The New Beginning

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Fr. John Saward on The Journey Home

The Journey Home webpage.

Date produced: September 22, 2008

Marcus Grodi goes across the pond to hear the stories of converts from the United Kingdom. This week Marcus talks with former Anglian Fr. John Saward. They discuss his conversion and his journey from Anglicanism to not just becoming Catholic, but becoming a Catholic Priest.

download (audio only, mp3)

I believe the interview was done at the Brompton Oratory. Fr. Saward's page on the Christendom Awake website (source of the following photo).

Saints Gregory and Augustine Church

IGN: Bourne 4 Scribe Set

(Variety article)

Rorate Caeli: A new book on the Benedictine Reform

3 websites for Latin expressions and phrases: Latin Mottos, Latin Phrases & Quotes, Latin Quotes

I came across this saying of Cicero at the first website--Legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus - We are slaves of the law so that we may be able to be free. (Cicero)

There's also Serious Latin. One from that website: Si tacuisses philosophus mansisses
If you had kept quiet, you would have remained a philosopher.

Twitch: Ghost in the Shell’s Oshii develops and writes Musashi Miyamoto Samurai film for Production I.G.

Alison Krauss & Union Station, Bright Sunny South

Soggy Bottom Boys - Bright Sunny South

lyrics

Reaction to the new ST stills

You can find the links to the stills at AICN, TrekMovie, UGO for starters... I'll be commenting on two of the 6 stills that have been released. (Edit. There are a couple more out now, plus some promo photos, including a shot of Spock.)

larger image @ UGO

There have been some complaints about the uniforms--the fabric/knitting to produce the appearance of scales ("It's been done before, in updating Spiderman, Superman, etc.") I think the uniform looks fine. As for the look of the characters: fans have been praising Karl Urban; he seems to have McCoy's mannerisms down pat. Uhura is pretty. Chekov no longer has the mushroom/bowl cut. Can Simon Pegg give a good version of Scotty? Is John Cho too tall to be Sulu? And then there is Chris Pine as Kirk... too young, too much of a pretty boy? Does he have Kirk's command presence, or will we see instead an adolescent shouting and trying to seem tough and in charge?

larger image @ MTV.

There have been bigger complaints about the look of the bridge, and how it could possibly be reconciled with 'canon.' While it is a plausible development in Starfleet technology and aesthetic since Enterprise, I would have preferred if they had at least kept the original shape of the bridge--but JJ Abrams & crew probably thought that the shape and size would be too constricting. Makes me interested in seeing what they've done with the phasers and tricorders. It is a well-lit bridge, unlike the bridge of TOS and STTMP. It is more like the Enterprise bridges of ST V and VI (NCC-1701 A). Some have compared the bridge to an Apple store. I can't remember if there were transparent display panels on the NX-01. Did JJ Abrams employ any members of past Star Trek production crews, like Michael Okuda? (I doubt it.)

As for the villain Nero... he does look Romulan, and the scepter he is holding seems to be Vulcan in origin (well, like the Romulans themselves)--but the bridge doesn't look like anything Romulan we've seen before. Then again, it has been said that the ship isn't Romulan. His ears seem rather big, compared to his head. Perhaps his baldness affects how his ears appear.

Also from TrekMovie: EW Star Trek Cover Story Online - Lots Of New Info & Spoilers. The actual article @ Entertainment Weekly. EW Gallery (includes some new photos).

Apparently the Star Trek trailer will be shown with Quantum of Solace next month. I may get a better idea of whether the movie will succeed or fail with diehard fans after seeing the trailer. I think it is still too early to tell, despite the complaints about the look and Chris Pine.

Links:
Star Trek Wiki: Memory Alpha
StarTrek.com
movie website

TD, False Apology Syndrome – I’m sorry for your sins.

False Apology Syndrome – I’m sorry for your sins.

via LRC.

Let us examine briefly the apology for the Crusades as an example of the whole genre. It is not exactly a new discovery that the Crusaders often, perhaps usually or even always, behaved very badly. It is not in the nature of invading armies to behave well, even when discipline is strong, morale is high, and control of the foot soldiers is firm; it is no secret that these conditions did not exist during the Crusades, to put it rather mildly.

They were, however, rather a long time ago. The Crusades were an attempt to recover for Christendom what had been lost by force, with all the accompanying massacre, pillage, and oppression that the use of force in those days implied. No one, I think, expects an apology from present-day Arabs for the imperialism of their ancestors, either as a matter of moral duty or political likelihood. We are all born into the world as we find it, after all; we are not responsible for what went before us.

more good stuff...

The effect on the givers is the creation of a state of spiritual pride. Insofar as the person offering the apology is doing what no one has done before him, he is likely to consider himself the moral superior of his predecessors. He alone has had the moral insight and courage to apologize.

On the other hand, he knows full well that he has absolutely no personal moral responsibility for whatever it is that he is apologizing for. In other words, his apology brings him all kudos and no pain.

This inevitably leads to the false supposition that the moral life can be lived without the pain of self-examination. The locus of moral concern becomes what others do or have done, not what one does oneself. And a good deed in the form of an apology in public for some heinous wrong in the distant past gives the person who makes it a kind of moral capital, at least in his own estimation, against which he can offset his expenditure of vice.

The habit of public apology for things for which one bears no personal responsibility changes the whole concept of a virtuous person, from one who exercises the discipline of virtue to one who expresses correct sentiment. The most virtuous person of all is he who expresses it loudest and to most people. This is a debasement of morality, not a refinement of it. The end result is likely to be self-satisfaction and ruthlessness accompanied by unctuous moralizing, rather than a determination to behave well.

Mike Whitney, The End of Friedmanite Economics: an Interview with Robert Pollin

PERI - Political Economy Research Institute: Home

More from Robert Pollin: It's Still the Economy, Stupid | Dollars & Sense
Robert Pollin: Clintonomics, the Hollow Booom

Zenit: Lectio Divina at 15th General Congregation

Julianne Hough, DWTS, Oct. 13

Cody & Julianne Week 5

Julianne Hough - My Hallelujah Song

Julianne Hough - That Song In My Head

Julianne Hough - Jimmy Ray McGee

Julianne Hough - Hide Your Matches

ET with DWTS Julianne Hough - 10-14-08

Cody Linley & Julianne Hough on Ellen Degeneres

ET Weekend with DWTS Season 7 - 9-20-08

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Body of Lies

Tonight Pete Takeshi and I went to Palace BBQ for dinner. Dinner isn't worth the price... no idea when I will be going there again for lunch. Probably not for a long time. *just repeating myself*

Afterwards, we headed over to the AMC to catch Body of Lies. It wasn't as bad as the reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes made it out to be. Up to the end it was a decent procedural, though Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Roger Ferris, falling in love with an Iranian nurse was a bit implausible (even if he had "gone native" to a certain extent). How could a spy in the middle of an operation allow himself time for romance? It is too much of a distraction, and could jeopardize him and the mission. (The same problem occurs in Spy Games.)

*Spoiler warning*

The biggest problem I had with the movie was after Ferris is captured by the terrorists, he has a conversation with the terrorist mastermind, whom he chastises for misinterpreting the Koran and being unfaithful to it by murdering innocents, as well as reminding him that once the oil money stops, he will no longer be able to influence world events. (I was thinking of the complaint against Bond movies, when the villain delays the execution of Bond just a bit too long, for the sake of chit chat.) Ferris then reveals that one of the followers has been turned by Jordanian intelligence, and quickly asserts that he will be rescued shortly. Is that something a well-trained operative would really do? In that situation, he seemed to be the spoiled arrogant American trying to overawe his opponent. (Not what Jack Bauer would have done.)

Even though I would have preferred a Syriana showing the real-life experiences of Robert Baer, the movie did convey the convoluted situation in the Middle East, and the motivations of all the parties. What Body of Lies does well is depict the problems with the CIA--the technocrats vs. the field agents, those who believe in gathering human intelligence and cultivating assets. (A lesson that has to be given to the Americans at the end by the head of the Jordanian intelligence agency.) It also touches upon the difficulties of fighting a 4GW enemy.

The main problem with Body of Lies is inherent to movies of the genre. Trying to make a more 'realistic' 2-hr movie about spies seems to be very difficult. A crowd-pleaser invariably has to be unrealistic (Jason Bourne, James Bond, or a possible 24 movie), and compromises in realism usually have to be made in order to keep the movie short. And real "intelligence" operations are probably not easily transformed into some sort of dramatic narrative. (It makes me wonder how realistic John le Carré's spy novels are.)

It's also surreal, watching a Hollywood movie depicting something that is going on right now, (especially when that movie has a "Hollywood ending"). The GWOT isn't really a war, and it's not likely to end any time soon, and a movie in which the bad guys are captured or killed reinforces unrealistic expectations. What was done during WW2, making propaganda movies aimed at boosting morale, cannot really be done with movies dealing with terrorism, not if we are to understand those who would attack us and how things got to be the way they are.

Ridley Scott fans may enjoy the movie, and those who aren't bothered by the problems I've mentioned may find it a good 2-hour diversion. (I can't say that the movie is worth the $ for the ticket, but that's true of most movies these days. Again, *just repeating myself*.)

I don't know how faithful the movie is to the novel (Google Books)--if the EW review of the novel is accurate, the movie isn't that faithful of an adaptation.

Both Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio affect a Southern accent for the movie. It's not clear to me why Roger Ferris has a Southern accent in the movie. Maybe it is better to have a undercover identity as close to one's real identity as possible, but aren't there advantages to losing one's accent and speaking with a standard American accent? Do real spies get dialect training, so they can match an accent with their cover? Or would that be too complicated and risky?

'Body of Lies' Stills - Photo Gallery on Yahoo! Movies
MSN Movies

Golshifteh Farahani, who plays the nurse, is pretty.

(source: Zimbio; more)
Her MySpace?

From AICN: Mr. Beaks Goes To Lunch With Marion Ravenwood!!! and ">NBC Developing JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS: THE SERIES!!.

NBC continues its decline...

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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

This will be a rather quick entry--I'm feeling tired, and not 100% over the cold yet. Pete Takeshi is in NoCal this week for some training. We met up in Mountain View and took a walk on Castro St. We dropped by Books Inc., where I found a copy of Lynne Truss's Talk to the Hand on sale for $6. But I didn't buy it; even though she is right to defend politeness, she's still too modern. For dinner we went to Vaso Azzurro. Appetizer: carpaccio. Meat doesn't have much of a taste when not seasoned or cooked, and so that was how I found the filet mignon. Entree: pollo saltimboca. Again, the sauce was rather weak, and while it wasn't too salty (as it had been at other restaurants), I don't think the flavor was strong enough. I don't know if I would go there again. Afterwards, we dropped by Red Rock Coffee and then just talked for a while while loitering on Castro St.

via Lew Rockwell blog: Surviving Financial Crisis, From One Who Knows Best (an interview with Christopher Gardner, who comments about the current financial crisis)

At the end of the interview, some words of wisdom: "Family first. And what you have in the bank has got absolutely nothing to do with the quality of life in your home. It shouldn't. And if that's been the case, then maybe you need to reassess the whole situation. But family first. And honestly, I don't think you can be counting on the government to come in and take care of you. It's going to come down to friends, family, and just some folks. It ain't going to be the Feds. There [are] folks still down in New Orleans still waiting on the Feds to come in and get them. Ain't going to happen. Ok? I would say, continue to believe in yourself, trust your friends, but have faith in God."

Priceless.

The Conservative Scholar in the Twenty-First Century by George A. Panichas

Will conservative scholars be able to find a place in the university? Perhaps at a few. But how much longer before the intellectual elites, whether they be at academic institutions or research centers, are discredited? I suppose those at research centers will be able to keep their jobs longer, if they are in the pay of powerful political and economic interest groups. But the supposedly neutral Ivory Tower? How many colleges and universities were aware of the precarious situation of the American economy? And how many assumed that they could continue to make a living off of American citizens, raising their tuition and other expenses, while their clients suffer from diminishing returns? Very few of those who believe themselves to have a better grasp of reality are actually aware of the deeper problems facing the country (natural resource depletion, peak oil, and so on) and done anything to inform their colleages and students, and even fewer have rocked the boat to suggest that colleges and universities need to reform themselves and bring their mission goals into accord with sustainability.

It's much easier to continue believing that there's nothing wrong with the current system and to believe that eventually things will right themselves. It is a spurious form of hope that ignores the reality of sin, and the consequences of men turning away from God.

Won't people get tired of academics who talk the good talk, but do nothing to live up to their ideals? The 'commoners' will respect those who not only inform, but practice what they preach.

Edit. AP: As economy swoons, parents fret over college costs

Monday, October 13, 2008

Court makes Conn. 3rd state to allow gay marriage

The majority voted that the civil unions are discriminatory and the state ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Another attack on traditional morality in the name of liberal conceptions of justice and rights. (You can find links to the dissenting opinions here. Also here.)

There's a line in the first Matrix movie, about the humans who are all hooked in may not be aware of the war between humanity and the machines and the part they are playing in it, but nonetheless are to be considered the enemy and treated accordingly, in the war for the ultimate survival of the human race.

Even if the justices in the majority are ignorant of the gravity of evil in their choice and how offensive it is to God, they are nonetheless still doing the work of the Father of Lies. One is either for Christ or against Him. There is no third, neutral option.

The Christian response is to love and pray for those who are instruments of the devil, and do what they can to redress the evil that is being done. The legal and political solutions seem very limited at this time; white martyrdom and more subtle forms of persecution may be next. One possible consequence of the state recognition of same-sex marriages? Mandatory introduction of homosexuality and other alternative lifestyles into the public classroom.

From Crayons to Condoms
Google Books
From Crayons to Condoms - author interview - Steven Baldwin
Interview with Steven Baldwin, Co-Author of From Crayons to Condoms
YouTube - Steve Baldwin and Karen Holgate with Hannity & Colmes

The Rediscovery of Agriculture? by Mark T. Mitchell

More on Joel Salatin and Polyface.

Mother Jones: "No Bar Code"

Alan Jacobs reviews Neal Stephenson's Anathe m: World of Wonders. An excerpt from the book.

About.com interview; io9 interview; Neal Stephenson Explains What's Wrong with Mobile Phones; B&N; Powells.com; Jacket Copy; interview with Brier Dudley. Salon.com review. Crazy Monk's links.

Wired blog post; Wired article/profile

From Just Jared: Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock Holmes — FIRST PICTURES and Jude Law as Dr. Watson — FIRST LOOK

via AICN

Actor Guillaume Depardieu dead at 37

French actor Guillaume Depardieu poses during a photocall at the 57th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin in this February 15, 2007 file picture. Guillaume, son of French actor Gerard Depardieu, died October 13, 2008 from pneumonia. (Reuters)