Joe Eszterhas story

An excellent radio interview with Joe Eszterhas, about his discovery of faith and his new book Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith.

Voting Article

Check out this article on Voting and Fear

Music and Spirituality | Fr. Basil Cole, O.P.

The Ignatius Insight just published an article from Fr. Basil Cole Music and Spirituality | Fr. Basil Cole, O.P. | Ignatius Insight | Ignatius Insight that is very insightful and very much needed in this Society Gone Madd!  I've read his book Music and Morals which really helped me, he is just awesome.  Now he connects Music and Spirituality to the tune of St Thomas Aquinas - my favorite saint.  Part of spirituality is using your mind, but people today seem to believe whatever they feel is ok.  When music (or any of the arts, I believe) causes feeling a certain way for a prolonged period of time it is bound to have it's effects.  Please consider reading the article (which I think can be applied to all forms of the arts), it may change your life, like his book Music and Morals did mine. 

Clarification by Bishop on Catholic Voting

Catholic Culture : Catholic World News Feature Stories hopefully will clear up or at least inspire some of the faithful to form their consciences and vote according to church teaching.  We need the bishops to all come out very forcefully so that the faithful at least hear them.  Our country, our lives, and our future rely on it.  Consult Voters Guide for Serious Catholics to form your conscience.

GH Nightshift 08/06/08

General Hospital is by far the best soap on right now.  I began watching it in the dayroom with all the second shift guys in the dorms on the Air Force Base I was at.  It was during the Luke and Laura days.  About twenty five years later, I got back into it somehow.  Now all the kids of the characters are in it and it's as good, if not better than ever.  Then Last year they started a spinoff, Nightshift, with some of the same characters and they bring in new ones also. 

This particular episode was the best one ever.  I was really happy they tackled the subject of abortion in a worthy way.  They really brought out the horror of abortion and how it really affects the mother, even years later.  This is what will stop the crisis the entertainment industry is in.

A Christian at the Movies

First Things has a good article - A Christian at the Movies that chronicles some of the things that have happened in Hollywood to cause it's deterioration.  There is also good information on Dr. Ted Baehr and his MovieGuide web site and Christian Film & Television Commission. The article notes, interestingly, that since around the turn of the century Hollywood has released an average of 33 movies with strong positive Christian content each year.  Though the article questions his rating system, it has some good information to ponder.

FIRST THINGS: Interview with an Ex-Vampire Novelist

 FIRST THINGS: Interview with an Ex-Vampire Novelist is an article that gave me some insight on how art can bring about the conversion process.  It took writing 27 books for Anne Rice to learn the things that helped bring her to Christ.  I like how she characterizes some of the current scandalous biblical scholarship.  It seems to me she is a bit misguided in the area of politics.  For the best explanation of how to vote in a informed manner consistent with Catholic Moral teaching and fundamental human rights read the Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics.

FIRST THINGS: Interview with an Ex-Vampire Novelist

 FIRST THINGS: Interview with an Ex-Vampire Novelist is an article that gave me some insight on how art can bring about the conversion process.  It took writing 27 books for Anne Rice to learn the things that helped bring her to Christ.  I like how she characterizes some of the current scandalous biblical scholarship.  It seems to me she is a bit misguided in the area of politics.  For the best explanation of how to vote in a informed manner consistent with Catholic Moral teaching and fundamental human rights read the Voter's Guide for Serious Catholics.

St. Vincent de Paul movie

This sounds like a great movie, when I get a change I will more than likely get it.  Here's a link to a review of it - JIMMY AKIN.ORG: The Sacred and the Profane

An American in Paris - A Refreshing Feeling

I was flipping channels this evening and came across the movie "An American In Paris" and thought I'd seen it before but I never had and right from the beginning of the movie,  from the first notes of music, it just gave me a good feeling.  It made me really realize how much entertainment has devolved.  It is amazing the drastic difference in the past fifty years.  The mid sixties is when the de-evolution started.

The biggest change I felt watching the movie is the quality of music.  I normally am not a big Gershwin fan, but most of the music in the movie was very uplifting to the soul, unlike the music of this day and age.  There has to be something that can be done to re-beautify the music and movies of this day and age.

Indian film epic to portray St. Thomas the apostle

I came across this article - Catholic World News : Indian film epic to portray St. Thomas the apostle - and thought it was very interesting.  I hope it is huge and comes to this country.  They are trying to make an epic as big as the Ten Commandments.

Pope sees vital role for Catholic broadcasters

 Catholic World News : Pope sees vital role for Catholic broadcasters shows how important our work in entertainment is.  It is vital to the survival of society.  Everything we do should reflect out belief in Christ.  The Holy Father encourages us to fulfil our mission.

Unite contemplation and activism, Pope says

The Holy Father gives us relevant words to today's problems and compares them to the situation of today's society. Catholic World News : Unite contemplation and activism, Pope says I think too many times in the past 40 years we have been told do one or the other, but it has always been - do both. 

Speed Racer review

We saw the movie Speed Racer this weekend and it was actually pretty good.  It wasn't as good as the original series in the 1960's but it definitely could have been worse.  It had a relatively good story with the message that cheaters never prosper.  My children (boys 11 & 9) liked it and as I am sure, as most kids, liked the action and didn't care about the story which was kind of confusing at the beginning because they went back to the past, forward to the future, to the present, future, present, past, future, etc.  Boy it got confusing at times, probably too confusing for my 9 year old.  The racing was kind of strange to me, the cars were constantly going sideways, "drifting", and constantly spinning around bouncing and crashing into each other with little or no damage.  But that's what my kids liked.

Get your kids away form the terrible cartoons of this age and get the original version on DVD for them to watch.  The 5 seasons of the original Speed Racer TV series are available here.

     

                      

If you haven't caught the newest in the Speed Racer series, they have been showing Speed Racer - The Next Generation on TV and it is actually pretty good also.  They already have it on DVD if you want to check it out.

Iron Man Review

I saw the movie Iron Man last night with my 11 year old son and he said it was probably better than Spiderman 3.  When asked, he said it was basically the effects and action parts that he liked, when I asked him what he thought about the story, he said "Boring, especially at the beginning."  

My opinion of it is that I expected a little better movie.  The anti-war theme is a bit tiring; can't they come up with anything new instead of the same old propaganda?  They give the impression that weapons are bad in anyone's hands instead of the fact that they are bad only in bad peoples hands.  They also give the false impression that all weapons contractors sell weapons to both side because they only care about the money and power.  Yes, I am sure there are a few contractors that may be like this, working both sides of the fence, but if the exception is always shown as what is the norm, the normal end up getting viewed as being bad when it shouldn't be. 

Here again is an example of telling lies to produce a good result. I know they have good intentions but they go about it the wrong way. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am sure they believe what they portrayed in the movie but portraying wrong or false ideas even though you think it's true doesn't prevent the eventual damage it causes.  It is definitely a great good vs evil message that needs to be heard and ultimately good wins out.

I am sure I am jaded by Hollywood making the same kind of movies all the time.  It's all about the money anyway.

They have already announced Iron Man 2.

Interesting take on current Christian art

I came across an article asking Why Is Christian Art So Lame These Days?  I have been wondering that for a while and was skeptical about putting it in such an intense way but I think it nails it right on the head.  The past few years I have wondered why the arts, especially music was so great in the 17th and 18th centuries and the quality started declining by more than half in the 19th century and took a serious dive in the 20th century.  I just hope we can at least begin to increase the quality in the 21st century.

Papal Document on Entertainment Prophetic

I am in the process of reading an encyclical from Pope Pius XII - Miranda Prorus.  It amazes me how the Holy Spirit works through the Church.  I will be writing here about parts I find that are needed in this day and age and some of the ideas contained in the encyclical that will help us as Catholics in Entertainment.  One of the first things that jumped out at me is the purpose the Holy Father spells out for our field - "Indeed, this should be the first aim of the arts of the Motion Pictures, Radio and Television: to serve truth and virtue."  Both of these definitely need to be reclaimed in all media.  Consider reading this with me and growing closer to Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI on Music

Recently the Pope said there is "a kinship between music and hope, between song and eternal life," and for this reason, "the Christian tradition represents the souls of the blessed in a choir."  He also referred to the "spiritual values of musical art, called in a particular way to instill hope in the human spirit wounded by the earthly experience."  He also thinks that new generations can find new inspiration by approaching the "universal value of the artistic patrimony," thus making it easier to build a society "open to the values of the spirit."

I think he has a great insight that we can learn from.  It seems that a lot of music, and the arts in general, is composed for selfish reasons - because it pleases the artist or listener - instead of trying to uplift the listener and society in general.  Maybe we need to step back and look at our arts in a renewed way.

Zenit

CWNews

Expelled Review

I saw Ben Stein's movie "Expelled" today and it was great!  It has received the New Ethos  Excellence Award. 

I believe it is an honest look at the bias that is going on in the majority of colleges.  It exposes the closed mindedness of the University.  People think colleges are a place to learn and explore truth, since it will set us free.  But they shackle us by telling us we have the freedom to think as long as it is what they want us to think.

Assisted Suicide on Boston Legal

The Boston Legal episode that aired on Apr 15th 2008, had one of the story lines deal with physician assisted suicide/homicide.  As Catholics we need to learn what the Church teaches on this subject so we can inform the people we work with the truth of the wonderful meaning of life.  This episode tries to make an argument that will foster a Culture of Death.  We need to counter with a Culture of Life!

I think one of the lessons Pope John Paul II wanted to show us is Salvation through Suffering.  I know this is a very sensitive subject, but that is what makes it important and imperative to get right.  Pope John Paul II wrote an Apostolic Letter SALVIFICI DOLORIS (On the Meaning of Human Suffering) that is a very good explanation of the Church's Teaching.  Another good resource is the Encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) by John Paul II.

Why take away someone's pain when it is possible to be helpful to their salvation.  I am not advocating undue or unnecessary pain, but the normal pain of death may be redemptive. Also the pain we experience can do the same for us and we have the opportunity to apply our sufferings to them.

I also came across an article on John Paul II and the Meaning of Suffering by Fr John Hardon that puts the Church's Teaching eloquently as does and article in This Rock magazine from Catholic Answers, A Pope’s Answer to the Problem of Pain

Refer also to the Catechism Paragraphs 2269, 2276-2279, 1502 and the Compendium of the Catechism question 470-471 and 368.

Papal Coverage

I just found out that the Bishops have a web site to chronicle the Pope's 2008 visit.  You can go to http://www.uspapalvisit.org/ to read and watch streaming coverage of what is happening and what has happened throughout the visit.  I looks like it will have really good coverage.

Pope's Visit

In my experience of the media covering matters pertaining to the Church I would be very careful about what you hear from the media coverage during the Holy Father's Visit.

Great coverage will be on EWTN where you can watch online Also from Catholic World News , Catholic News Agency, and Zenit News Agency.

The Truth will set you free (me too)

One of the major problems with hollywood and the media seems to me to be truth telling. Most probably don't do it on purpose, but they actually believe lies that they are told or are just really lying to them self. If more actual truth was told the world would be a better place.

From what I hear, it seems like a good movie that exposes a lot of this falsehood is Ben Stein Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed I looks like it will dispel a lot of the lies that have been told over the years.

One of the big lies told today is about Global Warming. If you notice they have changed their rhetoric recently, you don't hear Global Warming anymore, now you hear climate change. They won't tell you that the latest numbers say the earth is cooling now, they have too much invested in their lie. Like we can control the weather anyway. Face the fact that Climate does change, yesterday it was near 100 degrees, today it'll be 85 and tomorrow it'll be 65.

Another lie I heard told years ago was when they told women they were in danger of breast cancer more than they actually were. They admitted to lying to possibly save more lives telling women to get checked.

Those two scenarios go against the Catholic principal to do no evil (bad) so that good can become of it. We need to concentrate on the Truth - the Truth of the person Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Our work in entertainment is very powerful and has changed man lives. Only in truth can we change people's lives for the better and not for the worse when we participate in telling lies or even unknowing false statements.

G.K. Chesterton had a saying - "when you stop believing in God, you don't believe in nothing, you believe in anything."