I wish all a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!
May you always have
Walls for the winds,
A roof for the rain,
Tea beside the fire,
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all your heart might desire!
Photo from Kid’s Domain
Irish blessing from the Holiday Spot
Today the high is 67 degrees F! I figured then that today was a nice day to open the windows and get some fresh air circulating through a house that hasn’t experienced it since November. It was much needed! I’m ready for spring and have been ready for spring for ages. Too bad the weather is supposed to get below freezing tomorrow! Such is March in Ohio.
In other news, Carmel is coming for a visit! I’m on spring break this week too, so we won’t have to worry about juggling our time with work. I’m also visiting mom and dad, David, and the cats. Oh and I’ll certainly be playing some NTN Trivia. In preparation for all of this, I’m doing a little bit of pre-spring cleaning. My house is always kept relatively clean, but today I scrubbed some places that needed scrubbing and gave attention to areas I’ve been putting off! I need to show Carmel I’m capable of domestic living, lol! Also, please keep her (and me) in your prayers as we both travel.
Given my recent past-time of remembering the 1980s, I thought I’d actually watch a few 80s movies. So, today I went out and bought the Brat Pack Collection (The Breakfast Club/ Sixteen Candles/ Weird Science)
All of these films were made by director John Hughes who took 80s teen movies to a high art. His movies (esp. the Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Pretty in Pink, and 16 Candles) define 80s teen life for many of us who grew up in those days. Not only that, but they’re "fun" movies that also have pretty decent plots.
Today I watched "16 Candles" and "Weird Science" and I must say they certainly took me back to not only the 80s, but my teen years (which were actually in the 90s; go figure). Hughes has an uncanny ability to capture teenage awkwardness in hilarious and depressing ways. I felt embarrassed for his lovable losers, not only because of their obvious geekiness, but also because I could see some of my friends and even a bit of myself in them! It seems to be a hallmark of many Hughes teen films that the lovable losers come out on top when it’s all said and done. It may be predictable, but such an outcome is certainly uplifting.
"16 Candles" follows this typical pattern where the shy, underdeveloped Samantha (played by Molly Ringwald) has a huge crush on popular guy Jake, who also just happens to be dating the prom queen, not her. The Geek (as he’s known in the credits), played perfectly by Anthony Michael Hall is an archetypal 80s nerd who is after Samantha and also wants to impress his guy friends. He is completely annoying in a brilliantly funny manner. All of the movie’s jokes don’t always "work" for me, but when they do they are downright hilarious. The 80s culture portrayed in this movie is simply too perfect and I suspect that Hughes was gently parodying the 80s before it became popular years later.
Weird Science is a good, but in my opinion, not great example of the work of Hughes. Sure it has a lot of high points, but some of it doesn’t seem to endure too well. But I still enjoyed it, if anything because of Wyatt’s (one of the main geeky characters) hilariously sadistic big brother "Chet" (played perfectly by Bill Paxton). The character was so enduring that my parents constantly referred to Paxton as "Chet" in whatever vehicle he later appeared in (which would be much to his chagrin I’m sure). This movie is a good coming of age movie interwoven with an outlandish sci-fi plot.
Ah, there’s nothing like going back down memory lane.
Ancient and Future Catholics/ChurchYear.Net would like to formally debut our new group blog Per Christum. We’ve been around for a little while, but we think we’ve built up enough content to be worth reading! So, if you have some free time, come on over.
A good Lenten prayer:
O Lord Almighty, God of our Fathers,
Of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
And of their righteous posterity
Thou who hast made heaven and earth
with all their order;
Who hast shackled the sea by thy word of command,
who hast confined the deep
and sealed it with thy terrible and glorious name;
At whom all things shudder,
and tremble before thy power,
For thy glorious splendor cannot be borne,
and the wrath of thy threat to sinners is irresistible;
yet immeasurable and unsearchable is thy promised mercy,
For thou art the Lord Most High,
of great compassion, long-suffering, and very merciful,
and repentest over the evils of men.
Thou, O Lord, according to thy great goodness
hast promised repentance and forgiveness
to those who have sinned against thee;
And in the multitude of thy mercies
thou hast appointed repentance for sinners,
that they may be saved.
Therefore thou, O Lord, God of the righteous,
hast not appointed repentance for the righteous,
for Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, who did not sin against thee,
but thou hast appointed repentance for me, who am a sinner.
For the sins I have committed are more in number
than the sand of the sea;
My transgressions are multiplied, O Lord, they are multiplied!
I am unworthy to look up and see the height of heaven
because of the multitude of my iniquities.
I am weighted down with many an iron fetter,
so that I am rejected because of my sins,
and I have no relief;
For I have provoked thy wrath
and have done what is evil in thy sight,
setting up abominations and multiplying offenses.
And now I bend the knee of my heart,
beseeching thee for thy kindness.
I have sinned, O Lord, I have sinned,
and I know my transgressions.
I earnestly beseech thee,
forgive me, O Lord, forgive me!
Do not destroy me with my transgressions!
Do not be angry with me for ever or lay up evil for me;
do not condemn me to the depths of the earth.
For thou, O Lord, art the God of those who repent,
and in me thou wilt manifest thy goodness;
for, unworthy as I am, thou wilt save me in thy great mercy,
And I will praise thee continually all the days of my life.
For all the host of heaven sings thy praise,
and thine is the glory for ever. Amen.
Translation RSV-CE
From Lenten Canticles
Photo by Jonathan Bennett from the Shrine of the Holy Relics
Since tonight there is an awards ceremony that includes a certain cowboy movie that a few people have seen, I thought I’d give an alternative (forgive the pun). There were several cowboys and adventurers of the Old West that converted to the Catholic Church at some point in their lives and I want to honor them and their decisions. And the Catholic Convert Cowboy awards go to:
Kit Carson
"Buffalo" Bill Cody
Doc Holliday
And Honorable Mentions (since they both played cowboys in movies):
Gary Cooper
John Wayne
Yes, they are all Catholic converts (although the circumstances of their conversion may vary).
I was scanning through the radio stations on the way home from the YMCA yesterday and I heard Don’t You (Forget About Me) by the Simple Minds. Naturally, it made me want to go home and find some great 80s songs to listen to. This page was really helpful in going back down memory lane. Here is what is currently coming from my speakers:
Heaven is a Place on Earth- Belinda Carlisle
Holiday Road- Matt Pond Pa (Yahoo music doesn’t have the original by Buckingham, but their version is excellent)
No Myth- Michael Penn
Back on the Chain Gang- the Pretenders
Lady in Red- Chris DeBurgh
I Melt With You- Modern English
Wind of Change- Scorpions
Also, I think when Carmel gets here we’re going to rent The Breakfast Club (to purchase go here
Photo is self-explanatory!
As many of you know, we’ve put together a Church Fathers Lenten Reading Plan. For many, it will be their first exposure to the Fathers. We know that these writings can be somewhat difficult and like any topic, discussing them will be beneficial to better understanding.
With this in mind, we’ve decided to have a weekly discussion of excerpts from certain readings on Paltalk. For more information visit this page. For information on signing up for a free Paltalk account visit the Paltalk website.
We hope to hear from you.
Also, many thanks for those who have helped spread the word about this Lenten plan and those who are doing it.
