This morning at Mass, while trying to keep my pack in line/sitting on the pew/speaking in a stage whisper rather than shouting/etc., I was struck by how unsettling yet fitting it is to be celebrating the glorious commemoration of the Incarnation only a week before Good Friday. In many ways, the seemingly awkward juxtaposition is a perfect example of … Read more
Yesterday marked the 100’s anniversary of the birth of the man considered by many to be the greatest, most influential film director of all time: Akira Kurosawa. Affectionately (or fearfully, perhaps) known as “The Emperor” on his sets, his visual style, thematic ideas, and absolute mastery of the medium profoundly influenced countless generations of filmmakers. Spielberg once referred to … Read more
As part of my continuing efforts to avoid thinking about this law for as long as possible, I happened across an article that made about as much sense to me as the 2,500+ page behemoth signed earlier today, only without any of the damaging long-term implications of H.R. 3590: Action still resulted in an equal and … Read more
In the wake of yesterday’s demoralizing — (how I wish that word were not quite so appropriate) — events, I, like Margaret, have sought for ways to distract myself from the draining aftermath of the health-care debate. And I find myself taking some comfort in the fact that we’ll always have Paris: Harmonizing the 17 rows and … Read more
Those of you reckless (or charitable) enough to check out my semi-regular Friday YouTube surfing will know by now that I have developed a fascination bordering on obsession when it comes to stop-motion short films. At root, I think my fascination stems from the fact that I have never had much patience, and the amount of patience on … Read more
I’ve always enjoyed Rick Reilly’s writing. His peculiar balance of brutally hilarious sarcasm and extraordinary feel-good stories that no one else seems able to find has kept him at the top of the sportswriting world for many years. His latest article for ESPN, detailing Denver Nuggets’ coach George Karl’s battle with cancer, doesn’t really fall into … Read more
Despite my snobish insistence on refraining from “any and all things Facebook” — I waste so much time on the IntraWebs as it is, I’m afraid of what might happen if I added FB to the mix — I could not let this story pass by without comment: Social networking website Facebook has capped a year of phenomenal … Read more
Since my early childhood days, I’ve always had a great affinity to and appreciation of classical music. My first memory of music — in fact, practically my first memory of anything –was hearing Bach’s “Wachet Auf” performed by John Williams and Peter Hurford, and I was off and running. (I blame/bless my father for this. … Read more
Last week, Adrianne Adderley, an extraordinary woman that we members of the Susanka Clan are proud to call “friend,” wrote an equally extraordinary story for LifeSiteNews. It recounts the devastating sorrow Adrianne recently suffered when she lost her fifth son, Phillip, to a miscarriage. And it also speaks of the way in which her suffering, (and her … Read more
Today’s YouTube experience is brought to you by Aerial Filmworks, a company which “provides gyro-stabilized Cineflex HD camera systems for entertainment, advertising and corporate clients.” Their client list is long and impressive — Disney, Discovery Channel, BBC, PBS/Nature, Planet Green, Red Bull, Burton Snowboards, Amazing Race, CBS/Survivor, Lockheed Martin, ESPN and TruTV are all included … Read more
Over at OSV’s Daily Take, John Norton points to the perfect antidote to such depressing news as our Speaker of the House’s insistence that ” we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Only this antidote isn’t a thing; it’s a person — Dr. Raymond Leo Dennehy, Professor of Philosophy, … Read more
I happened across this horrifying link over the weekend, and am at a complete loss as to what to say about it. It’s mind-boggling: The Katowice Appeal Court has today upheld the verdict of the Katowice District Court which ruled in September ‘09 that the Polish Catholic newspaper Gosc Niedzielny (Sunday Visitor) and its editor-in-chief … Read more
As Hollywood’s “silly season” draws to a close — only 4 more days before we can put all these “For Your Consideration” ads behind us — here’s the most entertaining visual summary I’ve seen on the season thus far. From LocateTV.com, it’s entitled simply “Everything you wanted to know about the Oscars.” (The “lowest grossing” vs. “highest grossing” tidbit might … Read more
Over at The Daily Mail (UK), there’s a fantastic post on NASA’s recently-released Update Blue Marble images — the most detailed outer-space images of the Earth we have to date. (I’m not quite sure what “recently released” means. The NASA website can be a bit tricky to navigate, and while their Visible Earth section is … Read more
The human costs for such tragic events as the recent quakes in Haiti and Chile are incalculable. There is so much suffering, it is difficult for many of us to comprehend. (I was taken aback a few days ago to recognize my relief at early stories placing the Chilean death toll in the 700’s. Tragically, that number will surely … Read more
As the blog’s resident “harbinger of doom,” I couldn’t possibly let this story pass by unnoticed: Nothing lasts forever. So it will be said about the University of Michigan Library’s card catalogs when they are removed from their home in the bowels of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library on March 8. Twelve and a half million … Read more
A couple of weeks ago, I posted a fascinating/disturbing video from Stargate Studios that revealed the increasingly unrecognizable use of CGI and digital backlots in TV and film production. (“Don’t worry. No reality was harmed in the making of this film. In fact, I’m not even sure any was used.”) Now, courtesy of /Film, here’s a … Read more
Much has been made of Detroit’s recent efforts to cope with its badly damaged economy and plummeting population. A number of high-profile photographers have documented the encroaching loneliness with devastating effect, a number of radical rezoning strategies have been suggested, and Michael Moore is always willing to give his opinion on the matter. Now, the city’s mayor is … Read more
…and no one’s there, does it make a sound? Over at dotCommonweal, Robert Imbelli had a brief post on the buzz-producing “Yes” from Scott Brown on yesterday’s jobs bill. While many analysts have spent the last little while dissecting the vote itself, Imbelli noticed a much quieter (yet much more depressing) note in the story: Three hours before … Read more
For the last several years, I’ve been keeping a wary and mistrusting eye on Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackon’s secretive attempts to turn the work responsible for some of my fondest (and, I would have thought, least cinematic) childhood memories into a motion picture. I speak, of course, of the long-gestating, mysterious, almost-impossibly challenging The Adventures of … Read more