Here is another post of a great and wonderful superb array of words, ideas and current events.

Here are  what writers are

Writing Right Now

Academy Award Nominations

CODA: WINNER 

Best Adapted Screenplay/Best Supporting Actor/Best Picture

It has one of the most interesting concepts of all the nomineed movies. . Now that it it has one the grand prize I will have to to sign up for Apple to watch it

Belfast: It’s about Ireland so I want to watch it with Kristin at some point. I can rent it. It did win Best Original Screenplay
Drive My Car: It looks rather boring. But I signed up for HBO Max so I could watch King Richard. So I might watch this. And it’s 3 hours long!!!
It did win Best International Feature Film
Licorice Pizza: Look Interesting. I could Rent it. The movie was all right. ZERO Awards

Don’t Look Up: Not a bad movie, but not really best picture material The movie was all right. ZERO Awards
Dune: Visually stunning. Better then the version I hated with Sting. Was tired while watching it and had to keep taking naps. Not enough time with the Sandworms. It was the movie that one most of the awards, winning for Best Sound, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing, Best Production Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Cinematography. 
King Richard: I liked this movie in the first five minutes that I saw it. It really is good. It’s also a Sports movie  so it ends the way most sports movies do. That consists of a underdog winning at great odds or losing with dignity. Will Smith really looks like the real guy he plays.  Deacon Steve gave it a good review. Will Smith won Best Actor. During the ceremony Chris Rock said something that made Will Smith get up and deck him. He apologized. ‘

“I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I am not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me,” Smith said following a standing ovation. “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like Richard Williams … but love will make you do crazy things. Will Smith Tearfully Apologizes for Outburst While Accepting Best Actor Oscar: ‘Love Will Make You Do Crazy Things’ (msn.com)

The Power of the Dog: I hated this movie and wondered what the goodness gracious it was doing as a best pic nominee. It was forgettable and annoying. That is until the last 5 minutes of the movie.  My opinion changed in the last five minutes. A revelation and a plot twist gave new insight into whole movie. It went from being a boring western to a deep psychological drama. It did win Best Director
Nightmare Alley:  The noir look was good on this film. Not sure I got the whole point of the movie. The ending was pretty good.
The movie was all right. ZERO Awards.
West Side Story: A remake that keeps what was good about the original while adding something new and original to it. It also has more profanity the the original and the two lead characters actually sleep with one another. The first one seemed more like a musical thou. This one seems like a dramatic movie with well choregraphed musical numbers. I don’t know if that makes any sense. It did win Best Supporting Actress

Act of Charity

This group always needs help, so if you read this way after the date it was published. You can still give to this charity.

The flu outbreak at Mercy for Life (and in Kampala in general) has walloped their finances. Dozens sick at once, with children in the gravest danger. Medical costs through the roof, and they can’t even afford Gatorade to keep kids hydrated. Please pray for them and give right now. This can’t wait. https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/MercyForLifeCorp

(The) Angelus

My wife wrote an incomplete time travel trilogy called The Angelus Dimension, that needs a rewrite. I keep thinking that I’ll work on it someday.

Emily, praying for peace ���@EmilyKath319: I sometimes think about if it would be a witness if more people prayed the noon Angelus (complete with genuflection if able) more often, just wherever they are. Much in the same way Muslims give a testament of their faith with their salah.

In the Angelus you are remembering and praying about the Ascension of Mary. I mean the Annunciation of Mary. These words are similar enough to mess up. Pope Francis consecrated Russia and the Ukraine to Mary’s Immaculate Heart Annunciationion Day 2022. And this also happen.

Sachin Jose@Sachinettiyil: In the Lord of the Rings, it was on March 25 that Frodo casts the ring of power into the Cracks of Doom ending the tyranny of Sauron. Why March 25? Because in the Middle Ages March 25 was Ladyday–the Solemnity of the Annunciation and the beginning of the world’s redemption.

COVID revealed that most of humanity flunked science class. The Consecration revealed that most Catholics flunked Catechism-Beth Bergeron Hancock on FB

Carbon Dating

Get your Fill of Jimmy in debate and teaching… The guy is literally everywhere on Youtube.

He appears on shows with Non-Catholics, Other Christians and Rad Trads as well as great faithful Catholics.

 Should Catholics be young-earth creationists? (with Jimmy Akin) – YouTube
DEBRIEF: with Michael Lofton | On Jordan Cooper Justification Debate – YouTube
DEBRIEF: with Matt Fradd | Post Debate Wrap up on the Kalam Argument w William Lane Craig – YouTube
DEBATE: with Brian Besong | Is Lying Morally Permissible? – YouTube 
DEBATE: Jimmy Akin vs Bart Ehrman | Are the Gospels Historically Reliable? – YouTube
The Mystery of Inflation (Pocketbook Pain!) – Jimmy Akin’s Mysterious World – YouTube
10,000 Objections to Catholicism ANSWERED w/ Jimmy Akin – YouTube
Ep. 70 – SHB w/ Jimmy Akin – YouTube
Who Is the Anti-Christ? | Jimmy Akin | Catholic Answers Focus – YouTube
What do Catholics Believe About Justification? (w/ Jimmy Akin) – YouTube
 The Occult & Black Magic With Jimmy Akin | The Catholic Talk Show – YouTube
 The Pope w/ Jimmy Akin – YouTube

Calmness

There is a calmness, a serenity, and a confidence that come from genuinely trusting God. I mean the kind of deep trust that spiritual writers describe as Self-Abandonment to Divine Providence, or Trustful Surrender to Divine Providence, or the like. The Lenten liturgy is filled with inspired imagery that stirs us up to this confidence and deep trust.

What I am recommending here is not something at all novel, but rather the internalization of Biblical and liturgical texts, the bread and butter of our faith. The purpose is not to make us “feel nice,” but to encourage us in the practice of prayer, penance, and Christian virtue, which is itself a tremendous undertaking that is both arduous and difficult — but which should be approached with that peace that Jesus said He came to give us.

Otherwise, we will render the difficult impossible and crack a lot of high notes in the process.
BROTHER ANDRÉ MARIE, Hitting the High Notes in Lent and in Life – Catholicism.org

Catholic Crossover Event

Comic Book Movies Are For Kids

Here’s a bit of trivia you might not know: Batman was originally a character from comic books, and comic books have traditionally been aimed at—you might want to sit down for this—children. You know, those little people you’d have three of by now if you were born in any era besides this one? They’d read them after school while their parents were busy doing grown-up stuff, like listening to jazz or drinking that brown juice that makes Dad happy and then sleepy.

And don’t give me any of this nonsense about how the latest Batman movies are better than the ’90s ones. Sure, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a ton of silly ice puns in Batman & Robin. Know who found them delightful? Me! Because I’m a human being who has yet to learn long division and still kind of believes in Santa Claus.

I Am Eight Years Old and Would Like a Batman Movie Aimed at Me, Please – McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (mcsweeneys.net)

fathermikeschmitz@frmikeschmitz: That was the best Batman on the big screen ever. (Not for kids, FYI.) But still, the BEST EVER.

Kyle Thompson@KyleOKC: *Ahem*… The Dark Knight still exists.

fathermikeschmitz@frmikeschmitz: It is merely my opinion (which matters very little), but the Dark Knight trilogy isn’t Batman canon. In it, “Batman” is no more than a rich person who has not dedicated his entire life to honing his skills to stop crime. He is merely Nolan’s hollow version.

Daniel Radcliffe

Danny Boy talks Weird Al, Wolverine, Harry Potter, and his new movie The Lost City with Jimmy Fallon.

Human Gnomes

If you want a fun fun Original job.

Judge Not

Even in His pain on the Cross, the Lord Jesus did not condemn sinners but offered up pardon for their sins to His Father, saying: ‘They know not what they do!’ (Luke 23:34) Let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged. For no one is certain that, before his death, he will not commit the same sin by which he condemns his brother. St. Anastasius of Sinai teaches: “Even if you see someone sinning, do not judge him, for you do not know what the end of his life will be like. The thief who was crucified with Christ was a murderer, while Judas was an apostle of Jesus, but the thief entered into the Kingdom, and the apostle went to perdition. Even if you see someone sinning, bear in mind that you do not know his good works. For many have sinned openly and repented in secret; we see their sins, but we do not know their repentance. Therefore, brethren, let us not judge anyone so that we will not be judged.” John Michael Talbot on Facebook March 23,2022

When we get judged or Criticised how should we act. You may have noticed that Fr. Mike pops up alot in this post. He pops up in many of my posts cause he always has something worth listening to.

Ketanji Brown Jacksons’ Confirmation Hearings

I’m not a Republican. I’m not a Democrat. I have no party loyalty. I don’t believe that you have to vote Republican to be a good Catholic.  You also don’t have to be religious to know when life begins and what a woman is. You just have to believe in science. A good atheist can answer these questions asked of Ms. Jackson.  Catholic and other Christian politicians often turn a blind eye towards these very sensitive issues because they think their serving some higher good by supporting them. Catholic and Christian Republican politicians do the same on other issues such as the death penalty, racism and gun control.  Each side has their chosen blind spots. This article highlights without virol Kisanji’s very visible blind spots.

Jackson was understandably asked a number of questions about abortion, given the possibility that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade this summer in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case. She would not take part in that decision, which is expected this summer, but the court’s decision there could have a significant impact on U.S. abortion law. President Joe Biden promised on the 2020 campaign trail to only nominate judges supportive of Roe v. Wade to the Supreme Court. While Jackson has not stated support for Roe v. Wade openly, pro-lifers have raised concerns about her record, including a brief she co-wrote that characterized pro-life demonstrators as “hostile” and “noisy.”
Lauretta Brown,4 Moments That Stood Out at Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Confirmation Hearings| National Catholic Register (ncregister.com)

Make Catholicism Cool Again

Every once in awhile I like to look through the website of other Catholics whom I vehavimily disagree with and wouldn’t recommend to anyone. While both left and right look for stupid things the other side says so they can rip it apart, I like to look for truthful, good and beautiful things my writing opponents write so I can add it to the Broad Chorus of Catholic Voices. It’s a reminder that despite any differences we all have, were all children of God. Even if the other side won’t acknowledge my Baptism, I will recognize theirs.  Here is one of the rare articles found on Church Militant that is not chock full of virol for other people. Don’t agree with the way everything is worded in this article but the very gist of it is good. It is ironic that it is found on that website. I plan on expanding this quote and writing more on it at some point.

Catholics under 40 are well aware: The Church has a personnel problem. We’re dorks. It’s precisely why regular people don’t take us seriously. We need to recapture our cool to spread the Faith to the world at large.

Think about it. What happens when an entire generation of quarterbacks, soldiers, prom kings and social media influencers is told Christianity is about reading books and being generally constipated and boring? A mass exodus ensues. And for no reason, mind you.

While sanctity is a must, Christians also need to be genuine, which goes hand in hand with being fun and interesting.

I’m not advocating ditching holiness and virtue to be cool. What I’m saying is put down the theology books once in a while and learn to recreate like normal people. For the sake of all that’s good and holy, pick up an issue of Sports Illustrated. Perhaps — gasp — play some video games. Maybe, God forbid, lift a weight (something heavier than the Summa Theologiae).Joseph Enders  Make Catholicism Cool Again (churchmilitant.com)

Vatican 2: A Convert’s Guide

How should converts understand Vatican 2? For many converts, the endless debates and controversies surrounding the Second Vatican Council can become overwhelming and scandalizing. Joining Keith is Fr. Blake Britton, author of the new book “Reclaiming Vatican 2”. In this book, Fr. Britton explains how to understand the differences between what people say Vatican 2 teaches vs what the documents actually say. This is a fascinating conversation that pulls no punches. Don’t miss it! Keith Nester

Why Ukrainians Fight

When Ukrainians living in freedom in the West leave it to return to their country to fight, they show that their concern is not merely for their own freedom to do what they want, but for their country.

Would fewer people die if the Ukrainians simply gave up and allowed themselves to be ruled by Russia?  Perhaps.  Would they still have food, theaters, cars, houses, and vacations?  Probably.  Would their puppet government be so much more dysfunctional than their current one?  Maybe not.  But what they would not have anymore is their country.

And by this, we don’t just mean an ethnic enclave for non-Russians.  People like Hitler and Putin have been encouraged to think of nations in terms of racial, ethnic, or linguistic identity because that was a tradition bequeathed to the world in the aftermath of the First World War.  Why do Putin and other Russians think Ukraine is part of the “Russian world”?  Because there are people who speak Russian living there who share a common history and culture.

All true.  But none of that leads to the conclusion that Ukraine is not its own country, with its own proper political order and its own sovereign territory. A state is not an entity based on ethnicity or race or something that happened centuries ago.  On the Catholic view, it is a distinct political order present now with institutions ordered to the common good. Randall Smith, Ukraine’s Challenge – to Us – The Catholic Thing MARCH 23, 2022

Regarding Putin and Ukraine: We can judge the actions of the a forced invasion and war on a democratic nation that does not wish to re enter the Russian Federation, and the habitual mass killing of civilians. We cannot judge souls. That is up to God alone. It is our job to pray for an end to war, for peace, and the conversion of every soul. Even the worst sinner, Nero, Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and many others were created by God and could always convert back to God. Putin, or our worst political leaders are no different. Jesus forgives all and welcomes any truly repentant sinner.We must never forget this. John Michael Talbot on Facebook March 23,2022