Saturday, September 19, 2015
"It's Just Art"
“EVERYBODY’S GAY!” shouts a Toronto newspaper headline. But like it or not, two popular subjects you can expect in the days ahead are same-sex marriages and gender fluidity. One audience favorite is Freeheld, adapted by Ron Nyswaner, the openly gay Oscar winner who wrote Philadelphia, from the true story of closeted lesbian New Jersey cop Laurel Hester (another brave, poignant performance by Julianne Moore) and her butch partner, sexy mechanic Stacie Andree (Ellen Page). Laurel’s new lifestyle alienates her fellow cops and leaves her boyfriend (Michael Shannon) feeling betrayed, but as time passes and old wounds heal, Laurel is diagnosed with cancer and the women are forced to face the reality of both death and what comes after. The movie follows Laurel’s desperate efforts to transfer her policemen’s union pension benefits to Stacie with the aid of a compassionate gay rights activist (a surprising turn by Steve Carell) who helps them challenge the prejudice of homophobic elected county officials determined to uphold “community standards.” Ellen Page, who has come a long way since Juno, says reading about this news story is what inspired her to come out of the closet herself and become a vociferous fighter for equal rights.
***
The most controversial unveiling at TIFF is the gorgeous, heartbreaking British film The Danish Girl, starring the spectacular Eddie Redmayne as 1920s transgender pioneer Lili Elbe, who was a talented landscape artist named Einar Wegener in Copenhagen, happily married to a loyal and devoted but less talented portrait painter named Gerda (Alicia Vikander). Slowly, when Einar first begins to realize his female side after trying on Gerda’s negligees, he takes the form of a shy lady cousin named Lili, polishing female postures, makeup and fashions, and perfecting the gestures and feelings of a woman while posing for exotic nudes that make his wife a celebrity in her own right. When Einar bites the bullet and makes the life-changing decision to undergo the experimental surgeries in Dresden that were unheard of at the time, Gerda stays by his side until his untimely death. Meticulously directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech), this amazing film, based on Lili’s personal diaries published in 1933, is a medical-research thriller and unconventional heterosexual love story compromised by God and nature that will unquestionably register strongly at the American box office when it opens in November and rise to the top of the predictions in the forthcoming awards season.
The mass cultural elites are not promoting an agenda at all...
On the Backs of the Laity
At least they're Christian.
Friday, September 18, 2015
Because we should believe the contest was entirely legitimate (and of course, SJW triumphalism at AICN over the results of the match-up).
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Marry a Good Catholic Man!
We <3 Yuna Kim
Posted by Soompi on Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Putting the Nail in the Coffin of the Institutional Church
The Plenary Assembly of Swiss Bishops' Conference, held from 31 August to 2 September in Givisiez (in the canton of...
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Friday, September 11, 2015
Hermann Geissler on Blessed John Henry Newman
Hermann Geissler writes in the Vatican newspaper about Blessed John Henry Newman and hope in Christian life.
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Saturday, September 12, 2015
Chinese Pilgrims in Rome
During his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Pope Francis greeted pilgrims who had come from China!
Posted by Vatican Radio - English Section on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Say No to Disney
A cartoon with anthropomorphized animals who can talk... it seems like it'd be easier for one to accept the story than if it was turned into a live-action movie with CGI, in which case the clash between the story and reality would be too much. But movies tend to always have something about the unreal about them?
I'm five weeks out from playing a role in a movie where I run around fighting things wearing a loin cloth. The vast...
Posted by Tim Kennedy MMA Fan Page (Official) on Monday, August 31, 2015
The Big Local OCA Event Last Weekend
Posted by Holy Trinity Cathedral on Sunday, September 13, 2015
At this Sunday's Divine Liturgy, the faithful gathered at Holy Trinity Cathedral are blessed to bind their prayers to...
Posted by Holy Trinity Cathedral on Saturday, September 12, 2015
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Fortunately She Didn't End Up Dead
It's a relief that the show follows proper safety measures...
Posted by Soompi on Sunday, September 13, 2015
Happy News for a Favorite
Han Hye-Jin / 한혜진 and Ki Sung-yueng welcome their first child!
Posted by Soompi on Sunday, September 13, 2015
Shim Eun Kyung Starring in Sageuk Movie
Shim Eun Kyung and Lee Seung Gi's sageuk movie goes into production!
Posted by Soompi on Sunday, September 13, 2015
Money to be Made All Over the World
Universal Studios Entertainment to invest in Korean adaptation of Chinese drama "Scarlet Heart"
Posted by Soompi on Monday, September 14, 2015
neoliberalism...
OCA and ROCOR News
Posted by Orthodox Church in America on Monday, September 14, 2015
On Saturday, September 12, 2015, His Beatitude, Metropolitan Tikhon and His Eminence, Archbishop Michael of New York and...
Posted by Orthodox Church in America on Monday, September 14, 2015
Posted by Orthodox Church in America on Saturday, September 12, 2015
http://wadiocese.org/news_150909_1.html
Posted by Western American Diocese, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Wednesday, September 9, 2015
http://wadiocese.org/news_150910_2.html
Posted by Western American Diocese, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Thursday, September 10, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=9hw51KSi-AI
Posted by Western American Diocese, Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia on Friday, September 11, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Not Doomed to Failure?
Community of St. Anselm
If it is co-ed and fails to observe proper ordering between the sexes, it will fizzle.
Why was the German chain of command able to do what ours cannot? The answer lies in the characteristics the German Army looked for in its officers. First, it demanded complete honesty at all times. Not only was active dishonesty not tolerated, neither was passive dishonesty: keeping your mouth shut and letting something you knew was wrong go through. The sin of omission was considered worse than the sin of commission.
Second, it despised careerism. The surest way to guarantee you would not get promoted was to show you cared about it. Of course, like any army that does not want to institutionalize moral cowardice and the Peter Principle, it did not have a rule of “up or out.”
Third, the characteristic the Wehrmacht valued most highly in an officer was strength of character, which it defined as an eagerness to make decisions, take responsibility, and get the result the situation required, regardless of orders, procedures, or obstacles.
Google admits defeat and guts a key part of Google+
Video on the Jesus Prayer
Check out this short animation.
Posted by Orthodox Christian Network on Sunday, September 13, 2015
Two on Mass Migration
Refugee Flows: a Grand Strategic Weapon of Mass Destruction by Franklin Spinney (also published at Unz)
Apparently Martin van Creveld's essay in Riding the Red Horse talks about migration as a hostile action.
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Philip WInchester Is Back
More:
"They're not really Christians."
AmCon: The Most Invisible Christians in Washington by Kelley Vlahos
Even as Middle Eastern churches face extinction, their lobby struggles to be heard.
Related:
The Optimism of the Cross in the Face of Genocide by Jonathan Coppage