This review was first posted in April of 2004, on my old blog. I’ve made minimal edits. I first saw Bugsy Malone on Z Channel (one of the first pay-TV channels) back in the late ’70’s. I recorded it on to videotape, and watched it over and over; I’ve no idea how many times. And when I saw it on DVD at Tower Records yesterday, I grabbed it. IMDB only gives it 6.1 stars out of 10, but I’m telling... Read more
So I got a tin whistle tutorial by noted Irish whistle player Mary Bergin, so that I can learn to play a tin whistle the way whistle players do, instead of the way recorder players do. It’s too early for me to say whether the tutorial was a good investment or not, as I’ve just begun working through it, but Jane says I’m showing improvement, so there’s that. (If you’re interested in the tin whistle, and are looking for inspiration—or,... Read more
The fourth pillar of Dominican life is community; and you can read all about it in my March post at CatholicMom.com. Money quote: Dryness will come; it’s good to have companions to help you through it. Read more
Leah Libresco has a post about monitoring her “addictions” during Lent: the activities that seem to suck up her time, to verify that they value actual value and aren’t simply sucking her into a dopamine loop. I was reminded of experiments I’ve read about, done on rats. Put a rat in a cage with a button. If the rat pushes the button, he gets food. Rats given this option often keep pushing the button. But if you make it so... Read more
That’s one of the fine features of tailing; wherever the subject leads you, you will follow. I once spent four hours tagging a guy up and down Fifth and Madison Avenues, using all the tricks and dodges I knew, and learned later that he had been trying to find a pair of gray suspenders with a yellow stripe. — Rex Stout, The Final Deduction Read more
First of all, for those who came here expecting a writing post: the scenes, they are beginning to get written. I had to work through some issues with the characters—I knew more or less what had to happen, but I had to cast it so that it made sense in terms of the characters and what they are going through. I’ve now figured out enough to be going on with, and I am. Second, today is Ash Wednesday, the first... Read more
In Gaudy Night, the penultimate Peter Wimsey novel, Sayers returns her attention to Lord Peter’s beloved Harriet Vane—almost to the exclusion of Peter himself. As with Have His Carcase, I first read this under the influence of SRDS (Sleuthly Romance Derangement Syndrome); which is to say, I first read it in order to find out what happens to Lord Peter and Harriet, rather than to enjoy the mystery. On that first reading I found it long, confusing, and full of... Read more
Joseph Susanka has the scoop on a series of animated shorts, made in Ireland, to illustrate Irish folk songs. Fun! Read more
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about discipleship and catechesis; and a commenter suggested (albeit in a rude and dismissive fashion) that the problem with making disciples is that God is silent and invisible, and since no one can see or hear Him naturally it’s hard to get excited about Him. I suggested that perhaps others saw something he didn’t, and the commenter responded with obvious scorn, and said that he was shocked that I didn’t regard... Read more
Melanie Bettinelli has put together two posts about maintaining a charitable disposition while arguing with others, one by Dominican Fr. Philip Powell OP, and one by one of Patheos’ own Jesuits, Fr. Sam Sawyer, SJ. Both are worth your time, as are Melanie’s own comments. Read more
Cry 'Woof'
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