Monday, December 10

Boy, this movie had better be good. A little more than a week before its release, I have just about had my fill of The Lord of the Rings. Maybe it's because I just wrote an article on it. Maybe it's because every magazine I read, online or print, has to chime in with its take, all of which differ in some particulars but seem to share the same nostalgic When-I-was-twelve-I-thought-I-was-a-hobbit reverie. Maybe it's because I've read the books - or - let's say, I slogged through the books - and was enchanted by little of the opus, although I can see how others could be, just as I can see how other readers could be less than intrigued by my own favorites - like Flannery O'Connor. Or maybe it's because my son David has been telling me every day for fourteen months how many days it is until the film's release.

So yes, I'll be going. And not unwillingly. I like and appreciate Tolkien's theme, even as I don't give a whit about Elvish grammar, the mythological background or detailed descriptions of Middle-Earth. I'm hoping the film will digest and envision the books in a way that's faithful to Tolkien but gets the whole thing going a little quicker.

St. Anthony, call your office. Oh, that's right. You didn't have one. Because you were a hermit. A real one. As opposed to most of the hermit wanna-be's described in this article from the Christian Science Moniter. Praying a lot, transcribing Gregorian chant and living by yourself does not a hermit make, especially when you've got television, vcr, computer and maintain a website.
Why we don't trust doctors Part 278: X-Ray showing a 13-inch long surgical instrument left in man's abdomen.
More on the Sacking of Tush at TVBarn: Here. The grief and anguish spreads.
Here's an op-ed from the New York Post on the strange sight of Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers picketing in solidarity with striking New York City Catholic high school teachers. Why is this strange and wickedly ironic? Because, as the writer points out, the United Federation of Teachers represents NYC's public school teachers and is, like all teacher's unions, vociferously and adamantly opposed to any type of government aid to parents who choose to send their kids to those same Catholic schools. Good call.