Saturday, July 21, 2012
Man of Steel teasers
AICN has the embedded Yahoo videos.
Will this version of the DC property make it big? Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe are in it, along with Henry Cavill...
The voiceover can't help but emphasize the theme of the pseudo-Messiah.
Will this version of the DC property make it big? Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe are in it, along with Henry Cavill...
The voiceover can't help but emphasize the theme of the pseudo-Messiah.
The MD is in town so I'll be spending much of the weekend with the kids.
Something with Anthony Bourdain:
Something with Anthony Bourdain:
Friday, July 20, 2012
It is a harsh reality.
Single men who stay at home playing video games catch a lot flack from everyone except those in the androsphere who understand their situation and are sympathetic to their plight. Is it really the case that they've left the world to enjoy childish games? Or rather, might it be that the world has left them and video games are just a means of coping? The androsphere casts the spotlight on Uhmerican women and how repulsive they may be. Traditionalists are aware of the consequences of industrialization and centralization of power: wage slavery and atomization. The megapolis, with its fragmentation and lack of a common identity and communal life, is not inhospitable and inhumane, producing psychologically and morally stunted individuals who don't know how to love deeply and widely n a community. Rather than putting out the effort to make a connection and cultivate friends, it is easier and it may be rewarding just to stay home and enjoy one's private entertainment or hobbies. If you're willing to put the effort but others aren't, what can you do but give up? The advertised convenience of e-mail and social networking websites is useless when people don't have the character to take advantage of them, and it is a waste of energy for bishops to encourage their use as a part of the new evangelization.
Our present reality makes the rare true friendship even more valuable.
A while back I posted a podcast by an Orthodox priest about community and relocalization. I think the priest was right, if I am remembering what he said correctly -- people need to be reacquainted what what it means to be human(e) - living with others and being friends, and this is a necessary part of evangelization and conversion. (I am not sure if he said it was a necessary prelude for evangelization.)
Our present reality makes the rare true friendship even more valuable.
A while back I posted a podcast by an Orthodox priest about community and relocalization. I think the priest was right, if I am remembering what he said correctly -- people need to be reacquainted what what it means to be human(e) - living with others and being friends, and this is a necessary part of evangelization and conversion. (I am not sure if he said it was a necessary prelude for evangelization.)
Pornography of Compassion
Something he discusses in his book The Morality of Everyday Life, Dr. Fleming brought it up today in connection with the Aurora shootings and the two presidential candidates. Even the modern British monarchy is not immune from making such statements and no doubt something will come out of the Vatican.
Message of condolence following recent tragic events in the USA, 20 July 2012
Message of condolence following recent tragic events in the USA, 20 July 2012
Leading to an Endorsement of Latin for the Roman Rite
Fr. Z: GUEST RANT: Many languages for Mass and fake “unity”
I would argue though that this is a political problem that the bishops are not addressing, i.e. the question of assimilation/integration. If immigrants were encouraged to properly assimilate and learn English, would it be necessary to "pay respect" to the diverse ethnicities of a a parish or diocese in such a manner during the sacred liturgy? It just shows that those who have control over the liturgy have bought into the bunk about diversity.
In the United States, people should know English, and while it may be right to retain Latin for some parts of the liturgy, a hieratic vernacular may be pastorally beneficial. The argument about travelling the world and being able to attend a Roman-rite liturgy in Latin is a rather weak one - that is possible only because of cheap energy and that age is passing.
Institutional inertia (bad habits) is an obstacle to the Holy Spirit. in the local Churches.
I would argue though that this is a political problem that the bishops are not addressing, i.e. the question of assimilation/integration. If immigrants were encouraged to properly assimilate and learn English, would it be necessary to "pay respect" to the diverse ethnicities of a a parish or diocese in such a manner during the sacred liturgy? It just shows that those who have control over the liturgy have bought into the bunk about diversity.
In the United States, people should know English, and while it may be right to retain Latin for some parts of the liturgy, a hieratic vernacular may be pastorally beneficial. The argument about travelling the world and being able to attend a Roman-rite liturgy in Latin is a rather weak one - that is possible only because of cheap energy and that age is passing.
Institutional inertia (bad habits) is an obstacle to the Holy Spirit. in the local Churches.
Plastic Beauties...
Miss Korea’s Plastic Surgery Scandal After Photos Surface
“From now on, I hope to make a name for myself for my inner beauty rather than my outer beauty,” said Kim, who is currently taking a yearlong break from studying film at Konkuk University.
“From now on, I hope to make a name for myself for my inner beauty rather than my outer beauty,” said Kim, who is currently taking a yearlong break from studying film at Konkuk University.
A Few by John Shelton Reed
"The South: Where is it? What is it?"
From John Shelton Reed's My Tears Spoiled My Aim
From 1998: John Shelton Reed discusses challenges facing South
The Persistence of Place
An episode on UNC TV, on occasion of Minding the South being published.
He has a new book coming out this fall: JOHN SHELTON REED’S DIXIE BOHEMIA
From John Shelton Reed's My Tears Spoiled My Aim
From 1998: John Shelton Reed discusses challenges facing South
The Persistence of Place
An episode on UNC TV, on occasion of Minding the South being published.
He has a new book coming out this fall: JOHN SHELTON REED’S DIXIE BOHEMIA
Thomas Fleming on the Aurora Shootings
America the Sick
The atrocities will be discussed this afternoon on Chronicles Unbound on NTA: Radio Day etc. etc. etc.
The atrocities will be discussed this afternoon on Chronicles Unbound on NTA: Radio Day etc. etc. etc.
An Older Post from Vultus Christi
An Icon Inspired by Pope John Paul II: The Virgin Mother, Adorer of the Eucharistic Face of Christ
A Latin innovation? Or acceptable under Byzantine rules?
A Latin innovation? Or acceptable under Byzantine rules?
That Egalitarian Paradise...
China’s ‘unwanted’ single women feel the pressure
“I just want someone with whom I share things in common, but who is also in a better financial situation than me.”
Hyperrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgamy... good luck, girl!
"Since then, books and films on the subject have flourished and women’s magazines have sought to decipher why so many are single."
I think there have been some SITC-lite movies and dramas being made in Hong Kong (probably even more common in Japan), and this is spreading to S. Korea. Taiwan? Mainland China? Peddling fantasy to female consumers.
“I just want someone with whom I share things in common, but who is also in a better financial situation than me.”
Hyperrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgamy... good luck, girl!
"Since then, books and films on the subject have flourished and women’s magazines have sought to decipher why so many are single."
I think there have been some SITC-lite movies and dramas being made in Hong Kong (probably even more common in Japan), and this is spreading to S. Korea. Taiwan? Mainland China? Peddling fantasy to female consumers.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Revealing More Than They Intended?
Compare the two commercials for Siri, one with Samuel Jackson, the other with Zooey Deschanel:
Of course Samuel Jackson is being his cool badass self, displaying shopping and cooking as manly activities. (The abundance of top-notch male chefs should have already make this clear.) He's independent and cooking (presumably) for a lady friend. That act by itself could be beta, could be alpha. I suppose normal people would be intimidated by Jackson and wouldn't suggest that possibility in his presence. (Who's going to insinuate that he's cooking for a boyfriend in this commercial, either?)
Still, despite his independence he is willing to take the time to romance a lady friend and enjoy her company. Compare his commercial with that of Zooey Deschanel. How much "creative input" did she have? Would they dare show a woman cooking for herself? No, that would probably reinforce oppressive stereotypes! So what does she do instead? Acts like a consumer and orders out, while she stays at home (on a rainy day) and... reads? Cultivates the mind? She just lazes about in her pajamas, care-free, being her whimsical, "playful" self, dancing like a little (or an immature teenaged) girl. She doesn't need to take care of herself, because she has money and is therefore independent!
That's the consequence of feminism: an increase in consumerism under the guise of independence, while women fail to engage in anything serious, like having a family or children. While Samuel Jackson is married in real life, the viewer could accept the image of him as a successful bachelor taking time out for the ladies (but on his own terms). Zooey Deschanel doesn't even try to act like a man but ends up looking like a girl with an allowance who never grew up.
Who can take her website, Hello Giggles, seriously? Just another instance of feminism, despite whatever disagreements its contributors may have with other women-oriented websites and essays.
Related:
Some friends have read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. It should make for a good leisurely read while on the plane.
Of course Samuel Jackson is being his cool badass self, displaying shopping and cooking as manly activities. (The abundance of top-notch male chefs should have already make this clear.) He's independent and cooking (presumably) for a lady friend. That act by itself could be beta, could be alpha. I suppose normal people would be intimidated by Jackson and wouldn't suggest that possibility in his presence. (Who's going to insinuate that he's cooking for a boyfriend in this commercial, either?)
Still, despite his independence he is willing to take the time to romance a lady friend and enjoy her company. Compare his commercial with that of Zooey Deschanel. How much "creative input" did she have? Would they dare show a woman cooking for herself? No, that would probably reinforce oppressive stereotypes! So what does she do instead? Acts like a consumer and orders out, while she stays at home (on a rainy day) and... reads? Cultivates the mind? She just lazes about in her pajamas, care-free, being her whimsical, "playful" self, dancing like a little (or an immature teenaged) girl. She doesn't need to take care of herself, because she has money and is therefore independent!
That's the consequence of feminism: an increase in consumerism under the guise of independence, while women fail to engage in anything serious, like having a family or children. While Samuel Jackson is married in real life, the viewer could accept the image of him as a successful bachelor taking time out for the ladies (but on his own terms). Zooey Deschanel doesn't even try to act like a man but ends up looking like a girl with an allowance who never grew up.
Who can take her website, Hello Giggles, seriously? Just another instance of feminism, despite whatever disagreements its contributors may have with other women-oriented websites and essays.
Related:
Some friends have read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. It should make for a good leisurely read while on the plane.
ROAM Artisan Burgers
So on Sunday I visited SF, which undeniably has some good local places for food, unlike the South Bay, just so I could try ROAM with ah Fai. The beef is 100% grass-fed, but it didn't taste as different as I was expecting. I've read the complaints about grass-fed beef before, how it isn't as delicious as grain-fed beef. Maybe the tastiness has something to do with the fact that it's been ground? Ah Fai thought the burger was ok, but it's not something he would crave. (He craves the burgers at In n Out or Gott's instead.)
I wouldn't drive all the way to SF for burgers from ROAM; I'd probably go to the Counter at Santana Row if I wanted to pay for a fancy gourmet burger as it is much closer and I wouldn't have to drive as far. (The quality of the burgers at the Counter in Palo Alto probably isn't so different to make it worth the drive.) But if I lived in SF, I would go to ROAM regularly, as the gourmet burgers are relatively cheap in comparison to some of the other establishments there. I ordered the Heritage (double!) and we also shared the Fry-Fecta. I didn't care for the Zuchini Onion haystack, but the potato and sweet potato fries were good. I also got a small (regular?) strawberry shake - it wasn't too sweet but was very creamy. (Organic!) Of course I got a carb coma several hours later. Ah Fai tried the artisan soda (pear) and seemed to like it.
Still, next time I'm in SF I will probably try some of the other burger places.
During the drive to the city I had a nice convo with ah Fai about a certain restaurant that will be opening soon.
Links:
FB
I wouldn't drive all the way to SF for burgers from ROAM; I'd probably go to the Counter at Santana Row if I wanted to pay for a fancy gourmet burger as it is much closer and I wouldn't have to drive as far. (The quality of the burgers at the Counter in Palo Alto probably isn't so different to make it worth the drive.) But if I lived in SF, I would go to ROAM regularly, as the gourmet burgers are relatively cheap in comparison to some of the other establishments there. I ordered the Heritage (double!) and we also shared the Fry-Fecta. I didn't care for the Zuchini Onion haystack, but the potato and sweet potato fries were good. I also got a small (regular?) strawberry shake - it wasn't too sweet but was very creamy. (Organic!) Of course I got a carb coma several hours later. Ah Fai tried the artisan soda (pear) and seemed to like it.
Still, next time I'm in SF I will probably try some of the other burger places.
During the drive to the city I had a nice convo with ah Fai about a certain restaurant that will be opening soon.
Links:
FB
... delenda est
Which city? I hesitate to say the name San Francisco because of its association with that great medieval saint, and I didn't want to write the name out in Latin both because that would be worse but also because I wasn't sure of the form. Would it be nominative or genitive, with "civitas" implied? Santcus Franciscus or Sancti Francisci? Apparently the former.
That place should be "carthagized." "Sodomized" already has a certain meaning and can't be applied to the whole city, though it can be applied to some of its inhabitants.
The natural setting is very pleasant; it's the people who are the problem. Let the worthy inherit the land.
While my strong emotions have since faded since I went to the city as I don't think about the city that much, the city is representative of what is wrong with California, especially as it becomes increasingly gentrified. A girl who is attached to the city life there, or the life in a big city, probably wouldn't make a good wife for someone seeking the simple life. (She'd probably gaze longingly at the city, like Lot's wife?)
It was a Sunday afternoon, so the people I saw on Union Street (and the adjacent streets) were probably people who live there or visitors; not too many who just work there. (How many white-collared workers work and live in SF?) "I see dead people." Spiritually dead. Was their appearance a consequence of their moral choices? Or maybe they just don't know how to take care of themselves, unlike Europeans city-dwellers, who probably aren't that much better morally. The 20- and 30-something women were not make-up free, but they still looked older. Too much time in the sun + the standard American diet? (How much daily exposure to the sun can one have while on a paleo diet before the skin begins to "age"?) Sheeple walking around, enjoying the latest fashion and their habits of consumption. No one likes to be alone so they were with others, but the fact that they have "friends" doesn't change the fundamental direction of their lives.
"So judgmental!"
City of Man vs. the City of God. When this order passes, are you going to blame it on those "fundamentalists" or "right-wing extremists" or those Christians?
If there is global warming, might it (and the accompanying famines and droughts) be a divine chastisement? If so, and the link to human causes has not been settled yet and we have the causation all wrong, should we be putting the blame on ourselves instead of CO2 emitters as such? Those who put foward anthropogenic climate change are likely to look for a man-made solution (leading to some measure of centralized global control), rather than repentance.
The modern man may still ask if God still punishes man for his sins, especially if He is so merciful. Some apologists may just say that anthropogenic climate change is the natural consequence of our lack of moderation with respect to energy and industrial civilization, and so this punishment is just the due result of our vicious lifestyle. But could God make use of natural agents (changes in solar activity, for example) in order to punish us? It seems that this is possible, as well.
Of course, this speculation is all predicated that global warming is actually taking place in the manner those scientists claim.
I'm going to put my thoughts about ROAM in a separate post.
CL: Retreating in Frustration
That place should be "carthagized." "Sodomized" already has a certain meaning and can't be applied to the whole city, though it can be applied to some of its inhabitants.
The natural setting is very pleasant; it's the people who are the problem. Let the worthy inherit the land.
While my strong emotions have since faded since I went to the city as I don't think about the city that much, the city is representative of what is wrong with California, especially as it becomes increasingly gentrified. A girl who is attached to the city life there, or the life in a big city, probably wouldn't make a good wife for someone seeking the simple life. (She'd probably gaze longingly at the city, like Lot's wife?)
It was a Sunday afternoon, so the people I saw on Union Street (and the adjacent streets) were probably people who live there or visitors; not too many who just work there. (How many white-collared workers work and live in SF?) "I see dead people." Spiritually dead. Was their appearance a consequence of their moral choices? Or maybe they just don't know how to take care of themselves, unlike Europeans city-dwellers, who probably aren't that much better morally. The 20- and 30-something women were not make-up free, but they still looked older. Too much time in the sun + the standard American diet? (How much daily exposure to the sun can one have while on a paleo diet before the skin begins to "age"?) Sheeple walking around, enjoying the latest fashion and their habits of consumption. No one likes to be alone so they were with others, but the fact that they have "friends" doesn't change the fundamental direction of their lives.
"So judgmental!"
City of Man vs. the City of God. When this order passes, are you going to blame it on those "fundamentalists" or "right-wing extremists" or those Christians?
If there is global warming, might it (and the accompanying famines and droughts) be a divine chastisement? If so, and the link to human causes has not been settled yet and we have the causation all wrong, should we be putting the blame on ourselves instead of CO2 emitters as such? Those who put foward anthropogenic climate change are likely to look for a man-made solution (leading to some measure of centralized global control), rather than repentance.
The modern man may still ask if God still punishes man for his sins, especially if He is so merciful. Some apologists may just say that anthropogenic climate change is the natural consequence of our lack of moderation with respect to energy and industrial civilization, and so this punishment is just the due result of our vicious lifestyle. But could God make use of natural agents (changes in solar activity, for example) in order to punish us? It seems that this is possible, as well.
Of course, this speculation is all predicated that global warming is actually taking place in the manner those scientists claim.
I'm going to put my thoughts about ROAM in a separate post.
CL: Retreating in Frustration
Throwing in the Cowl
Been reading some of the reviews for The Dark Knight Rises; today I checked out Harry Knowles' review. Having read the review (and the spoilers contained therein), I can understand why he would be disappointed with the movie. I'll probably still watch it (the cheap first showing at an AMC), but I'm lowering my expectations. (As if I hadn't already lowered them.) There are a lot of fans of the comic books who are disappointed with the movie, to varying degrees. I probably won't be able to muster that emotion out of the sense that the DC property has been disrespected or Christopher Nolan didn't live up to the promise of the trilogy. I may be sorry that I spent the money for a poor but pretentious Uhmerican movie.
But now I may actually enjoy the movie. I'll find out soon.
What's Christian Bale doing now? He did a lot of interviews for the press junket; standard requirement these days. Here is a long video, featuring him and his fellow cast members:
Related:
Roger Ebert
Rotten Tomatoes
But now I may actually enjoy the movie. I'll find out soon.
What's Christian Bale doing now? He did a lot of interviews for the press junket; standard requirement these days. Here is a long video, featuring him and his fellow cast members:
Related:
Roger Ebert
Rotten Tomatoes
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