Spooky Listening

Something to remind us that Halloween is coming at the end of the month!

A short audio program celebrating our creepiest holiday. Hosted by the Halloween Haunter. History, customs, traditions, as well as spooky stories and poems.

I've been listening to this for years and it is always entertaining. It has a great blend of material and usually isn't much longer than 7 or 8 minutes. It hasn't been updated since 2018 but there is so much material there that you won't run out or get bored.

Here you will find stories from master storytellers such as HG Wells, MR James, Edgar Allan Poe, and HP Lovecraft, and hopefully be introduced to new authors and stories you may not have encountered before. As well as short fiction, we will also present assorted weird verses and poems, and retell some old folk-tales and legends .

Mr. Jim Moon is a wonderful reader of spooky tales. From the Great Library of Dreams is a spin off of his Hypnogoria podcast where he delves into the history of the weird so that's also a good Halloween choice.

Spooked features true-life supernatural stories, told firsthand by people who can barely believe it happened themselves. Be afraid. Created in the dark of night, by Snap Judgment and WNYC Studios.

Snap Judgment has featured spooky shows since the beginning. Here they are broken out into half-hour segments, usually with a couple of stories in each episode. This has become a Halloween tradition.

The Moonlit Road features Southern ghost stories, folktales, myths, legends and other strange tales from the dark backroads of the American South, told by the region's best storytellers.

Classic ghost stories, with a few original ones mixed in, that are usually around 10 minutes long and well told. Another one I've listened to for years. You can also read them at the website.

Ready for the Dance

Ready for the Dance. Augustin Jules Bouvier.
Via Books and Art

 

L'élégante au livre d'éstampes japonaises

L'élégante au livre d'éstampes japonaises (1879). Jules-Emile Saintin.
An elegant lady reads and studies a book of Japanese prints.
Via Books and Art

 

Psalm 25 — He teaches sinners and the humble His way.

When enemies surround you, lift up your soul to God in Psalm 25, and you will see these evildoers put to flight.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

This psalm is all about finding the way or path of the Lord. God teaches and leads even the guilty sinners. This is one we all need.

Verses 1 to 7a of Psalm 25 in the 12th-century St. Albans Psalter

I tend to forget that when I'm not being humble, it's as if I'm telling God I know better than he does.

25.9 God Teaches the Humble

Instructing the Humble. Augustine. [God] will teach his ways not to those who want to run on ahead, as if they could rule themselves better than he can, but to those who do not strut about with their heads i the air or dig in their heels, when his easy yoke and light burden are set on them. Expositions on the Psalms.

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

25:21 Wait for God

Love by His Strength. Cassiodorus. The church says that the innocent and upright have adhered to the church because it waited on the Lord; otherwise it could not love such people if it was not seen to be confident of such strength. Explanation of the Psalms.

Psalms 1-50 (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture)

I like the fact that it is the humble sinner who is beseeching God. No matter how hard I try I will never be perfect. It is God's grace to us as we are which gives hope and love.

Those humble sinners who fear Yahweh also hope and trust only in him. It is important to note that it is "hope" and "trust" that link the humble sinners to the covenant with God, not sinless obedience. Here is a clear statement of the gospel of grace in the heart of the Old Testament. When the psalmist declares that "all the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant", we immediately think of the law and the necessity of keeping its commandments. But the broader context of this psalm chips away at our traditional view of an Old Testament covenant of law and sharpens our vision of a covenant of grace offered to sinners in both Old and New Testaments. The Torah is then the guidebook by which "sinners" are led into a covenant of grace, acknowledging their sinfulness and relying wholly on the gracious mercy of God for salvation.

Psalms vol. 1 (The NIV Application Commentary)

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.

Rama Rama Re

A mesmerizing and often humorous road trip with an escaped convict, an old man with a mission, and an eloping couple fleeing their enraged families. As happens with such journeys they encounter other people on missions of their own and in the end the encounters interweave to a connected tale. This is a movie to take in as it washes over you.

It was put into perspective by the opening song from Sita to Lord Ram about her dharma. This is followed up immediately by a police official watching a TV show where Sita is walking into the fire, the result, she says, of a bad choice and of having to carry out her dharma (the duty she was assigned to fulfill in life). I'd forgotten about that by the finale until the singers encountered at the end closed the circle and made the conclusion perfect. Sita, Ram, and dharma are part of the Ramayana which is an epic tale that we have encountered many times in other movies. 

As a result, this made us think of favorite movies which depend heavily on Christian religious symbolism for deep layers of meaning below the obvious surface story such as The Mill and the Cross, Babette's Feast, and Tokyo Godfathers.

As Americans we have at best a basic understanding of the Ramayana and Hinduism, so we know we missed tons. We are now in need of a thoughtful Indian viewer who could explain more of the symbolism and underlying themes. But we loved what we did understand and will be watching this again.

RATING — VERY ADVANCED. As you can tell from the review, this is probably too advanced for us, but like all good movies it stands on its own as a story. We certainly liked it. If you are adventurous, give it a try. 

 If you want a basic telling of the Ramayana go watch Sita Sings the Blues free on Tubi. You'll also get to see a delightful movie that way!

Hannah and Rose discuss this in episode 50 of An American's Guide to Bollywood podcast.

Mental Arithmetic

 

Mental Arithmetic, Thomas Cooper Gotch
Via My Daily Art Display

The Canadian Nights by Katharine Campbell

The president of the United States has a giant red button on his desk. If he ever chose to push this button, it would send the world into chaos. This button is for emergencies only and is designed to break the internet.

How do I know this button exists? Please, everyone knows it exists.

In The Canadian Nights, this infamous button is pressed while the Canadian prime minister is live streaming a hockey game. Without hockey to vent his pent-up aggression, the Canadian prime minister snaps. He stops saying "please" and "thank you". He pushes past people without saying "excuse me". He even litters. That's right he drops a gum wrapper on the sidewalk and doesn't pick it up.

Worst of all, he has all US citizens on Canadian soil arrested and declares he will throw one to a horde of angry beavers every day until the President restores the internet.

But one brave US citizen, Amala Patel, comes up with a plan to stop the carnage. She volunteers to be the next victim on the condition that the prime minister listen to her tell a story before her mauling. The bored, internet-starved prime minister agrees and becomes so enthralled by her fables that he continually postpones her mauling so he can hear more. The Canadian Nights is a compilation of Amala's sixteen best fables.

Katharine Campbell uses this idea as a framework to showcase some truly hilarious short stories. There's a modern twist in all of them but they all hearken back to the traditional fairy stories whose premises we know. Some stories had a pointed message, albeit one that you can easily ignore*, and some were just funny takes on familiar tropes. That makes them work on two levels. My favorites were Elves vs. Elves: A Christmas Miracle and The Smart Home Rebellion but all of them were good.

I first encountered Katharine Campbell's writing in her fractured fairy tale Love, Treachery, and Other Terrors which was also funny and which I also enjoyed a lot. It had a very different feel from this and I'm looking forward to seeing what genre she chooses to skewer next. 

 

* Although ignoring the pointed message about insider trading may cause cancer in the state of California.

Crested Forest Tit

Crested Forest Tit, Remo Savisaar

 

So Much Fun: Lupin, Only Murders in the Building

Only Murders in the Building follows three strangers, played by Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, who share an obsession with a true crime podcast. After a murder in their building, the three neighbors decide to start their own show that covers their investigation of the murder.

We were attracted to this by seeing Steve Martin in the ad. We've watched two episodes. It is clever and funny and the performances are great. Somehow it is like a throwback to the old murder mystery shows while being thoroughly modern. If you haven't heard of this, try it out. The first season of six episodes is on Hulu, with a second season in the works.

 

Lupin is a French mystery thriller series starring Omar Sy in the role of Assane Diop, a man who is inspired by the adventures of master thief Arsène Lupin. The first part, consisting of five episodes, is subtitled Dans l'ombre d'Arsène (In the Shadow of Arsène), referring to the primary character's inspiration. The series became the most-watched non-English series on Netflix.

A lot of people know about this one but we've liked it so much that if you are waiting to try it out, just jump in! It was recommended to us a lot of times but we had other things we had to finish first! Now the time has come and it was worth the wait. 

Omar Sy, Paris, and a crusade to redeem his father's reputation (tarnished at the hands of an evil millionaire, of course) are a combination made to please. We fell in love with Omar Sy in Intouchables, a movie I've pushed a lot around here. His charm and talent are undeniable and a pleasure to watch. I'd read and enjoyed the whimsical tone of the Lupin mysteries, a French series that ran long ago around the same time as the Sherlock Holmes mysteries. These mysteries only slightly intersect with those long ago tales, but the tone is the same — whimsical, ingenious, and Lupin (or Diop) always wins. Paris is almost another character because it adds so much atmosphere to the show.

Two seasons of five episodes each are on Netflix, with a third season in the works.

Learning to Knit

Ernst Bieler

There was no title for this painting that I could find. The loving look on the mother's face, the intent expression of the little girl, and the knitting itself all make this a painting that I love.

Three Sisters

Three Sisters by Yamakawa Shūhō, 1936.
Via J.R.'s Art Place

A Journey with Jonah by Paul Murray, OP

Jonah is the only ancient prophet with whom Jesus identifies in the Gospels. But when we turn to read the book of Jonah itself, we discover that this so-called “book” is only two pages long―and that Jonah’s prophesying is limited to one short sentence. And yet, around this small book, as if it were around Jonah’s own troubled ship, high waves of controversy and mystery have swirled for centuries. In A Journey with Jonah: The Spirituality of Bewilderment, Fr. Paul Murray strives to uncover the great lesson of this story.

This was more scholarly than I expected but was still very readable as a deep dive into the Book of Jonah. Word on Fire has bundled together three short pieces to form a meditation: 3 chapters from Father Paul Murray which were first published in 2002, a 2003 lectio divina from Cardinal Ratzinger (who was later Pope Benedict XVI) In English for the first time, and the Book of Jonah itself (which I thought was a nice touch).

Murray's reflections range through a lot of sources while keeping the focus on the deeper meanings found beneath the surface. Both it and Ratzinger's examination provide lots of food for thought. I liked both and recommend the book.

You may think past ages were good ...

Is there any affliction now endured by mankind that was not endured by our fathers before us? What sufferings of ours even bear comparison with what we know of their sufferings? And yet you hear people complaining about this present day and age because things were so much better in former times. I wonder what would happen if they could be taken back to the days of their ancestors — would we not still hear them complaining? You may think past ages were good, but it is only because you are not living in them.

St. Augustine, Sermon

Monsignor Quixote by Graham Greene

I can't remember where I heard about this take on Don Quixote by Graham Greene but it sounded like a fairly cheerful introduction to an author whose books always sound depressing. And it was. Father Quixote is a descendant of the famous book's hero. Yes, he knows the book is fictional. When he's promoted to Monsignor he goes on a road trip in his aged car Rocinante, with his friend Sancho who is the newly deposed Communist mayor of the town. 

I know just enough broad plot points from Don Quixote to see where Greene uses them in his own updated way for this charming book. The rambling trip and conversation are amusing, thought provoking, and inspiring.

Cheese Pennies and Classic Chess Pie

 When my book club gathered to discuss Uncle Tom's Cabin I wanted to do a bit of a theme for refreshments. Researching classic Kentucky dishes (that's where Tom's story begins for us, on the Shelby's farm) I found Cheese Pennies and Chess Pie come from way back. The pennies are cheese crackers and the chess pie is very lemony, without being a lemon pie!

I'm just sure that's what Aunt Chloe would have served to the Governor when he came for dinner. Try them and see what you think!

Air-King Radio

Radio [1930-33] Air-King Products, New York
Via the Brooklyn Museum

Why can't our things be designed like this any more?

Psalm 24 — Who is This King of Glory?

As you wonder at the order of creation, the grace of providence and the sacred prescriptions of the Law, sing ... Psalm 24.

Athanasius, On the Interpretation of the Psalms

I have grown to love this psalm as I encounter it in the morning prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours. I especially love "Lift up your heads, O gates! ... Who is this King of glory?" It evokes Palm Sunday with Jesus riding into Jerusalem saying that if the people were quiet then the very stones themselves would shout out. Knowing that the psalms were sung in the Temple, I also like to think of that sequence being sung as a call and response, triumphant as the people welcome their Lord.

Dome of the Rock viewed through the Cotton Merchants' Gate

 Here are a few remarks that John Paul II made when he did a series on the psalms and canticles in the Liturgy of the Hours. Read the whole commentary here.

So we reach the third scene of our triptych which describes indirectly the joyful entry of the faithful into the temple to meet the Lord (vv. 7-10). With a thought-provoking exchange of appeals, questions and answers, God reveals himself progressively with three of his solemn titles: "the King of Glory, the Lord Mighty and Valiant, the Lord of Armies". The gates of the temple of Zion are personified and invited to lift up their lintels to welcome the Lord who takes possession of his home.

The triumphal scene, described by the Psalm in the third poetic picture, has been applied by the Christian liturgy of the East and of the West to the victorious Descent of Christ to the Limbo of the fathers, spoken of in the First Letter of Peter (cf. I Pet 3,19), and to the Risen Lord's Ascension into heaven (cf. Acts 1,9-10). Even today, in the Byzantine Liturgy, the Psalm is sung by alternating choirs on Holy Saturday night at the Easter Vigil, and in the Roman Liturgy it is used on the second Sunday of the Passion at the end of the procession of palms. The Solemn Liturgy of the opening of the Holy Door at the beginning of the Jubilee Year allowed us to relive with great interior emotion the same sentiments the Psalmist felt as he crossed the threshold of the ancient temple of Zion.

6. The last title, "Lord of Armies", is not really a military title as may appear at first sight even if it does not exclude a reference to Israel's ranks. Instead, it has a cosmic value: the Lord, who now comes to meet humanity within the restricted space of the sanctuary of Zion, is the Creator who has all the stars of heaven as his army, that is, the creatures of the universe who obey him. In the book of the prophet Baruch we read: "Before whom the stars at their posts shine and rejoice; when he calls them, they answer, "Here we are!' shining with joy for their Creator" (Bar 3,34-35). The infinite, almighty and eternal God adapts himself to the human creature, draws near to meet, listen and enter into communion with him. The liturgy is the expression of this coming together in faith, dialogue and love.

Sources are here and an index of psalm posts is here.

A Movie You Might Have Missed #51: Caesar Must Die (2012, Italian)

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

"To think, at school I found this so boring."

Convicts in an Italian high security prison practice and perform Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. In the process, we see how the play holds up as a real life reflection of not only the prisoners' experiences but of life in general. The prison theater is being redone so practices are held all over the prison which not only gets us out of the "stage performance" aspect but connects the play more fully to the prisoners' reality.

It was sheer genius for the directors to use real prisoners as the actors while filming in the real prison. Most of them are simply fantastic. Everything except the actual performance is in black and white which, as shot here, adds a rich textural depth.

I didn't expect the film to take us through the substance of the play but that was all to the good also. I'm not likely to voluntarily watch Julius Caesar but I thoroughly enjoyed recognizing key scenes and realizing I knew more of it than I thought. I also was fascinated to realize that the Italian translation was much more colloquial than most Shakespeare we native English speakers ever hear. That also made it easier to connect with in the prison setting.

I've seen people kicking this movie because it doesn't measure up to their standards of a documentary. I think that one can't really bring the documentary label to bear on it because it is an interesting hybrid of staged fiction and documentary.

Simply judging it on its own merits, as a piece of art, as a movie, as a story, as entertainment, Caesar Must Die is terrific.

Evening Glow

John Atkinson Grimshaw, Evening Glow

Our trees still have all their leaves (and will for a month or two), but that golden glow tells us it is autumn anyway.

How a Christian must follow Christ even though he does not shed his blood for him

I tell you again and again, my brethren, that in the Lord's garden are to be found not only the roses of his martyrs. In it there are also the lilies of the virgins, the ivy of wedded couples, and the violets of widows. On no account may any class of people despair, thinking that God has not called them. Christ suffered for all. What the Scriptures say of him is true: He desires all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.

Let us understand, then, how a Christian must follow Christ even though he does not shed his blood for him, and his faith is not called upon to undergo the great test of the martyr's sufferings. The apostle Paul says of Christ our Lord: Though he was in the form of God he did not consider equality with God a prize to be clung to. How unrivaled his majesty! But he emptied himself, taking on the form of a slave, made in the likeness of men, and presenting himself in human form. How deep his humility!

Christ humbled himself. Christian, that is what you must make your own. Christ became obedient. How is it that you are proud? When this humbling experience was completed and death itself lay conquered, Christ ascended into heaven. Let us follow him there, for we hear Paul saying: If you have been raised with Christ, you must lift your thoughts on high, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God.

St. Augustine, Sermo 304