For the first half of this movie I was not totally sold on it–despite its setting in “The Very Early ’80s” and its discussions of group socializing vs. “ferocious pairing off” and the Robert Sean Leonard of it all. “It’s fun enough, but it’s no Damsels in Distress,” I thought. By the end I was so fascinated and pleased that I wanted to rewatch it immediately. I listened to the commentary track, which I rarely do with Netflix dvds because... Read more
Get rafflin’, y’all. Read more
is right: …During the podcast, the guests made several in-passing negative references to the monastic practice of self-flagellation, which were never challenged. In particular, they made a couple points: the first is that God, being fundamentally non-violent and opposed to suffering, could not condone such a practice; second, that monks who engage(d) in such a practice were trying to earn holiness. Yet we find that many great saints, who were in no dangers of such spiritual aberrations, nonetheless undertook this practice. I... Read more
Blue-china dishes with images of…sea monsters, flying monkeys, and UFO attack! Via Ratty. Read more
The menu screen, if we’re going to extend this already-kinda-dumb dvd analogy. I’ve starred the ones which were popular or which I personally thought turned out especially well. Enjoy! (And buy my book!) * The “Gay and Catholic” Drinking Game. Possibly my favorite of these posts. *The Anima Christi *Celibacy in partnership How are gay, celibate Christians going to change the culture? When the going gets weird, the weird get spiritual direction. *Is “vocational discernment” just a fancy term for... Read more
Ooh, this is gonna sting. Via the Rattus. Read more
Okay, as I wrap up this series of “dvd extras” for my book, let me maybe relieve some pressure. A Queer Calling today has a thoughtful post about talking to teens about celibate vocations. I’ve tried throughout this series to flag some of the problems with the way we–I–often talk about “discerning a vocation.” We can make it sound like vocation is navel-gazing; or like it’s a self-directed quest where you pick which of the million possible paths ahead of... Read more
Somewhere in my skull there’s a room where this is always playing: Read more
A silent movie in which Lon Chaney, Sr plays a scientist whose work is stolen by an evil Baron who’s also seducing his wife. Due to the public humiliation he becomes a clown (yes) who goes by the nom de cirque “He Who Gets Slapped.” You can guess what his routine is like. After many years of reenacting his public disgrace for the entertainment of the crowd, he may have a new chance to love and hope–but will his heart... Read more
for AmCon: The new novel from indie music hero John Darnielle is a moving tribute to the power of the imagination. But not in the way you might think. The novel’s setup is fairly simple. Sean, the narrator, suffered severe facial disfigurement from a gunshot wound sometime in his early life—the kind of disfigurement which makes him hard to look at, which makes other people recoil from him. But after decades of learning to accept his situation, he’s patient, quiet,... Read more
Eve Tushnet
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