Paul VI, Uncut

Self-explanatory, really.

That is, unless you need a real-life example.

UPDATE: 700 profile views. ka-ching!

A Trip to Target

It's a wonderful day when $12.99 can make you significantly, enduringly more happy. In this case, Long-Sleeved Thermal Knit Crew - Revved Blue more happy. The materialists were right. They were dang right. I mean, doesn't Veritatis Splendor basically underline the enduring teaching of the Church that in the moral sphere we must safeguard the good of man by safeguarding his goods? So, really, people who have more goods are actually providing more charitable opportunities for their fellow brothers and sisters. See? It all works.

Happiness apparently does have a pricetage: and mine is $12.99. Hmm, at least for now.

Tower of Babel

Today I am writing my term paper for my Pentateuch class, on the Tower of Babel narrative in Gen 11:1-9. I admit that I chose this passage mostly because I remember my mom reading to me an adaptation of the story as a young child with some of the coolest pictures of the Tower of Babel ever. So, my first update is going to be a gallery of sweet Tower of Babel images in art (and of course, you should click on the pics individually to see them full size):

This is an interesting one. For one thing - the tower is immense, completely dominating the entire field of view. The color gradient is amazing from the left bright side to the right side in darkness. This effect combined with the clouds interacting with the tower suggest the tower as being a man-made mountain. And actually, with the darkness of the clouds and the sky, at first glance the tower also reminded me of an inverse tornado, because of the oddness of the colors as well as the swirling architecture. Scrumptious.

I like this painting because it contains the most dramatic portrayal of the height of the tower itself. The rich hues used on the tower contrast it to the bland, almost b/w background city. The pattern of the tower, if you look closely, changes between the 5th and 6th tiers - maybe the builders are re-negotiating things to accommodate it's obscene height?

This painting was done in 1525 by Bruegel, Pieter the Elder, in Brussels. The painting is actually housed in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna! So I might have seen it when I visited it (I think...). I like both the radial internal structure of the tower which is visible in its non-completed form, as well as the obvious catastrophic cave-ins that the tower has already undergone. I also sympathise with the cowering form of the poor guy in the lower-left corner who is obviously getting a talking-to from the King about the building problems.

Ah, the best for last. This is my favorite by far. First, Babylonian Ziggurats (to which the biblcal text refers) were very square and had clear, sharp lines, not swirling shapes. The rigidity of the lines in this picture betoken much more of a man-made affair as opposed to a more organic swirling shape. I enjoy the variety of architectural styles present in the tower - showing maybe a variety of competing and conflicted architects. There is a great variety of activities and construction going on at ground-level, so lots to examine there. And the birds are a fabulous touch - there's an especially beautiful one at the upper right-hand corner.

But the best aspect? The sun beams. Sun beams have always suggested to me the presence of God, in paintings and in real life. And in this picture they are hitting the left side of the tower, leaving the right side of the picture in darkness. It is as if God's attention is centered on this tower that has suddenly been thrust into his domain, leaving the surrounding area bereft of His light and grace. So destroying the tower is actually a merciful action because once again the whole land can be bathed in light, the construction of the tower itself being an event where man places an impediment between him and God.

Anyway, on an aestethic level, the sun beams add to the overall visual impact of the tower and reinforce the picture's stark lines of perspective. These lines have the effect of "stretching" the tower so to speak away from the foreground and towards the origin of those enigmatic sun beams. The viewer is left with a sense that the whole tower is pulling away from the ground and towards the sky. Magnificent!! I'd love to eventually find where the original is and stare at it for a couple solid hours. Maybe by then I'll have an A+ paper on the subject to celebrate.

Oh well, at the very least I'm definitely going to put this picture on my cover page. Can we say "Brownie points?" Very yes. And in the meantime, it makes a fabulous wallpaper!

And today's game is...

...Guess the AVE professor.

Jump-off point: anywhere.

Tonight's post will be a wonderful illustration of (and study in) spontaneity. I do not know where I want to begin, or where I should. I do know, however, that I am starting, and now.

I know, first of all, that regardless of whatever good (if any) writing does, writing is and will always remain, I hope, a joy for me. An amazing joy, when you think about it. Simply stringing words together. Re-writing sentences so they flow better. Deciding to leave a sentence the way you first wrote it even if it could probably be improved a bit. After over four years of being forced to write, it is still wonderful.

And, on the bright side, no young and innocent calves had to sacrifice their skins to make tonight's composition possible. No carcasses of carefree birds were plundered for quills. No ink... was spilled. No candles ticked-off a bit more of their effervescent existence. The only thing that really was consumed was some electrons (or protons, hey - maybe even some neutrons). But frankly, I don't presume to know the finer points of science, and in this case, what I don't know definitely won't hurt me.

This blog began as a self-indulgent whim, and will remain so - after all, there's much to be said for going with what you're good at. And now, I'm going to end this post now. Because I can.

Oh - but before I do, please enjoy this picture of my two favorite robots. The one on the right shares a fantastic first name with yours truly. The one on the left is taller.

Shyamalan's Next

In retrospect, one of the best things about going to see the Goblet of Fire last week was the preview shown before it for M. Night Shyamalan's latest film "Lady in the Water."

The preview itself is masterful - for one thing, it has probably the best "soundtrack" to a preview I've ever heard, and after reading the short synopsis available on the website I can't wait to see this movie. The preview presents the movie as having a beautiful feel and style. I hope that's true. I love previews for movies. They give you so little and so much to "go on" as you wait for the movie to finish production. A well-made preview can single-handedly create enough hype for a movie to make it a hit ... but I hate previews that reveal the entire movie. I feel so cheated. Okay, enough about me. Go watch the preview!

One last thing: everyone has heard of Sixth Sense, but most people haven't heard of the movie he wrote before that - Wide Awake, which I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys Shyamalan's style.

P.S. Thanksgiving was great. :-)

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Gobble-Gobble!!"

Book-A-Minute

Anyone who hasn't visited Book-A-Minute should. It offers ultra-condensed, ultra-funny book summaries. Go read a few. I've read all of them, and decided to add some of my own (for the books they haven't already done, or the ones which I thought they've done poorly):

Brideshead Revisited:
(Charles Ryder wakes up in his room cold and lonely because he lives in ENGLAND and is in the ARMY.)
Hooper: Right-O.
Old Charles: I’m old. Hey, I remember that old place!
(He has a 200 page FLASHBACK)
Young Charles: I’m young and looking for love. Hi Sebastian!
(Sebastian vomits all over Charles’ ROOM)
Anthony: Charm!
(They all go to MARCHMAIN HOUSE.)
Charles: Ought we to get drunk every night?
Sebastian: Yes, we should.
(They DO)
(Everyone gets DEPRESSED, Sebastian runs away to the MIDDLE EAST, Lady Marchmain runs away to DEATH, Julia and Charles run into EACH OTHER, Cordelia runs away into MIDDLE AGE, Bridey runs away into OBSCURITY, Lord Marchmain runs away but since he already ran away he can only run back HOME and DIE).
Charles: I want to be CATHOLIC and not be DEPRESSED.


The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe:
Lucy: Lampost!
Edmund: Turkish Delight!
(He eats MORE then LIES about it because he doesn’t want to SHARE)
Queen: I’ll rule for a thousand years!!!
(Lion ROARS, Queen DIES)
Susan: I don’t have a single memorable line! Why am I here?
Peter: Hey that Lampost sure looks famil---oh great, we’re back in ENGLAND.
(They ARE)


Plato’s Republic: “Society GOOD, Nature BAD – Hey Look! It’s the GOOD!”

Rousseau’s Emile: “Society BAD, Nature GOOD – Hey Look! I’m the GOOD!”


The Fellowship of the Ring:
Bilbo Baggins: I’m outta here.
Gandalf: You must go to Rivendale, Frodo!
(Frodo DOES)
Elrond: You must go to Mordor, Frodo!
(Frodo TRIES)
Aragorn: I’m a multilayered person.
(He slays a dozen ORCS)
Legolas: My race believes in peace.
(He slays a dozen ORCS)
Gimli: I’d rather be drinking.
(He slays a dozen ORCS)
(Gandalf DIES but oh wait no he doesn’t because Gandalfs BOUNCE)
Borimir: Can I have the ring?
Frodo: No.
Borimir: Even for a little while?
Frodo: No.
(Borimir DIES because he asked TWICE. Frodo steals a BOAT and goes to MORDOR because he’s not a TEAM player)

I'm feeling better! I want to go for a walk!

This Saturday I found myself at a crossroads. I had, on the one hand, the option of staying in my cozy home all weekend doing very little in terms of schoolwork and even less in terms of physical activity. On the other hand, I had the option of going to AVE's little dance thing, exhausting myself, utterly failing to live "the clean life" and then staying up until just about the crack of dawn.

I'm glad I chose the harder path... I got to meet up with some ol' pals, the AVE dance wasn't so bad, and afterwards I played probably a few of the most enjoyable games of tiddlywinks ever.

The only slight letdown to the weekend's activities was going to see the new Harry Potter movie - if you've seen the preview for it you've basically seen the movie. It felt like a long series of 25 second scenes comprising condensed versions of the book's most exciting parts. Oh well, there's still The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe and King Kong to live for. I live in expectation.

Too good to pass up.

In case you can't read the caption:

"French President Jaque Chirac ponders how to deal with civil unrest."

I'm not feeling well.

The various strains of illness that have been swirling about me at home and at school have finally overcome the outer wall of the Helm's Deep of my body's immune system. The super-Urukai of disease charged in with its flaming torch of illness and suicide-leapt itself onto the hidden store of infirmity brewing and stewing beneath my afor-mentioned walls of eudaemonia.

.... in other words - I'm not feeling well.

Ultimate Picture Post!!

In part to fulfill a promise I made to my fellow-World Youth Day travelers months and months ago, I finally got around to uploading all my WYD photos (well about 300 of them anyway).

To anyone who has some free time and maybe even a pinch of interest:

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/americanpapistguy/album?.dir=/7704&.src=ph

Guten appetit!

Homework Revisited

Tonight, I can already tell, is going to be one of those nights Charles Ryder describes as "sustained by iced coffee and dark chocolate." I am in horrible fear that my Patristics teacher has finally gone off the deep end - he just sent my class 54 questions to prepare for our quiz on this week's readings.

"Sebastian,

I found my blog here on my computer today so I must write to you as I am mourning for my lost innocence. It never looked like living. The doctors despaired of it from the start. Soon I am off to school to stay with Papa in his palace of learning. I wish you were coming. I wish you were here.

I am never quite alone. Members of my family keep turning up and collecting food and going away again but my microwave pizza is done.

I have a good mind not to take my laptop to school. I don't want him to meet a lot of school laptops and pick up bad viruses.

What you will,

-C."

... a Brideshead Revisited online text? What a world we live in. What a brave new age.

"It's not what you're like, it's what you like!"

Tonight is one of those nights where you have 23 language flash cards to make for yourself and ... "lo and behold!" ... you have exactly 23 blank flash cards left. Thank heaven for little things like that.

Last 5 Watched Movies:

Code 46 ................................... - 4 Zucchettos [Samantha Morton and Tim Robbins]
High Fidelity .......................... - 4 1/2 Zucchettos [Tim Robbins and John Cusack]
Serendipity .............................- 3 Zucchettos [John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale]
Underworld ............................ - 2 1/2 Zucchettos [Kate Beckinsale and Scott Speedman]
(now If I can just get Samantha and Scott together... I'll have come full circle!!)
(oh yeah I also went to see this:) The Squid and the Whale ........... - 3 1/2 Zucchettos

Top 5 Current Songs (in no particular order,
for no particular reason. just because.):

ColdPlay - Warning Sign
Aqualung - Brighter than Sunshine
E.L.O. - Mr. Blue Sky
U.S.E. - Open Your Eyes
M83 - Be Wild


Alright, good luck everybody during these
"Crush Weeks" as I like to call them.

Making up for deficiencies ...

Tonight I realized that there is something lacking in the world. That's right: a quiz to figure out how much like me you are. Now I know what you are all thinking ... how could this not have already been done? Well, I was suprised, too. Luckily, however, I was able to fix this problem:

So, if you are bored, and are looking for a pleasant time-waster, and frankly don't really have anything else better to do right now, then feel free to click here and let Quizilla determine how "Thom" you are... who knows, it might be the most fun you have all day (but frankly I really doubt it).

Update #1: today's results:


Congradulations, you are me! Life doesn't get
much better than this!
13 times, 28%


My compliments, you are pretty darn close
to being me... don't give up - practice makes perfect!
7 times, 15%


Not bad at all, you are kind of me,
but lack some of the important charecteristics.
Never fear - you have a lifetime to work on it!
11 times, 24%


Hmm, while somewhat like me,
you really have failed to grasp some of the
most important aspects of being me.
8 times, 17%



Tsk Tsk, you aren't even close to being me.
My condolances.
7 times, 15%

... okay I'm going to let this post die now. I promise.

The 3-Step Path to Enlightenment

Step 1: You begin the path in a state of hopeful, nay - exuberant, expectation. You do not know what opportunities the world holds, but you do know that you are willing to search for them (large quantities preferred at this preliminary stage). Your facial features, as a result, exhibit openness and naivete.

Step 2: Before you even realize it, you have transitioned to an altered state of being - you confidently place your elbow on the table (perhaps to stabilize you). Suddenly, new ways of thinking about everyday occurrences begin to present themselves. "Am I really where I want to be right now?" you ask yourself. Your face, while still open, is beginning to evidence a slight inward withdrawal - a slight imposed distance that you place between yourself and the world.

Step 3: The final stage - full and complete transition to "enlightenment." You need not look for the questions to life anymore - you have the answer. You rest your arm on your lap - for now you really on yourself for your own strength and support. Your trusty companion through life is in your hands, awaiting to perform its ministry of foam and suds. You view the world as you always knew you should view the world but had hitherto lacked the confidence, namely, with complete moral, intellectual and ontoligical superiority. The world has never been more yours for the taking.

Epilogue: At this point, you can to a variety of things. Apparently, this subject chose to wander into the center of a square, with his manifesto of enlightenment firmly grapsed in one hand, and his other hand outstretched in a gesture of invitation to those still in the clutches of sobriety.

---

The doorway to this path is never locked. Knock and it shall be opened for you!

Words to live by (or maybe not)

Tonight I'm preparing for a reading quiz I have on the Old Testament books of Exodus and Leviticus. To keep this interesting for me, I've decided to copy down (in my, ahem, own words), some of my favorite prohibitions I come across in the old covenant:

1. If your slave wants to work for you past the retirement age mandated by Me, drill a hole in his earlobe... he'll think different then, you watch. (Ex 21:6)
2. If you divorce your wife, you gotta pay alimony, no buts about it. (Ex 21:10-11)
3. Beat your slave within an inch of his life, but no further... because we all know, slaves aren't cheap. (Ex 21:21).
4. Tooth fairy? Get this straight - if a slave loses a tooth, he's free as a bird - so pay for his dental coverage already, the investment will really be worth it. (Ex 21:27)
5. Fellas, if your ox gores someone once, it's all good. we all make mistakes. but if it gores lots of people, you should probably put it to death. (Ex 21:29-30).
6. If you find a robber in your house, it's open season. Just bury him before the sun rises because otherwise the word might get out that robbers dont have miranda rights. (Ex 22:2-4)
7. Kill fortune tellers on sight, I don't appreciate being misrepresented. (Ex 22:18)
8. Mess with a widow or an orphan, and a hover-sword shall assasinate you before nightfall. you don't want too see my ninja hover-sword skills. (Ex 22:22)
9. Don't eat roadkill. Ever. (Ex 22:31).
10. Would it kill you to do the dishes? (Ex 23:18)
11. Don't eat Camels, how the heck are you going to get to the promised land otherwise? goats? Good one. (Lev. 11:4)
12. Don't eat the rock badger (NB: I don't think they followed this one - when was the last time you saw a rock badger??) (Lev. 11:5)
13. Don't eat future symbols of the Church (Augustine will be heart-broken) (Lev. 11:18 - The Pelican)
14. Don't eat bugs. Come on folks, I thought this would be a no-brainer but Zebarel over here has a "little" problem with this it seems.... oh okay, fine, if you want to eat some bugs, eat "the ones whose legs are above their feet," because if you've already got a bug close enough to your face to where you can figure that one out you might as well go ahead and eat it at that point. (Lev. 11:20)
15. ... I mean't grasshoppers, people, grass-hop-pers... do I have to spell everything out for you? ONLY Grasshoppers. Sorry Jiminy Cricket this isn't your lucky day (Lev. 11:22).
16. If an animal crawls into your cup and dies, don't just clean it out with water and drink out of it again ... forget the cup. (Lev. 11:33)
17. Don't eat things with lots of feet or "swarming things that swarm." Remember the rule of thumb: if it has more legs than you have fingers and toes, just say no. (Lev. 11:42-43)

And finally ... "If you follow my commands, I'll defeat your enemies using my special-forces suprise-attack squadron of killer hornets." (Ex 23:28)


UPDATE, Thursday: I streamlined the post and got rid of the non-essentials. :-)

My 50th Post

"The loneliness of the frequent blog poster. "

M83 - Be Wild.

Exorcism of Emily Rose

I saw the recent movie Exorcism of Emily Rose with my dad at the Briarwood dollar theater tonight . First, the theater is awesome - movies for a dollar (and a half after 6pm) is more than bearable, it's possitively easy on the wallet. The layout of the individual showing rooms is almost identical with the old Value 4 theater but much cleaner and less populated (in general). I foresee myself enjoying many movies there in the future.

Second, the movie itself was very good - finally a movie on exorcism that can be recommended to people! The charecterizations are fair and the movie is genuinly artistic (not a cheap scare flick) and can hold up as a genuine piece of art within itself beyond whatever issues it treats (real characters, thought-provoking, bears re-watching). The movie was especially fantastic to see after just having read Athanasius's biography of Anthony of the Desert, which details Anthony's spiritual battles with demons when he was an anchorite, and makes several fascinating insights into the nature of spiritual warfare.

Now, a quick disclaimer - the movie isn't perfect. It does leave some important background details out and claims some fairly untenable assertions... but as a whole the movie is a) worth seeing and b) like any great movie, a creation that causes the viewer to begin asking the right questions and provides an objective content which can serve as a starting point for discussion of the issues it covers.

For a buck-fifty and two hours, I'm glad I did it.

A Magnificent Meme!

Wow, I feel really knowledgeable. I finally figured out what a "meme" is in the "blogosphere" world.

So, I decided to write one.

10 things I am disappointed with this week:

1. Myself, for volunteering the example of "making out" as a probable near occasion of sin in my moral theology class, in which the next youngest person besides me is about 55 years old ("boy, I don't think I've even heard that phrase used in 15 years"). Good one, Thom. Gooooooooooood one.
2. My Socks, for dissapearing at the most inopportune times, (yeah, work that out).
3. The Atlantic Ocean, for not producing a single large tropical storm this week for me to stay interested in and watch - I mean, come on, I know you're the Atlantic Ocean and all, but does that mean you can just rest on your laurels? Seriously.
4. Brigid, for constantly promising to upload pictures and never doing it. This is unaccredited behavior and I am worried.
5. Hot Chocolate Mix, for running out on the morning I needed it most. Most I say!
6. Some Random High School in North Carolina, for removing from their website a prized graduation picture of one of my old literature professors, who would have supported me in my declining years after I had blackmailed him about it.
7. Some plant or plants unknown, which decided to leave a lingering reminder of their recent demise by stinking up our entire plot of land.
8. The Word "Cannoli," for being about the hardest word to spell I've ever come across. I don't know why.
9. The Last Neo, for clearly choosing the wrong door.
10. Free Will, the thing that makes me unable to blame my shortcomings on anything else except myself.

10 things I was happily surprised by this week:

1. Myself, for scoring on 98% on the midterm of that same moral theology class I made a fool out of myself in. Yeah old people, I bet you haven't heard of that grade in about 15 years, oh wait, maybe even never.
2. My Friends, for updating their blogs already!
3. Chocolate Donuts, for being themselves.
4. The State of Michigan, for providing warm weather in November. Fine, I'll let you handle this for another few years, but if I ever see a winter like the one we had last year, you are going to hear from me. That's a promise.
5. My Family, for being so incredibly cool as to do Eucharist Adoration as a family at 10pm on a Friday night in our parish.
6. The Sun, for continuing to sustain life on this planet.
7. Wendy's, for making the spicy chicken sandwich.
8. M83, for composing Run Into Flowers and thus making the world a better place.
9. The Actors and Actresses of Dead Again, for making my Friday afternoon that much brighter.
10. Viewers like you.

For Joe G.

"Hands up! Both of you!"
"No officer, not unless you ask nicely."
"Uh, well, hands up ... please."
"oookay, but I'm warning you, officer,
my friend Joe here gets angry...
and when Joe gets angry, I get upset.
And when I get upset ... bad things happen."
(tune in next week for the exciting conclusion)

________________________________


Hey Joe - I meant to post this for Holloween, but anyway, I heard you got a ticket for parking in a "so-called" handicap spot. This is wrong, Joe. Very wrong. I hope they know that in messing with you they are messing with our combined forces. I don't think they know what they are getting themselves into...

so, when are you coming up to our neck of the woods next?

Time on my hands

So I got bored and made this thing. It easily counts as one those projects that I began with the belief that it was a "really cool" idea. And now after about a half hour of tweaking I end up with... well, here we are. Frankly, I have no idea what to do with it. Should I have deleted it at once? Was it an exercise in futility to even post it on this page? Why am I still typing? Can I put it on a t-shirt and sell it at a raffle?

I just don't know.

Watch it become some sort of internet fad and sweep the waves of the web towards untold glory.

UPDATE 10:38 PM hmm, it's not exactly sweeping the waves of the web yet...