Film Fest !

I haven't been to the cinema in a while, so yesterday I saw two films... mostly because a friend of mine really wanted to see Beowulf and I wanted to see Ratatouille, and rather than either of us being disappointed we decided to see both!

Of the two, I'd say mine was the better choice. The animation was superb (there was a night-time shot of Paris which made me say "wow" out loud!) and someone had really spent a lot of time watching how rats move. They have a sort of lolloping scuttle which is very different from the way mice move (I've done a lot of rodent-watching in my time!) Remy, the hero, has more human movements, but watching his fellow rodents was a real blast from the past.

Beowulf, on the other hand, was far less impressive, even though there were lots of computer-generated special effects and enhancements. I found myself wondering whether they'd gotten a special price for re-using costumes and props from the filmsets of Lord of the Rings and Troy. I was also rather disturbed at the rating: it's a 12A. However, there was a lot of gratuitous nudity: I saw far more of Anthony Hopkins and Ray Winston than I ever wanted to... Deft catching of a blanket and use of camera angles preserved Hopkins' modesty, while Ray Winston strode around manfully with several strategically-placed props preserving his. Angelina Jolie was completely naked, but this was a digitally-produced version of her, and so was more reminiscent of Lara-Croft-meets-Barbie than a real woman. There were several very buxom wenches in evidence (though not particularly involved in the plot)... but this really was not what I would consider suitable for 12-year-olds.

All in all, I'd say that the film, while enjoyable, demonstrates the danger of trying to turn a short poem into a full-length film epic.

St. Cecilia's Feast Day

It's St. Cecilia's feast day today. What we know about her goes back to the fourth century. Cecilia was a Roman noblewoman who had given her heart to Christ. Beneath the rich clothes worn by women of her class, Cecilia wore a rough shirt, because she wanted to be able to offer this sacrifice to Jesus, whose bride she intended to be.

Cecilia's father had other ideas, and gave her in marriage to a young pagan noble. It is said that during the wedding celebration, Cecilia sat apart. She was singing to God in her heart and praying for his help. When she and Valerian, her husband, were alone, she gathered up courage and said to him: "I have a secret to tell you. You must know that I have an angel of God watching over me. If you let me keep my promise to be Christ's bride only, my angel will love you as he loves me."

Valerian was surprised and said kindly, "Show me this angel. If he comes from God, I will do as you wish." Cecilia said, "If you believe in the one true God and receive the waters of Baptism, then you will see my angel." Valerian went to Bishop Urban and was received with joy. After he had professed his belief in the Christian religion, he was baptized and returned to St. Cecilia. There by the saint's side, the young man saw the splendid angel.

Valerian's brother, Tiburtius, learned of the Christian faith from Cecilia. She spoke so beautifully of Jesus that before long, he too was baptized. Together the two brothers performed many works of charity. When they were arrested for being Christians, they went bravely to death rather than give up their new faith in Jesus. St. Cecilia lovingly buried their bodies, before she too was arrested. She converted the very officers who tried to make her sacrifice to false gods. When she was put into a fire, it did not harm her. At last, a man was sent to behead her. He struck her neck three times, but Cecilia did not die right away. She lay on the floor of her own home unable to move. Yet by holding out three fingers of one hand, and one of the other, she still professed her belief in the Blessed Trinity. That is how she is depicted in the sculpture at the top of this post.

St. Cecilia is one of my (many) favourite saints, because she's the patron saint of Church music, and I love to sing. In the bad old days, before my conversion, I used to sneer at the "myths" told about the early saints, convinced that they were inventions of the credulous Middle Ages...

And then I discovered that there were rather a lot of strange "facts" which seemed to back up the more unbelievable "myths"... like the "myth" which said that St. Peter's Basilica in Rome was built over the tomb of St. Peter. Recent excavation under the main altar of St. Peter's resulted in the discovery of first century artifacts... and a tomb containing bones wrapped in gold thread, with the inscription "Here is Peter"...

The Church has kept records for the 2000 years of her existence. We actually know the names of each and every Pope. Records of the martyrs have been lovingly preserved. The stories of the saints may have been embellished a little over the years, but there are writings from many contemporaries which bear testimony to the essential truth of these stories.

The lives of the saints are not myths or fairy tales. They are exemplars for us to follow as we journey towards God. If their lives (and deaths) seem incredible to us, perhaps it is due to our lack of faith. Mustard seeds and moving mountains spring to mind!

Happy Thanksgiving !

Ok, I know we're not actually celebrating this side of the pond (for some strange reason it's the only holiday that hasn't crossed over... yet) but the Blogosphere means that we can enjoy it virtually...

It always seemed strange to me (when I was a kid) that Americans would celebrate Thanksgiving so close to Christmas... bad planning. I mean, wouldn't it be more fun to spread the holidays out a bit? After all, a person can have too much turkey...

Now I know what Thanksgiving is all about, I know better...

...a person can never have too much turkey!

(BTW, I stole the photo from Karen!)

Feeling My Age...

In December 1991 London experienced a unique air pollution episode during which concentrations of nitrogen dioxide rose to record levels, associated with moderate increases in black smoke. I was trying to explain this to one of my Year 10 classes, and started off with the phrase, "Now it's not so long ago, and you would hardly believe that people actually died because of the pollution in this day and age..."

Of course, some bright spark had to pipe up with the telling rejoinder: "But Miss, we weren't even born then..."

X-Rated...

Apparently the early episodes of Sesame Street have been classed as adult-only viewing.

Yes, that's right... Sesame Street. The kids' programme with the big yellow bird and other muppet-like creatures, brought to you by the letter "Zee" and the number "seven"... I laughed so much when I heard it on the radio this morning that I nearly crashed the car.

The reason?

Simple. Cookie Monster is terribly un-PC, as he's seen gobbling cookies (obesity alert) and smoking (uh-oh... don't even go there!) and there's a character called Bert who was suffering from depression...

You really couldn't make this stuff up...

A Little Good News...

It would appear that what the pro-life crowd have been saying over and over again has finally been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Kyoto University have succeeded in reprogramming human skin cells so that they mimic embryonic stem cells. The reprogramming of adult skin cells means that the present sources of stem cells, embryos and aborted foetuses, will no longer be needed.

Professor Ian Wilmut, the scientist who shot to fame after cloning Dolly the sheep has indicated his intention to use the new technique. Given that he has stated quite openly that he has no problems with the ethical dimension of embryonic stem cells, his willingness to switch techniques indicates that the use of adult skin cells must have a lot of other advantages.

Learning Latin...

No, not me (at least, not right now... though I really will have to knuckle down and learn the "Asperges me" for the Sunday morning Latin Mass we have once a month in my parish.)

Skipping through some of my favourite blogs this evening, I happened across this amusing snippet from A Thorn in the Pew... she was reminiscing about the odd phrases one learns in class.

I think my favourite has to be: Cogito ergo doleo - I think therefore I am depressed...

Don't Get Me Started...

Bah! Humbug ! I just joined a new Facebook group - "It'd be nice to enjoy Christmas carols when Christmas ACTUALLY comes."

I was forced to add a comment to the effect that this would only apply if the Christmas carols on offer were the traditional ones I used to know and love, and not the wishy-washy, mealy-mouthed, politically-correct crud which seems to have invaded our parish hymn books.

For the past couple of years I have cringed when glancing at the lyrics of various carols. If I can remember the original words, I sing them as loudly as I can (and I've got quite a good pair of lungs... and have been training hard by dint of yelling at various children!) Unfortunately, sometimes the swine have changed a whole verse, or at last a couple of lines (so as to make the gender-neutral phrase rhyme and scan) and it can catch the unwary singer by surprise.

I occasionally fantasize about running an extra children's literacy hour in a PSHE lesson, handing out the books and getting the kids to stick copies of the original versions over the offending interlopers...

I've posted on this before, and my Parish Priest even linked to it... but the hymn books are still lurking. I suspect drastic action is needed. ...a massive auto da fe using the hymn books as kindling might be in order... after all, it's not just the carols which are mangled beyond belief. I'd need to think carefully about who we could burn in effigy... Marty Haugen and Estelle White would make a good starting point. Any other suggestions to the combox please...