewis, Is Theology Poetry?
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On the road again — back July 6!
Back July 6! My husband and I are taking a road trip through Utah. We're going to Zion National Park, Brice Canyon and eventually we...
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
The Mythology I Believe
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Forgotten Author: Edgar Wallace
Back in the 1920s there was an oft-repeated joke about the British thriller writer Edgar Wallace. A friend was said to have telephoned him one day, only to be told that Wallace was writing a new novel. “That’s okay,” the caller remarked, “I’ll wait.”I've got a fondness for old mysteries as y'all know. It is fostered by public domain sites like Project Gutenberg, Librivox, and kind folks who put the Gutenberg files on Amazon for Kindle (free!).
One of the most popular writers of the early 20th century, and certainly one of the most prolific, Edgar Wallace turned out an astonishing 130 novels (18 alone in 1926), 40 short story collections, 25 plays, some 15 nonfiction books, plus journalism, criticism, poetry, and columns, in a little over 30 years. During his peak it was claimed that one-quarter of all the books read in England were penned by Wallace, and he remains one of the most filmed authors of all time.
And that's how I found Edgar Wallace. I've read quite a few of them but these are ones I love the most.
This is a riveting tale which sets out with a man being sentenced for murder and a beautiful, innocent woman having had to testify against him.
Except, what everyone thinks is exactly opposite to the truth, according to the condemned man's friend and attorney, Jack Glover. He claims that his friend was framed.
Meanwhile, poverty-stricken Lydia gets pulled into this scenario completely out of the blue and is put in the situation of having to decide who to trust. One person is telling the truth and the other is out to murder her. We are not really ever in the dark about it, but watching Lydia's thinking and also seeing the behind-the-scenes machinations makes this a real page-turner.
Who was the mysterious avenger whose hooded form sent terror into the dark haunts of the underworld? Criminal mastermind Colonel Dan Boundary fights two enemies — Stafford King, a dedicated detective, and Jack O'Judgment, a mysterious figure bent on vigilante justice.
This was an excellent mystery that had me guessing at Jack O'Judgment's identity throughout the book. I love the way he's kind of like The Joker, but fighting for right. It was also interesting to see the interplay of various characters and the skill with which the author emphasized their personalities.
Is there anything worse than getting released from prison only to find that your true love is getting married that day? Maybe just one thing — discovering that her new husband is secretly a sinister criminal wanted by the police. We can't help but like John Gray, even if he is an ex-con. We're rooting for him to expose his true love's husband and make good.
This novel introduced Mr. J.G. Reeder, a wonderful character who was in a whole series of books. Not a policeman, not a detective, we don't know exactly what he is except that when he is around mysteries are solved, wrongs are righted, secrets are uncovered — all in the service of good. And he does it with such a wilted, tired, disinterested manner that it can't help but be amusing to see the effect on the villains. Especially when the talk turns to raising chickens. This was a thoroughly enjoyable, plot twisting mystery.
Monday, May 13, 2019
Baby Robins
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| Not our nest. Ours is cleverly crafted in the Y between a waterspout and a wall. Our robins aren't this big yet, but are getting there! Source. |
We've had a lot of fun watching a robin couple scout locations, thoughtfully build right where we can watch them from our back room, and hatch 3 nestlings, and chase birds away. Now the babies are starting to stretch their heads above the nest edge and fleetingly look around before sinking down again.
Our only problem is that robins spend a day on the ground practicing flying when they fledge. So the one thing these parents didn't consider is that we've got a dog door, a klutzy Boxer and a terrier type who has hunting bred into her bones apparently. That doesn't bode well for any babies on the ground.
So we've worked out the timing as well as we can for fledging time (Wikipedia don't fail me now). Early next week we're going to shut the dog door and go to leashed walkies in the yard for bathroom breaks. Fingers crossed we'll see those little guys on the ground and know when they're safe.
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| I've seen baby robins sitting on the sides of their nests, contemplating the world. They look a lot like this. I love that giant bill. Source. |
Black Forest Cake
Rose has been interested in this recipe for a while and it turns out that the best time to make it was for her birthday! So it was an experiment and a celebration at the same times. Get the recipe and our comments at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.
Friday, May 10, 2019
The USSR's Love Affair with Bollywood
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| Raj Kapoor on Stamp of India (2001) |
From the 1950s right up to its collapse, people in the Soviet Union were completely infatuated with Indian cinema. India and The Soviet Union had completely different politics, languages, and cultures. But for a brief time, these two nations found they had much more in common than expected, and realized this through a love of movies.Hear about it on From Bombay with Love from 99% Invisible.
For us this helped bring into focus a little more about why we love Bollywood movies so much. The Soviets had only social realism movies. Talk about depressing. Hollywood these days is not turning out entertainment in the way we think of it - something to enjoy. Except for superhero movies and we've got plenty of those. Bollywood's filling in what Hollywood's forgotten - how to have a good time.
Airlift
When Iraq invades Kuwait in August, 1990, a callous Indian businessman becomes the spokesperson for more than 170,000 stranded countrymen. The result was the largest evacuation in history.
None of us had ever heard of this event, which I suppose is natural considering that we were hearing about the U.S. side of the story. What an amazing feat. I felt as if I were in war-torn Kuwait. I had tears of pride in my eyes at the end at seeing Mother India's flag aloft. Also I now love Air India.
This is a movie Hollywould be proud to have made ... good acting, excellent pacing. You don't have to like Indian films to enjoy this one. The husband-wife dynamic was interesting and they did a good job developing both characters as they matured while responding to the crisis. Akshay Kumar is an actor I've enjoyed in two other films and this one just adds to my good impression. His performance anchors the whole film.
Rating — Introduction to Bollywood (come on in, the water's fine!)
Scott and I discuss Airlift at A Good Story is Hard to Find.
Hannah and Rose discuss Airlift at An American's Guide to Bollywood.
Thursday, May 9, 2019
The Most Beautiful Brasserie in Paris
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| The Most Beautiful Brasserie in Paris, taken by Paris Daily Photo |
The School of the Family Table
The table was the place for family business and for family quarrels as much as a place for eating. but most important, it was where we shared stories and learned lessons. I remember one night when the subject of managing money came up. Daddy took ten dimes out of his pocket and laid them out on the tablecloth. He said, "You give the first dime to the church. The second dime goes in your savings account. And you live on the rest. That, he said, was called tithing, and is how we should manage our money and our lives.Amen.
At that small white table in our hot kitchen, we learned the values and traditions that I later tried to teach — to recommend to — my own children.
Robert Khayat, quoted in A Gracious Plenty
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Books and more books
He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.It's like looking into a mirror!
Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Ninth-Century "Well Adjusted"
In recent years it has been remarked by two or three professors — and as something of a corrective to the general academic consensus — that we should not forget that Vikings were under no obligation to observe the Geneva Convention; that while Vikings were not mad, they were often bad and always dangerous to know; even that there was something "psychopathic" about Viking culture.
To which one need only add that twenty-first-century "psychopathic" could be ninth-century "well adjusted."
Tom Shippey, Laughing Shall I Die
Monday, May 6, 2019
No one benefits from staying inside their comfort zone, not even academics.
Academics have laboured to create a comfort-zone in which Vikings can be massaged into respectability. But the Vikings and the Viking mindset deserve respect and understanding in their own terms — while no one benefits from staying inside their comfort zone, not even academics. This book accordingly offers a guiding hand into a somewhat, but in the end not-so-very, alien world.
Disturbing though it may be.
Tom Shippey, Laughing Shall I Die
Friday, May 3, 2019
FREE 6-Day Pass To The Online Screening of CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players, Vol. I...
I got this in email and they're asking us to share it with everyone, so here you go! I'm looking forward it - a lot!
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If I'm humble, I do without my pride.
All fasting, poverty, obedience, humility — all of the virtues have everything to do with doing without. If I'm humble, I do without my pride. If I'm obedient, I do without my will. If I'm poor, I do without things. Doing without suddenly makes you possess all of those virtues: obedience, humility, poverty and freedom.
Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures
Thursday, May 2, 2019
A Bouquet of Poppies By the Window
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| Olga Wisinger Florian, A Bouquet of Poppies By the Window via Arts Everyday Living |
Being Obedient
Some of us think we have to like what we're doing to be obedient. You're not being obedient until you do what you don't like to do.
Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures
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