Duck!!

Saw a mallard pair in the river from the bridge on the way to Mass; suppose they’ll be showing up in the pond soon?

Are Tim and Penni Really the Enemy?

From Quotes of the Day, today:

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because they are generally the same people.

-GK Chesterton

Be Careful What You Ask…

From Quotes of the Day, today:

Everywhere I go I’m asked if I think the university stifles writers. My opinion is that they don’t stifle enough of them. There’s many a best-seller that could have been prevented by a good teacher.
- Flannery O’Connor

Flunking Geography?

From Quotes of the Day, today:

The only reason some people get lost in thought is because it’s unfamiliar territory.
- Paul Fix

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Listening to: Stephen Petrunak - With Hope And Healing
via FoxyTunes

Bumper Snicker

Spotted in a .sig on a techie list:

-
Maybe our soldiers would receive better medical care and benefits if they gave up their citizenship and declared themselves illegal aliens.
Jack Rodgers

Miss Piggy!?!?!?

How did this happen? Did I get someone else’s results by mistake? Did someone else take the quiz for me?

You Are Miss Piggy

A total princess and diva, you’re totally in charge - even if people don’t know it. You want to be loved, adored, and worshiped. And you won’t settle for anything less. You’re going to be a total star, and you won’t let any of the “little people” get in your way. Just remember, piggy, never eat more than you can lift!

The Muppet Personality Test

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Listening to: Frank Leister - Where Have You Gone?
via FoxyTunes

Which of C.S. Lewis's Narnia Books Are You?

I’m not quite sure at all how this one worked out the way it did…

You scored as The Horse and His Boy. You are the horse and his boy. This is my personal favorite Narnia story. Though not as well known, the story is an important link to the other chronicles and a good read. Interesting fact: The Horse and His Boy is the only story to take place entirely in the lands surrounding Narnia. The Horse and His Boy 92% The Last Battle 67% The Silver Chair 67% The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe 50% Prince Caspian 50% The Magician's Nephew 33% Voyage of the Dawn Treader 25% Which of C.S. Lewis's Narnia Books Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

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Listening to: Orleans - Dance with Me
via FoxyTunes

Some Important Films

The Vatican Film List from Decent Films Guide

“Some Important Films”

for the 100th Anniversary of Cinema
Pontifical Council for Social Communications
1995

Religion
Andrei Rublev * Andrei Tarkowsky (1969, USSR)
The Mission * Roland Joffé (1986, UK)
La passion de Jeanne d’Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) * Carl T. Dreyer (1928, France)
La vie et la passion de Jésus Christ (Life and Passion of Christ) * Ferdinand Zecca and Lucien Nonguet (1905, France) -Identified on the Vatican film list as La Passion Pathé
Francesco, giullare di Dio (The Flowers of St. Francis / Francis, God’s Jester) * Roberto Rossellini (1950, Italy)
Il vangelo secondo Matteo (The Gospel According to Matthew) * Pier Paolo Pasolini (1964, France/Italy)
Thérèse * Alain Cavalier (1986, France)
Ordet (The Word) * Carl T. Dreyer (1955, Denmark)
Offret - Sacrificatio (The Sacrifice) * Andrei Tarkowsky (1986, Sweden/UK/France)
Francesco (St. Francis of Assisi) * Liliana Cavani (1989, Italy/Germany)
Ben-Hur [A Tale of the Christ] * William Wyler (1959, USA)
Babettes gæstebud (Babette’s Feast) * Gabriel Axel (1987, Denmark)
Nazarín * Luis Buñuel (1958, Mexico)
Monsieur Vincent * Maurice Cloche (1947, France)
A Man for All Seasons * Fred Zinnemann (1966, UK)

Values
Gandhi * Richard Attenborough (1982, UK/USA/India)
Intolerance * D. W. Griffith (1916, USA)
Dekalog (The Decalogue) * Krzysztof Kieslowski (1987, Poland) -Identified on the Vatican film list as Il Decalogo
Au Revoir, Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) * Louis Malle (1987, France)
Dersu Uzala * Akira Kurosawa (1974, Japan)
L’albero degli zoccoli (The Tree of the Wooden Clogs) * Ermanno Olmi (1978, Italy/France)
Roma, città aperta (Open City) * Roberto Rossellini (1946, Italy)
Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) * Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) * Ingmar Bergman (1957, Sweden)
Chariots of Fire * Hugh Hudson (1981, UK)
Ladri di biciclette (The Bicycle Thief) * Vittorio de Sica (1948, Italy)
It’s a Wonderful Life * Frank Capra (1946, USA)
Schindler’s List * Steven Spielberg (1993, USA)
On the Waterfront * Elia Kazan (1954, USA)
Biruma No Tategoto (The Burmese Harp) * Kon Ichikawa (1956, Japan)

Art
2001: A Space Odyssey * Stanley Kubrick (1968, UK/USA)
La Strada * Federico Fellini (1954, Italy)
Citizen Kane * Orson Welles (1941, USA)
Metropolis * Fritz Lang (1927, Germany)
Modern Times * Charlie Chaplin (1936, USA)
Napoléon * Abel Gance (1927, Italy)
8 1/2 * Federico Fellini (1963, Italy)
La grande illusion (Grand Illusion) * Jean Renoir (1937, France)
Nosferatu * F. W. Murnau (1922, Germany)
Stagecoach * John Ford (1939, USA)
Il Gattopardo (The Leopard) * Luchino Visconti (1963, Italy/France)
Fantasia * (1940, USA)
The Wizard of Oz * Victor Fleming (1939, USA)
The Lavender Hill Mob * Charles Crichton (1951, UK)
Little Women * George Cukor (1933, USA)

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Listening to: Joan Osborne - St. Teresa
via FoxyTunes

Mood Music

Driving home from Marisa’s funeral Saturday, after I got out of range of KUSC, Joan Osborne’s “One of Us” (from Relish) kept me company, when the sounds weren’t turned off altogether.

Other than it’s on my Desert Island list, what’s the attraction? Fit my mood, I guess: seemingly out of place with the rest of the album; asking questions, questions, questions...

On 11 June 2004, “A music fan (Brooklyn, NY)” posted a review of Relish on amazon.com: “Ray Charles died today, and I immediately thought of “Spider Web,” one of the many amazing songs on “Relish.” Forget “One of Us.” Please, please forget “One of Us,” and listen to this album with fresh ears. It’s basically about doing drugs, having amazing sex, feeling great and getting down and dirty,…”

Ah, yes, the basis of the well-lived life: drugs, sex, turning one’s own self on… Sign me up. NOT.

“One of Us” makes the album.

Frankly, “Spider Web” is notable mostly for the Ray Charles connection. That’s not completely true, actually. The premise, Ray’s gaining his sight chases away his musical muse, is certainly a different twist. And the percussion work is pretty cool!

I didn’t like “Man in the Long Black Coat” when Greg Lake sang it; time and gentler treatment haven’t improved it any.

You’ve gotta love a song that, in the middle of all that down and dirty sex and drugs, sounds suspiciously like our girl’s gotten that old-time (and I do mean old, not, er, nouveau, Bible-thumping, fer instance) religion. Guess it’s hard to concentrate on sex and drugs when you have to think about God’s name and face…