God and the Machine
This was the future in ye olden days of 1982, kiddies. Let Grandpa Tom tell you about it… Read more
This was the future in ye olden days of 1982, kiddies. Let Grandpa Tom tell you about it… Read more
It’s not unusual for cartoonists and animators to reuse previous work as a shortcut. Here are two compilations of scenes from classic Disney films showed how detailed movement animations were redrawn with new characters. The great comic book artist Wally Wood (Mad Magazine, Two-Fisted Tales, Daredevil, etc) had this written over his drawing table: “Never draw anything you can copy, never copy anything you can trace, never trace anything you can cut out and paste up.” Read more
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a spring quite like this. It’s not unusual for depression to come in cycles, and for it to hit harder as we emerge from winter. But this season, everywhere I look, I see people more people crushed under this burden than I ever recall seeing before. Are we just talking about it more? Are we being more candid? Are years of stagnant economics and social upheaval wearing down our ability to resist? Or is... Read more
Prayer can be hard. Many of us follow the forms laid out by the Church because they are a good foundation upon which to build a prayer life. Whether it’s the Liturgy of the Hours or the Rosary, we drink from a deep and pure well that can nourish our spiritual life with the wisdom of the Church and voice of God in Scripture. When we do, we join the People of God in one prayer. Yet this discipline of... Read more
These just dropped today: When Rory from Doctor Who showed up as a Time Master in this trailer, my Whovian daughter said “I have to sit down.” She was verklempt. And I thought this trailer looked like a pretty respectable take on Supergirl. Certainly better than the Helen Slater movie. As I’ve said before, I’m a DC fan all the way. I only follow three shows: Arrow, Flash, and Gotham. I’m reluctant to commit to two more, but these just look... Read more
An Analysis of the Cognitive Patterns of the Common House Ivy IVY: Oh please dad, I have to go out! I have to go out SO BAD! I have to pee! Pleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease! [kind-hearted human lets dog out in the backyard] IVY. Oh my! GRASS! When did this get here?! I love to roll in it! [rollrollroll] Isn’t grass the best! It’s so great! I’m going to do this forever! [stops rolling, sticks nose in air] Do you smell that?! Does... Read more
Elizabeth Scalia directed me to a story about Columbia University students who are offended by Ovid’s The Metamorphoses, because Generation Participation Trophy never gets tired of tryIng to slap a bike helmet and elbow pads on civilization. The poor little snowflakes are claiming that ancient classics like Ovid’s retelling of The Rape of Persephone triggered a rape victim, and that the professor was insensitive to her complaints. They don’t bother to say what she wanted (probably a pass on finishing an assignment:... Read more
There’s a prayer in the Divine Office that asks Teach us to work for the good of all, whether the time is right or not; make your Church a welcome light for the whole human family. Am I a welcoming light? When I speak and write and teach about the Church, do I draw people in, or push them away? I listen to a lot of presentations to Catholics with children in religious education. Many of those Catholics aren’t serious... Read more
I’ve run these poetic and prophetic words from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s Faith and the Future before, but today yet another survey has people fretting about the future of the faith. Don’t. We’ve known this future was coming for decades. Now we just have to do the work of sustaining vibrant faith communities to see us through the coming trials and darkness. Rod Dreher seems to get it. It’s time to prepare the future by building up the local and domestic Church to sustain itself through... Read more
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