The New Beginning

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

(source)

Some of our seniors may not wish to see the Christopher Nolan trilogy or any comic book movie in general (Lawrence Auster, Dr. Fleming, New Sherwood). They do not understand the appeal of the trilogy or of comic book movies. Without heroes either from stories in a traditional canon that is part of a people's heritage or from history, to what else can Uhmerican males refer except to the pop culture upon which they were nourished? We may be critical of the format and its associations with our political economy, but sometimes we have to engage with the "culture" as it is and lead people to the true and good from where they are situated.

Men are looking for stories featuring male heroism. Superhero movies such as Nolan's Batman trilogy, is entertainment that addresses male psychological and spiritual needs. Men want to make a difference to achieve and excel through physical and intellectual ability (as in the case of Batman) - a combination of brain and brawn. Protecting others, working for something greater than one's self, and to find honor and glory therein.

Granted, movies are rather ephemeral in the minds and imaginations of the audience once they are out of the theater and are probably ineffective in shaping the moral imagination and thus inducing long-lasting moral conversion or commitment.

What if the studios or the comic book companies decided to do some gender-bending,
switching the sex of the hero. There's already a Batgirl, but the change could be explained away as being part of an "alternative universe." How many male fans would accept this?

Some have claimed that Batman has been turned into the wrong kind of hero, seeking revenge because of anger, rather than acting out of a sense of justice. Hence this version of Batman is just too dark. I don't see how anger and a desire for justice are incompatible, and it's not clear to me that the trilogy attributes to Batman a single motivation or such a simplistic psychological state. After all, there is his desire to protect the good people of Gotham City as well as the desire to avoid being an executioner (and hence avoidance of guns) that defines his vigilantism. This sets him apart from the League of Shadows, which sees itself as an force for restoring balance when the corruption of a city or civilization is overwhelming. This goal justifies all sorts of vicious acts by the League of Shadows.

Maybe I'm missing something subtle about Batman's characterization in the Christopher Nolan movies. Or I have to watch the first movie, Batman Begins, over again. But I don't think Nolan's Batman is anything close to the TV character Dexter, for example.

The movie is not without its defenders, though this post asserting that the movie is a Christian allegory may be a bit too much. Then there is the Nietzschean/"traditionalist" intepretation given over at Counter Currents (and other alt right websites) which finds much to praise in the movie.

Batman: Anarcho-Fascist mp3

Rotten Tomatoes
IGN

Was the movie too long? I don't think so. Some of the disappointment is understandable - Bruce Wayen's quick recovery does not seem plausible. Given Chris Nolan's balancing act between comic book movie and "realistic" drama, I was mostly satisfied with his conclusion to the trilogy. But maybe that is because I related to the story in a different way than others. Would the scenes that were cut improve the storytelling if inserted back in?

I would watch the movie again.

*spoiler warning*

Friday, August 24, 2012

The sad reality of male-female attraction.

Athol Kay relays a message from a reader:

[M]y teenage daughter had a slumber party recently, and my wife (who is unaware of Game concepts) overheard the girls talking about the boys in their school. What struck me about the conversation that she relayed to me was that the girls were categorizing the boys into two groups: “Hot & Mean” and “Not-hot & Nice.” There couldn’t be a better example of the Alpha/Beta theory, as interpreted by 13 year old girls.

Vox comments on some blogger's confessional.

Any extended edition in the works?

Cut from 200 minutes to 128. Or will we have to look for the original Italian version on DVD?

NCReg: Bringing St. Augustine to the Big Screen
An Interview with Ignatius Press' Tony Ryan

(via Insight Scoop)

Edit. The extended trailer:

The 23rd Annual Meeting of The John Randolph Club

JRC Chicago: The Failure of Democracy - November 16-18, 2012

Speakers are Thomas Fleming, Chilton Williamson, Taki, E. Christian Kopff, Claude Polin, Peter Brimelow, and Aaron D. Wolf.

What would I do without guacamole?

Of course, it's better than the avocado salsa from El Pollo Loco.

Native to Mexico, it was introduced to California - one of the few positives about the state? The Haas avocado was somehow cultivated here. It's a common ingredient in "California" recipes or cuisine.

Here is a recipe from Whole Foods:

Oaxaca-Style Guacamole
serves 8

[Avocados have a cultural reputation as an indulgent, rather ostentatious California luxury and they deserve it. Rich, creamy and gorgeous, the avocado may well be the glamorous Hollywood starlet of the fruit world. They're also a great source of potassium and vitamins E, A and C.]

Ingredients
4 avocados, mashed
Juice of one lime
3 garlic cloves, freshly pressed
5 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, cleaned and chopped
1 to 2 seedless jalapeños, diced

Method
Mix avocados with lime juice and then stir in garlic, onions, cilantro, and jalapeños. Try spooning it into a half of a papaya for breakfast. Or do the chips and quesadilla thing. It also makes a super bagel topper.

Related:
Haas Avocado
California Avocado Association
History of the Haas Avocado
Haas v. Haas
A Short History of the Haas Avocado
Avocado Central
The anti-aging superfood avocado
Mexican Hass Avocado Industry Sees Huge Growth In American Market

Videos after the jump:

Sigrid Undset

Stages on the Road was released in May by Ave Maria Press - info.

Sulle tracce di Sigrid Undset (1a parte)

Parts 2 and 3

No More No Reservations

What! Just find out about this - slideshow.

Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations': Final Season Gets a Premiere Date

Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations, Foie Gras Not Cruel
Foie Gras: A Happy Animal is a Tasty Animal

Space Battleship Yamato 2199

A remake of the 1974 classic Japanese animated series (known as Star Blazers here in the U.S.), Space Battleship Yamato 2199 (宇宙戦艦ヤマト２１９９) - apparently, even the Japanese have to mine their own classics. What's next? A new movie based on the original Macross? (Hrm, apparently a new TV series is under development for the 30th anniversary of the original show, Macross Two-Nine.)

Technically it is quite well-done, in particular the use of CGI. But I note they have added more women to the crew (including an ace pilot who is initially forced to take another role on the ship because of her brother, also a pilot). Fan service? An attempt to appeal to female viewers? Or the influence of feminism in Japan?

Yuki has more of an attitude, typical of more recent female characters and less "feminine" than the original. In some ways the characters behave more immaturely, especially in the bickering between Yuki and Susumu Kodai. This may be standard for Japanese animated fare for the last 20 or 30 years, but the original characters seemed more "mature" even if they could be young and impetuous (in the case of Susumu Kodai). Has some version of adultlescence carried over into anime?

This has probably been the way things have been for some time - the glorification of teenagers (and all their weaknesses). The new Gundam TV series are like that, and there's also Neon Genesis Evangelion. Of course, the characters in those shows were still in their teens; I think Kodai and company are a few years older. Still, I do think there is a difference in personality and maturity between those characters in the remake and their counterparts in the classic series.

The remake will undoubtedly feature great heroism as did the original; the addition of female characters (tne supporting cast includes the pilot, the nurse/medic to Dr. Sado, and the science officer) is nonetheless grating. The depiction of women in Japanese mass media has changed much in the last 30 years, even if some claim that feminism of the Uhmerican sort has a negligible presence in Japan. (Is that really the case, given the power that mothers have over children, especially sons? Even if the toxic ideology of feminism is absent in the consciousness of Japanese women, they can nevertheless be emasculating.) What prominence does anime (and manga) have in Japan today? What impact does it have on the formation of boys and teenagers?

Will they continue the series of movies that began with Space Battleship Yamato: Resurrection (宇宙戦艦ヤマト復活篇)? The CGI for the movie was good in quality, but the style was not really to my liking. There is also a lot of death in the movie, maybe too much even though it's a staple of the franchise and to be expected when the story takes place on an interplanetary scale.

The opening for the remake:

PV for the first episode after the jump.

147th Scottish Highland Gathering & Games

September 1 and 2 in Pleasanton at the Alameda County Fairgrounds - official

The Caledonian Club of San Francisco

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Two from Sandro Magister

Sandro Magister, Vatican Diary / The two unknowns of the book on the Child Jesus
Who will be its main publisher? And will Ingrid Stampa, Ratzinger's former manager, again oversee the Italian edition? The strange imbroglio of those who accuse her of having betrayed the pope's trust

Russia and Poland, Orthodox and Catholics. The Breakthrough Message
It has been signed in Warsaw by the patriarch of Moscow and the president of the Polish bishops. To begin a common journey after centuries of hostilities. Here is the complete text. With the comment of Pope Benedict XVI

John Dickinson on Civil Society

The Spirit of American Constitutionalism: John Dickinson's Fabius Letters by Gregory S. Ahern

It is, therefore, the wisdom and virtue of the people rather than mere self-interest that is to be the ultimate check upon the government. Yet, Fabius also recognizes the fallibility of human nature. For, history shows that "the liberty of single republics has generally been destroyed by some of the citizens, and of confederated republics, by some of the associated states." The solution is to be found in ensuring that the government is sufficiently strong to protect "the worthy against the licentious."¹⁶ This leads to a discussion of the nature and purpose of political society as well as that of confederations of states:
As in forming a political society, each individual contributes some of his rights, in order that he may, from a common stock of rights, derive greater benefits, than he could from merely his own; so, in forming a confederation, each political society should contribute some share of their rights, as will, from a common stock, of these rights, produce the largest quantity of benefits for them.¹⁷The influence of Locke’s social compact theory of the foundations of society is evident here. Yet, Dickinson appeals beyond Locke to an idea of community far richer than Locke’s mere aggregate of atomized individuals. His thought, in fact, reflects both Aristotle’s idea of political society as based on friendship and the Christian doctrine of charity (love of neighbor). He writes:Humility and benevolence must take place of pride and overweening selfishness. Reason, rising above these mists, will then discover to us, that we cannot be true to ourselves, without being true to others—that to love our neighbors as ourselves, is to love ourselves in the best manner—that to give, is to gain—and, that we never consult our own happiness more effectually, than when we most endeavour to correspond with the divine designs, by communicating happiness, as much as we can, to our fellow-creatures.¹⁸

Did he overestimate the cultural unity of the original 13 states? Or, was he too optimistic that this cultural unity could be maintained?

He makes it clear that this confederation is not to be merely an aggregate of self-interested individuals, each contending for their own ends. For the people, he says, are "drawn together by religion, blood, language, manners and customs," and he likens the proposed confederation to a family, in which each son rules his own household, and in other matters the whole family is directed by the common ancestor. Fabius describes the nation that will result from such a confederation as a model of moderation, justice, and happiness. He writes:Delightful are the prospects that will open to the view of United America—her sons well prepared to defend their own happiness, and ready to relieve the misery of others—her fleets formidable, but only to the unjust—her revenue sufficient, yet unoppressive—her commerce affluent, but not debasing—peace and plenty within her borders—and the glory that arises from a proper use of power, encircling them.²²Dickinson’s view of society is thus closer to that of Vattel and Blackstone than to that of Locke. Vattel declared that rights were "nothing more than the power of doing what is morally possible, that is to say, what is proper and consistent with duty."²³ Russell Kirk has stated of Blackstone that,The natural law described by Blackstone was rooted in Christian ethics; and it declared "the absolute rights of man"—the natural liberty of mankind, consisting of three articles, "the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and the right of private property." Yet, these rights were not absolute in the sense of having no limits: as Blackstone put it, "but every man, when he enters into society, gives up a part of his natural liberty, as the price of so valuable a purchase; and, in consideration of receiving the advantages of mutual commerce, obliges himself to conform to these laws which the community has thought proper to establish." There, more clearly expressed than by Locke, is a fundamental doctrine of American politics.²⁴Perhaps closest of all to Dickinson’s view of man and society, however, is that of Edmund Burke. For, both viewed civil society as a partnership which includes man’s relationship to God and which is directed toward the development of man’s higher nature. As Burke would write in his Reflections on the Revolution in France,[T]he state ought not to be considered as nothing better than a partnership agreement in a trade of pepper and coffee, callico or tobacco, or some other such low concern, to be taken up for a little temporary interest and to be dissolved by the fancy of the parties. It is to be looked on with other reverence; because it is not a partnership in things subservient only to the gross animal existence of a temporary and perishable nature. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. . . . [Without] civil society man could not by any possibility arrive at the perfection of which his nature is capable, nor even make a remote and faint approach to it. . . . He who gave our nature to be perfected by our virtue, willed also the necessary means of its perfection—He willed therefore the state—He willed its connexion with the source and original archetype of all perfection. . . . [For] His will . . . is the law of laws and the sovereign of sovereigns.²⁵For Dickinson, as for Burke, civil society is the necessary means by which human beings are connected with the divine, by which human nature is held in its appointed place in conformity to the higher moral law.²⁶

West Virginia...

Rod Dreher, Why Is Appalachia Like That?
trailer
another trailer
official website; FB

Also from AmCon: How to Freeze the Pentagon

Handel on the Thames: AAM on BBC Breakfast

Woody on Empire

Vermont Commons: Woody Harrelson Nails What's Wrong

He may be a "man of the left," but he can't be 100% wrong? Especially if he's reading someone else's script.

official

Edit. 8/25 Looks like that video has been taken down - here is another copy at the maker's YT channel.

Boogie to the oldies...

CDSS: Next of Kynaston by Persons of Quality

Dance Collection: Kynaston.
Andrew Shaw - zoominfo
Mr Kynaston's Famous Dance: Interpretations of Late 17th Century and Early 18th Century English Country Dances
A Brief Visit with Andrew Shaw 7/12/2011 - Country Dance * New York
Key to Sources for English Country Dance
Farnicle Hugy - Rebecca King
Emperor of the Moon

Related:
Lemmings Reprieve Folk Dance Club
BACDS - Hey Days - August 19-26, 2012 (THIS WEEK!)
English Dance Week at Pinewoods - August 25 - September 1, 2012

What of the Boomers?

From Fr. Rutler - Anger Management. It is a good discussion of the emotion of anger and the proper Christian view of the emotion. Is his assessment of our society correct? "We now inhabit a hedonistic culture too slothful to be angry about much of anything, which is why it is easily bought off by sensual gratifications of the crudest sorts."

Will there be a backlash against the Boomers if it becomes clear that decline is irreversible and that they have contributed more than their share to getting us to this point? The resentment and anger may be seething below the surface. There are plenty of happy consumers, but what about those who are struggling financially and wondering why the American Dream seems so impossible to attain now? How many men have retreated into their private pursuits and diversions not because of laziness or lack of initiative but because they have been prevented from exercising a masculine role in society? Might not their recreation be a form of "doping" to suppress "negative" emotions?

Also from Crisis:
Is Totalitarian Liberalism A Mutant Form of Christianity? by Tracey Rowland
Should the Bishop Have Bought the Crystal Cathedral? by Duncan G. Stroik

TEOTWAWKI

The End of the World as We Know It - The end of the Industrial Revolution by Paul Gilding (EB)

Hang on, you’re thinking. The industrial revolution? With its belching smokestacks, dirty industry and steam engines? You thought we left that behind long ago, right? You look at your smart phone, robots on Mars, the rise of Facebook and Google and think ‘we’re well past all that’. Isn’t this the age of knowledge, when we’re all hyper-connected in a 24/7 information rich economy? Think again.

Hiding behind those entertaining devices, information overload and exciting new companies, the real bulk of the economy is still being driven by those dirty belching smokestacks and is still being shaped by those who inherited the economic momentum of 19th century England – the coal, oil and gas industries. Look at any list of the world’s 20 largest companies by turnover and you’ll see around three quarters are either producing fossil fuels, trading them or converting them into transport or energy. So I’m afraid the proverbial belching smokestacks still underpin our economy. But they are now in terminal decline. Yes, after 250 years, their time is coming to an end – and faster than you, or they, think.

Too bad Danny Boyle didn't include this in his opening ceremony show - no 20th century socialism/welfare programs if there is nothing to support them.

Related: The latest from John Michael Greer, The monkeywrench wars (EB)

It was at Counterpunch that I first encountered the pungent military analysis of William Lind. When I once showed one of Lind’s articles to an acquaintance, he denounced Lind as an ignorant leftist, only to be shocked when I explained that Lind had had an illustrious career as a congressional staffer specializing in military reform and was also the longtime closest collaborator of Paul Weyrich, one of D.C.’s most prominent movement-conservative leaders.

I appreciated the thoughtful commentary on our Middle East policy by Kathleen and Bill Christison, former CIA analysts specializing in that region, and later discovered the same last name on articles of the same subject in back issues of National Review from the mid-1980s. NR’s loss was Counterpunch’s gain.

Similarly, Paul Craig Roberts had for decades been one of the leading conservative intellectual figures at the intersection of academics and policy, playing a major role in crafting the economic policies of the Reagan administration and holding a variety of top-ranking appointments in the conservative firmament, while being one of the most widely distributed national columnists. But after he refused to toe the line following 9/11, he was ruthlessly purged, and his important voice might have been lost if Counterpunch and a few other websites had not provided him a venue.

Add the names Ray McGovern, Winslow Wheeler, Franklin Spinney, Pierre Sprey, and a few others to this list, and it sometimes seemed like half the Counterpunch articles I read were by authors with unassailable national-intelligence, military-affairs, or even movement-conservative credentials. Purged, blacklisted, or simply ignored by Conservativism, Inc., they often relied upon Alex’s webzine as the primary distributor of their well-informed writings. Once or twice I joked with Alex that perhaps he was actually Bill Buckley’s truest heir.

The New Beginning

Saturday, August 25, 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

Richard Brookhiser on the Founders and Us

San Diego Padres

Metropolitan Hilarion in town?

Dr. Mercola Interviews Joel Salatin